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Tabelog 4.43 🥈

Fuji is one of the biggest surprises of my gourmet trip in last winter. The dinner was entertaining, especially for solo diners, as there were a lot going on at the counter, including the making of fresh goma sauce and dashi tasting. Needless to say, the seafood sourced from Sasue Fish Shop was fresh and delectable. Local vege sourced by Chef Fujioka was equally impressive. The kaki [柿] with goma sauce worked magically, combining acidity, sweetness and toastiness perfectly. It’s simply a unique restaurant that showcases the beauty of the terroir of Shizuoka.
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💴Budget: 20,000 yen⁣⁣⁣
🥘Food: 8.5⁣⁣
🍹Drinks: 8
🏢Vibes: 9
⚖️C/P: 10 Less

Tabelog 4.54 🥇⁣
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Sushi Namba Hibiya is one of the only 6 Tabelog Gold sushiyas located in Tokyo. Chef Namba is known for being extremely meticulous in temperature management of shari and neta. I have been to Sushi Namba a few times - Namba San’s uni and maguro selection was consistently outstanding. Thanks to Namba San’s generosity, we were offered an off-menu toro temaki and a gigantic Murasaki Uni from Kyushu. The latter was one of the best Murasaki Uni I have had this year – its lasting yet delicate kombu flavor was to die for. Namba San also curated some unconventional, seasonal tsumamis like mixing matsutake with sanma. Flavors were indeed very bold and polarized. ⁣
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Namba San is currently expanding his business by setting up a branch in Yotsuya and a members-only sushi restaurant in Miami. I genuinely hope he can scale up his business smoothly as it is always challenging to do so for a sushiya. ⁣
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💴Budget: 45,000 yen⁣⁣⁣⁣ Less

Tabelog 4.54 🥇⁣
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Ao Nishiazabu is one of the most unique innovative and ingredient-focused restaurants in Tokyo. Chef Minemura’s culinary background was very interesting. First, he started his career as a bartender during which he found his passion in cooking. He proceeded to self-learning through cookbooks before heading to Italy to embark on a professional cooking journey. Interestingly, he realized that his true love was French cuisine so he came back to Tokyo and started a bistro called Maru. That’s why it is not difficult to understand why Ao’s food is so international, featuring cooking techniques of Spanish, French and Italian cuisine with top-notch produces from Japan. ⁣
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In short, Ao’s food is one-of-a-kind – plating looks simple but flavors were thought-provoking! Do starve yourself well enough if you manage to score a seat as the portion is also quite generous throughout the tasting menu. Service was a kind of a cult intentionally and the pace of the meal is one of the fastest as well. Overall, it’s a unique culinary destination that you should at least try once. ⁣
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💴Budget: 50,000 yen⁣⁣⁣⁣ Less

Tabelog 4.00⁣
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Tomidokoro is one of the sushiyas that I would love to visit whenever I am in Tokyo. It is a place where we can truly appreciate Taisho’s skills in terms of how to craft nigiris in a highly consistent manner and bring out the best from each type of neta. ⁣
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Sato Taisho sources most of his neta from Nozomi, a subsidiary of Yamayuki Group. With all due respect, his neta might not be the most expensive ones but they truly stood out, especially the hikarimono and traditional netas. My November 2024 visit was packed with surprises including the lingering sawara [鰆] zuke-d with tamanegi [新玉蔥] shoyu and tender & meaty hagashi [剥し]. The otoro and buri were also aged beautifully to soften the texture and deepen the flavors.⁣
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I honestly recommend this sushiya to every sushi-lover. Trust me, if you go for the nigiri only lunch, you’ll be impressed by the cost performance ratio when you receive the bill. ⁣
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💴Budget: 20,000 yen⁣⁣⁣⁣
🐟 Neta: 9⁣
🍙 Shari: 9⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🦪 Tsumami: N/A⁣
🍹Drinks: 8⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🏢 Vibes: 8.5⁣
⚖️ C/P: 10 Less

Tabelog 4.55🥇⁣
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Onjaku is perhaps my favorite place for lunch in Kanto because of its hearty food, ambiance, and experience. When you enter the restaurant, you will be escorted by the staff to the garden for a quick walk before being seated. Then, Chef Sugayama will introduce himself and welcome you with a simple opening speech before he commences his orchestra. ⁣
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The food is very different from kanto kaiseki as the flavor is more mellow and hearty. Freshness of the seafood was also outstanding as Yaizu is very close to a lot of famous habitats for different kinds of seafood, including but not limited to kinmedai [金目鯛], aji and akaza-ebi [赤座海老]. ⁣
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In fact, Shizuoka Prefecture is hailed as the city of seafood as Suruga Bay [駿河湾], which is the deepest bay in Japan (approximately 2,500 m deep), lands all sorts of rare deep-sea fish and crustaceans. All seafood used at Onjaku is sourced from the nationally renowned Sasue Maeda Fish Shop [前田鮮魚佔], which has supplied fish to the restaurant since it was run by Chef Sugiyama’s grandfather. This fish shop was also a pioneer in shinkeijime [神經締] that maximizes freshness of the catches when they arrive at the restaurant. ⁣
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The meal finished with a soothing tea ceremony. If the weather is good, I guarantee you an enjoyable meal with sunshine behind your back throughout the meal.⁣
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💴Budget: 20,000 yen⁣⁣⁣
🥘Food: 8.5⁣⁣
🍹Drinks: 8.5⁣⁣
🏢Vibes: 9.5⁣
⚖️C/P: 10 Less

Tabelog 4.26🥈⁣
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Sushi Akira is currently helmed by a young chef, Maeiwa San, who was born in 1991 in Wakayama. Before running his own sushiya, he spent 7 years at Sushi Sho Masa and some time at the globally renowned Chinese restaurant in Tokyo, Sazenka. Needless to say, you will see some influence from Sho style an Sazenka in Maeiwa San’s food. He is also capable of making flavorsome dashi, which is quite rare in sushiya in general. ⁣
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Out of respect of his Kansai root, Maeiwa San also serves steamed sushi and bouzushi in his regular omakase menu. I was particularly impressed by his sake selection and I also love the fact that they proactively provided wine glasses for diners to savor the aroma of sake. ⁣
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I revisited Sushi Akira in a month and 80% of the tsumami was completely different, demonstrating Chef Maeiwa’s creativity. His grilled tsumami such as the botan ebi and katsuo are good companies with the carefully selected nihonshu. As for the nigiri session, all of us were astounded by the sweetness and fattiness of katsuo toro. The maguro sourced from Yunoka was so balanced in terms of meatiness and fattiness. Let us not forget the unique steamed sushi which brought out the best from kobako-gani in terms of sweetness and aroma. ⁣
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Sushi Akira is very different from other renowned sushiyas in Tokyo. All in all, it is a well-deserved Tabelog Silver sushiya that I would love to show my friends whenever I visit Tokyo.⁣
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💴Budget: 35,000 yen⁣⁣⁣
🐟 Neta: 9⁣⁣
🍙 Shari: 8.5⁣
🦪 Tsumami: 9⁣
🍹Drinks: 9.5⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🏢 Vibes: 9⁣⁣
⚖️ C/P: 9.5 Less

Tabelog 4.43 🥈⁣
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Chef Shimazu is currently one of the most esteemed young sushi chefs in Tokyo. He began his career at Sushidokoro Abe [寿し処阿部]. After 5 years of training, he became the head chef of Ranmaru, a popular high-ended sushiya among younger customers at Meguro, spending another 2 years there before opening his own sushiya at Shirokane [自金]. ⁣
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When I first entered the restaurant, I was immediately impressed by the energetic vibes of the staff which was quite similar to Ryujiro – Chef Shimazu was welcoming, he would command loudly but in a respectable manner at the counter. Sake selection was outstanding and priced reasonably – the Kokuryu Nizaemon I tried was in perfect condition!⁣
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Chef Shimazu’s skills are evident, proven by the consistent and al dente shari. His maguro and hikarimono were remarkable as well. Chef Shimazu’s tsumamis were very well-executed! I was particularly impressed by the complex mouthfeel and flavors of the nagaimo & maguro tsumami. The showstopper was definitely the mirugai that I added after the omakase menu. It was so sweet and juicy, finishing with a pleasant oceanic salinity!⁣
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Overall, it was an enjoyable and interactive sushi omakase. Definitely worth a visit if you are looking for a more relaxing dining experience.⁣
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💴Budget: 35,000 yen⁣⁣⁣
🐟 Neta: 9
🍙 Shari: 9⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🦪 Tsumami: 9
🍹Drinks: 9.5⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🏢 Vibes: 9⁣⁣
⚖️ C/P: 9 Less

Tabelog 4.51🥈⁣
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Sugalabo was established by Celebrity Chef Yosuke Suga who worked for Joël Robuchon for 16 years. Given his fast-learning ability and talent, he became the Executive Chef of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Tokyo at the young age of 26. He subsequently went to various parts of the world to lead restaurant openings by the Robuchon group. Suga San eventually returned to his homeland and opened this introduction-only French restaurant in 2015.⁣
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The cuisine curated by Suga San is a perfect symphony between French cooking techniques and top-notch ingredients from Japan. I was absolutely astounded by the balance between beefiness and fattiness of the Satsuma Beef Filet from Kagoshima. The umami beef jus and creamy morel gratin were great additions to this rich meat main course. It’s really been a while since I was last impressed by a beef main course. The foie gras terrine looks simple but in fact it was seasoned and executed magically. The black truffle was of good quality and the refreshing salad and aged potatoes underneath really cut through the saltiness and heaviness. Let’s not forget the ham curated by Mr. Tada – in my opinion, the gnocco fritto version works better because rice might be too filling for such a big meal. ⁣
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What also impressed us was Suga San’s charisma - his energy when he was introducing the dishes truly contributed to the good vibes. The way he ran the kitchen was an art to witness as well. Reservation is very difficult – almost 1-year advance reservation is needed even for regulars. ⁣
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💴Budget: 75,000 yen⁣⁣
🥘Food: 9⁣.5⁣
🍹Drinks: 8.5⁣
🏢Vibes: 10⁣
⚖️C/P: 8 Less

Tabelog 4.40 🥈⁣
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Yamazaki San has a unique culinary background, spending 8 years at a traditional kaiseki restaurant called Morikawa [もりかわ] and some time at another 2 extremely famous fusion restaurants, Chiune and Aca. His culinary journey was indeed fully reflected in his food - the spot-on fusion influence was also one of the key reasons that I really love this restaurant. ⁣
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In my recent visit, the menu featured some of my favorite Japanese ingredients such as crab, kinmedai and unagi. Surprisingly, it was my first time trying Yamazaki San’s grilled unagi and it did live up to expectation. The surface was crispy, and the meat was perfectly grilled into a flaky texture like pastry. I also love the salinity of the sauce, allowing the intense unagi flavor to shine. ⁣
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The gohan has never repeated since my first visit. I particularly enjoy the crunchy mouthfeel of herring roes and the refreshing sweetness of nanohana. The secret egg yolk was definitely the hero, integrating all elements into one sumptuous bite. I would have added two bowls if I didn’t have Sugalabo for dinner.⁣
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As a tradition here, the meal always finishes with a show-stopping homemade gelato. Yamazaki San heard our needs – he is going to open a Gelato shop so everyone got the chance to try his amazing recipe! ⁣
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💴Budget: 55,000 yen⁣⁣
🥘Food: 9⁣⁣
🍹Drinks: 9⁣⁣
🏢Vibes: 10⁣
⚖️C/P: 9 Less

Tabelog 4.61 🥇⁣
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Chef Arai was a supernova when he first opened Sushi Arai back in 2015 because of his one-of-a-kind CV that encompasses experience in both Kyubey [久兵衛] style and Sushi Sho [壽司匠] style. Right after graduating from culinary school, he began his sushi career at Kyubey, and eventually spent 8 years at this training ground. Then, he moved on to another discipline, Sushi Sho at Yotsuya, working alongside the master Chef Nakazawa who later left Japan for good, for another 6 years. Given such a special culinary background, it’s no surprise that customers would experience the unique styles of both disciplines. ⁣
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Today, Sushi Arai’s main counter is almost impossible to book unless you’re a regular. Price tag has also skyrocketed because Chef Arai invests a lot in his purchases. I have had the best kujira and shime-saba in my life during my recent visit in late-Feb. He also serves a myriad of maguro cuts – if you are lucky enough, you may get 6 to 7 cuts of maguro, including some rate cuts like senaka [背中], hagashi [剥し] and chiai [血合]. ⁣
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Chef Arai also practices an unheard-of photo-taking policy, allowing photo-taking and video-recording only when the dish is completely red in colour. Do take note and respect the house rule.⁣
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💴Budget: 50,000 yen⁣⁣
🐟 Neta: 9⁣
🍙 Shari: 9⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣
🦪 Tsumami: 9⁣
🍹Drinks: 8.5⠀⁣⁣⁣⁣
🏢 Vibes: 9⁣
⚖️ C/P: 8.5 Less