Most people visiting Tokyo always go to Tsukiji Market, and come back lauding the visit. Nay, they come back exalting the market and recommend it as a “must go” destination. We have never understood why. My long standing theory is that humans are flawed creatures, and we would rather make people waste their time going to a raw fish market at five in the morning than publicly admit they made a mistake, and state that we wasted our time watching people throwing frozen fish and yelling in Japanese, and advise future visitors not to go. For the record, we have never visited the market and we do not recommend you do either. Sleep in, enjoy your morning, and go eat sushi at a reasonable hour.
In lieu of the fish-walk-of-shame™, we decided to make a trip to ‘Little Edo’ before heading to Sushi Harutaka, where we could enjoy the sumptuous bounty the sea had to offer. Kawagoe, or ‘Little Edo’ as it is nicknamed, is a small district, approximately 40 minutes from Tokyo, and is known for its preserved traditional Edo-style warehouse buildings that line a few of the streets. Kawagoe made for a good half-day trip from Tokyo. We were able to enjoy a tranquil stroll through the streets, while simultaneously appreciating the juxtaposition between modernity and old world style architecture. Perhaps we were
too relaxed during this trip because before we knew it, we had 30 minutes to catch our train back to Tokyo so that we could make it to our 6pm sushi reservation, and we were 2.5 miles from the train. I’m not sure why this kept happening to us, but in the future I think I will start setting warning alarms on my phone. I suppose one benefit of our poor time management skills was that we got our daily HIIT workout in.
While many visitors to Tokyo elect to go to Jiro for their sushi fix, presumably due to the incredible documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, we chose differently. Sushi Harutaka has ranked repeatedly as a top sushi restaurant in Tokyo. It used to have two Michelin stars but recently lost both of them, though I’m unclear as to why. Regardless, Michelin is not a great guide when it comes to Japanese dining. Instead, I often look to Tablelog for Japanese restaurant recommendations, and per Tablelog, Sushi Harutaka has a Silver Award (roughly equivalent to 2 Michelin stars). Chef Harutaka Takahashi apprenticed under Jiro for 13 years before starting his own restaurant. I say this not to emphasize his skill, which is incredible, but because Chef Harutaka employs a similar
shari (rice) style as Jiro. At Sushi Harutaka you will find a more al dente and vinegary rice than traditional sushi. This may not be for everyone, but we enjoyed it more, as we found the acidity brought out the subtle flavors of the fish. Another highlight of Sushi Harutaka is that he offers a sort of appetizer course within the sushi omakase, which helps to fill you a little more.
I couldn’t take pictures of all the courses but, according to my notes we ate the following:
Kamasu (Barracuda)
Shirako (milt, which is just a polite way of saying cod fish sperm sac)
Cod and grouper in a ponzu sauce
Tile Fish soup (picture)
Spanish mackerel with green onion
Notoguro (blackthroat sea perch, a pricey fish)
Sumika (cuttlefish)
Sayori (needle fish)
The three fatty tunas: Akami, Chutoro, and Otoro
Kohada (gizzard fish)
Hamaguri (clam)
Saba (mackeral)
Ebi (tiger prawn)
Kobashi (surf clam)
Kasugo (sea bream)
Salmon roe
Amberjack
Unagi (eel)
Uni (sea urchin)
Tamago (egg omelet, a traditional Japanese dessert at sushi restaurants)
Overall the meal was excellent. The quality of the fish was top notch, the execution, flawless. My one critique was that the demeanor of the staff initially was very cold, to the point that for the first 20 minutes or so we felt very uncomfortable. I get that there was a language barrier, and this restaurant is not one that traditionally caters to foreign tourists, but it was still a little off. After some time, I think we began to chill the staff’s icy hearts because they brought out a fish guidebook that was in English and Japanese, and gave us a very educational crash course in marine biology. The sea was angry that day my friends like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli, but I think once we were done, the Chef’s heart grew three sizes.
Seeing as the night was young and so are we, 6 pm dinner notwithstanding, we decided to go out for a nightcap and a snack. We chose Bar Benfidich (B&F), a cocktail bar that opened 6 months prior to rave reviews, as our watering hole of choice. The bar is literally a hole in the wall, located on the second floor of a nondescript residential looking building. The bartender, Takeshi Matsuzawa has no menu.
Instead he asks you what sort of flavors you like and creates a custom drink to your tastes. For me he made a yuzu based Gin drink made from a Kyoto dry gin. For my wife, he made a kumquat old fashioned with a Japanese whiskey.
Both were elegant and exquisite, and this place has now become our go to bar when in Tokyo. A definite must go. Riding high on the amazing food and spirits, I failed to heed my own rule when it comes to Japanese sweets and we decided to stop for some dango from a proprietor in her mid-30s. It was terrible. Trust me, stick with the octogenarians when getting sweets. I think they imbue the food with a bit of their life force, making it all the tastier.
I close this day's review with a question. What would you prefer? A stroll through time, followed by some delicious sushi, and ending with a great cocktail. Or, waking up at the crack of dawn to watch people fling fish, scarf down some sashimi on an entirely empty stomach while half asleep, and smell like you were just violated by Poseidon himself.
Next Time on
A Honeymoon to Remember: This dynamic duo do nothing. Aimlessly wander through Tokyo, some shopping, and dinner at Ometsando Ukatei. All this and more on our next installment.