Creating a new thread to review a few recommended sushi restaurants that don't all fit neatly in the existing high-end and non-high end restaurant threads.

1. Kyoto - Denshichisushi
This is the sushi "division" of a larger restaurant group that normally does izakaya and dinner set fare - it's one location that does almost all sushi. The quality, for the price, was remarkable. While the Tablelog reviews below are mixed, we had a great experience, including roughly 42 total pieces between us, which included a tuna sample plate, and 6 total pieces of o-toro and chu-toro. In the US, with lesser quality, this meal would have run us about $120 each, but we only paid - brace yourself - US$35 per person. Our neighbor had a beautiful sashimi salad that was made from a whole fish that was fileted and cut by the chef, and decorated with the head and skeleton into a piece of art, and they also had a live shrimp that was still kicking - literally. We ended up ordering our own live shrimp to try it, but ours were served with the tail broken and bent, probably to stop the shrimp from moving and horrifying the "foreign guests", although we wanted the dancing for a video - regardless, it was delicious. Photos below and here is the tablelog link: https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260401/26006169/








2. Tokyo - Kitaoji Club
I mentioned this place in another thread, but our assessment is a worthy experience for JPY9350 (we don't drink, a JPY12000 option is available with all-you-can-drink). The concept is high quality ingredients normally expected from a JPY20,000++ restaurant served at more than 50% off because the sushi chef is a trainee. Our chef was a very young (23) former baseball player who had one year of sushi experience. The restaurant is apparently owned by Sushi Ginza Banya Kai, so you can get roughly the same meal by going to the main restaurant for about double the price, but prepared by more experienced professionals. Was it worth it? The quality was not the absolute greatest, but it was far, far above sushizanmai, for example, but for US$65, I'd be eating here every week - although I suspect the menu does not change all too often. Because of the limited experience of the chef, the nigiri is pre-cut, but that seems to happen between seatings since the fish does not dry out or oxidize and is still in good shape when it gets distributed. The nigiri are all made at the same time (9 people), placed on a tray, and then handed out to customers by another chef. The staff are supervised by a senior chef from another restaurant, although he told us that he has limited sushi experience, even with 24 years of experience as a chef (or maybe he was kidding).

Photos are below - and here is the link: https://soranews24.com/2023/11/09/ne...just-us60/amp/



























3. Tokyo - Kaisenzan - this is a pub, hidden in a very hard to find basement within walking distance of Ikebukuro Station. It's a somewhat gritty area, but worth the trip. As the article points out, their claim to fame is ownership by a fishing group, so their fish is what the company caught itself, and the lunchtime chirashi set - which I discovered embarrassingly by not thoroughly reading the article is, only served at lunch, not dinner, so my review is for the dinner nigiri set. As you can see by the photos below, the nigiri are, for lack of a better word, absolutely humongous. There is no grace or artistry here, no delicate brush of the chef's masterful soy sauce formula - it's a slab of ultra fresh fish layered on very lightly seasoned rice, and you'll need to open wide to get the pieces inside your mouth. The fish is what comes off the boat, so there are a few "I don't know what this is", along with some familiar names like hamachi. No shellfish, this is straightforward finned fish. 13 pieces cost me - brace yourself - US$14 - but you're expected to order a drink (there is a non-alcoholic option, an orange drink), and the edamame appetizer also has a fee - but regardless, drink, beans and nigiri in hand, you're out the door for under US$18. This is strictly a locals place, they get very few visitors, and english is limited. Here is the link: https://soranews24.com/2023/09/18/fi...food-in-tokyo/





4. Tokyo - Sushi Taichi Ginza - this is my comfort spot for affordable lunch omakase that can hold its own with any top quality sushi restaurant in Tokyo, including Jiro. I think there a few reviews and mentions of the restaurant in the forum over the years, but I can confirm on my visit that nothing has changed - the two sushi chefs are pretty much exactly as I left them 3 years ago before the virus, the fish is top quality, the rice nicely but not overly seasoned, and the price for 15+ pieces will run you about US$100 at current exchange rates, and you'll be plenty stuffed. Normally I order a few extra pieces, and this time their uni was so incredible, I think I temporarily blanked out and saw heaven, but I was so stuffed from 2 weeks of eating in Taiwan and Japan, I just couldn't do it - not even one additional piece, as I could barely drag myself out the door after 15 pieces. One caveat for anyone who will visit in the short term after this is posted, they are having an issue with their credit card machine, so they cannot accept foreign cards that have any metal - so no Amex Platinum cards, or any other solid metal card, or even cards with a layer of metal sandwiched inside. The card needs to be pure plastic and bendable. This may be fixed in the near future, but in our discussion it sounded like it had been a recurring problem so please prepare accordingly if you go.