Hey y’all, reporting back from a quick trip to Japan - Tokyo and Fukuoka. It was a pretty short and last minute one (6 nights). Originally, I was going to meet some friends in November or so, but we had to adjust to earlier.
Basically ate some sushi, a little bit of Italian, and one yakitori meal. I wanted to try all new places, no predictable repeats. 9 pics each.
Sushi
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Sushi Sakai (Nishinakasu, Fukuoka)
Worth a journey for some good sushi, #3 in Fukuoka by Tabelog (4.57 as of this writing). Surprisingly, they seat 12 diners and do 2 lunch and 2 dinner services, but they do so smoothly and Sakai-san makes all the nigiri.
8 otsumami, about 12 nigiri, uni gunkanmaki, a piece of kanpyo maki, and tamagoyaki. No missteps and all really delicious. No offers added after the meal, but at the start you place an order of a big maki (I got torotaku maki). Sake is priced by pairing, and the premium one had some special sips, indeed.
The shari is medium/gentle, on the saltier more than sour side, medium warm, balanced and well matched to neta. Grains were a touch on the smaller side, medium plus definition. Medium size nigiri construction, and even if they started a touch “tall,” there was a little bit of sinking.
Sanma, excellent
Kurumaebi. If this looks familiar, note that Sakai-san and Amamoto-san worked together, both in Fukuoka and then at Umi.Torafugu with its skin, ankimo citrus sauce, chives. Nice and bright with a bit of crunch. Tons of umami and clean flavor. Encored with wakame for another crunch.
Mushi awabi and niidako
Bafun uni, kegani, in myoga dashi gelee with shiso buds. Very nice texture play
Aoriika
Akami
Buri
Kohada -
Sushi Riku (Hiroo, Tokyo)
Sushi Riku opened just about a year ago in Hiroo and he’s off to a fantastic start. Toda-san is known for his time at Sushi Mizutani and Nihonbashi-Kakigaracho Sugita. Of the Sugita proteges, Sushi Riku is perhaps the most sophisticated in setting.
about 7 otsumami and 14 nigiri or so. Two otsumami were notable - a fried fukahire and the Sugita-style ankimo with kijoshu alongside misozuke oyster and kazunoko. The fukahire was expertly fried and black shichimi pepper was key to match the attack-forward Aramasa X-Type with which it was paired. The ankimo was exceptional, though different from Sugita’s. Here, it had narazuke (quite thin and soft, not so crunchy) and less wasabi, and it was served with Kuzuryu, which it a sweeter kijoshu than the special Hinotori that Sugita uses. Also, Sugita’s use of a specific wasabi is really the key to balance everything, including the paired sake, and the proportions are different because Sugita doesn’t use the narazuke. Still a delcious otsumami sequence at Riku, with the misozuke oyster having a medium-cooked texture.
Nigiri was even better than the otsumami. Like Sugita (and Dokoro Yamato, below), Riku starts with kohada. This was an extremely good example, with a gentle touch, well calibarted, and plump texture that went nicely with the rice. Kasugodai’s pillowy softness also matched the rice really nicely for a beautiful impression. The nigiri is medium large, a refined version of a “rustic” shape, with excellent gentle pressure and the neta adheres nicely. The shari is medium warm, with distinct grains and good umami - more salt than sour. It was a bit milder than Sushidokoro Yamato’s.
Garden view entrance
Mushi awabi with hamaguri dashi ankake with aonori. Slick.
Ankimo with narazuke, paired with kijoshu. Misozuke kaki and kazunoko.
Kohada, one of the best. First nigiri serving, beautiful impression.
Aji, excellent
Fried fukahire, excellent fry.
Grilled sanma, excellent.
Kurumaebi, excellent.
Kanpyo maki, very good -
Sushidokoro Yamato (Tsukiji, Tokyo)
Another Sugita protege, who went independent in 2021 to open this shop in Tsukiji (the opening noren is signed by Sugita-san). This is classic, no frills sushi that’s a bit different than Sushi Riku. While there are similarities due to their training, naturally, Sushidokoro Yamato is a bit simpler, being by Tsukiji compared to Hiroo. The aren’t fancy menus, but rather sake options are read off of a handwritten note of what’s available that day, and it arrives in rustic ochokos without the bottle presented.
7 otsumami to start, and like Sugita, extra otsumami are then offered - we got 3 - ankimo, hokkigai (as a skewer with a lightly sweet tare), and ika geso. The ankimo was fantastic and ika geso grilled medium rare with miso was a real delight. 10 nigiri before bonuses, anago, and tamagoyaki.
The rice is seasoned well, a bit saltier than Sushi Riku’s or Sushi Hashimoto’s. It’s been a little while since I went to Sugita, but just going off of memory, the rice might be a little saltier than Sugita’s, as well. The rice was delicious and never sharp or overwhelming; rather, there was a good umami harmony with the neta - hikarimono in particular. Construction is medium large, slightly rustic in style but draped well with good adhesion and air. Mild warm, sall grains, a touch of sour up front but nice salt finish. Good consistent proportions and easy to handle and eat.
Classic and a bit humble in style (fitting to the Tsukiji neighborhood) but very good quality - delicious nigiri, in partucular.
Kohada, first nigiri. Excellent.
Amadai in renkon surinagashi
Grilled kamasu. Hirame. First bites, very good.
Bay scallops in nori sauce. Potent
Ankimo. Wow.
Sanma, one of the best.
Iwashi, love all the hikarimono here.
Kasugodai, pillowy.
Kanpyo maki. Very balanced.
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Sushi Ryujiro (Gainemae, Tokyo)
This was at the second counter, but I had a really nice experience overall. The space is a little tight in an annex, but the chef did a good job without much help. It’s a lighthearted and relaxed experience. Actually Arai-san showed up and was seated next to me.
8 otsumami, about 10 nigiri, ikura meshi, anakyu roll, ara miso soup, and dashimaki tamago before bonuses of mirugai, kohada, and kanpyo maki. Agedashi tai and ultra crispy unagi with special wasabi were excellent. Ankimo paste with fig, white miso sauce, and sesame was a delightful combination.
The akashari is salty, with good umami, round and with nicely defined grains. I’d say medium plus powerful, but delicious. The nigiri construction is a bit longer and low, with oval rice, and the mouthfeel was good.
Mirugai, excellent
Tai agedashi. Delicious
Chutoro, first nigiri serving.
ShimaebiUnagi with Gotemba wasabi. Ultra crisp, excellent.
Ankimo with fig, shiro miso sauce, goma
Ikura with shari. I think you can see the nice shari here, moderately long, firm grains with akazu marinade, good saltiness.Maitake somen.
Kanpyo maki, excellent. 4 cut is the way.
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Sushi Murayama (Ginza, Tokyo)
At the honten (not hanare kosetsubessyo) for a fantastic lunch deal. 1 hour nigiri lunch with chef Aizawa-san included 1 appetizer, 10 nigiri, 1 hosomaki, and miso soup. Very high level for the price of 12,000 yen! The interior is nice, too, with kuro-oribe and karatsu ware by famous ceramic artists. The appetizer was actually quite nice and substantial - kaburamushi with kinki, ginnan, and wasabi, nicely fluffy and yielding textures.
Kohada was excllent - not too firm, but with a nice sweet acidity. Maguro was from Oma. And there was a plush kamasu bozushi with contrasting crisp myoga, well done. Nihama had a medium rare center for a slick chew.
I read that Aizawa-san may leave at the end of the year. He’s young but already has 10 years of experience, and he’s one to watch.
Nigiri construction is tall with a good drape / squeeze at the top for a gentle mouthfeel impression as it sinks a little. The shari feels nicely delicate but never falls apart in the hand. Medium size nigiri.
The akashari is slightly sour, a bit more sour than salty. Some might want a touch more umami in the shari in matching the neta, but it’s nitpicking, especially for the price.
Kohada, very good!
Kuro oribe vs. Karatsu
Sawara, very nice
Oma chutoro
Kaburamushi with kinki, ginnan, ankake sauce, wasabi. Nice warm slipperiness
Yaki kamasu bozushi with myoga
Botanebi kobujime
Anago
Tekka + negitoro hosomaki
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Sushi Takamitsu (Nakameguro, Tokyo)
This is kind of a party with some whimsical and flashy plateware. The nigiri is small and the shari is sticky. There are lots of servings and they come quickly. Seasoning is good but with nigiri this small, it’s hard to get a good sense of proportions and mouthfeel. There’s lots of uni, caviar, white truffle, etc - the meal leans a bit rich.
Takamitsu is most known for their “uni tower” of about 20 varieties. It’s quite crazy, as we already were served about 4 uni servings before the end when you can get extras.
To be honest this wasn’t exactly my style, especially compared to the other sushiyas I visited. I heard that underneath the conspicuousness of the luxury and hypebeast veneer, there are some good bites. In terms of quality, it’s there. I’d prefer slightly more variation in neta style and a little bit more size and texture in the nigiri, but I’m glad to try for experience. Tabelog is super high at like 4.5 but on pure food alone, going in blind I would’ve expected maybe 3.8-3.9, but maybe a bump up for cheerful service and relaxed atmosphere
Maguro on display..
Torotaku gunkanmaki with caviar
Akauni
Mehikari
Matsutake dobinmushi
Karasumi-stuffed yaki mochi
Shimofuri
Uni risotto with white truffle
Uni tower
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