HarryLime

Any recommendations for lesser-known mom & pop sushi restaurants in Tokyo? The equivalent of an independently owned bistrot in the 15eme arr. of Paris. Absolutely does NOT need to have a Michelin Star, not does it need to be centrally located. Any thoughts?

MSYtoJFKagain

So I tried to get some opinions on this awhile back and the general consensus I found was "There are far too many, don't worry about finding one until you're there."

seigex

Honestly, if you're used to American sushi, it's hard to go wrong with any sushi place you jump in to. I've had some killer sushi walking in to a random shop and enough sushi to fill me up and a beer for around 1500 yen, so it wasn't exactly a high end place.

Topcare

食べログ and narrow by 寿司

ts.pub

It's perhaps a bit out of the normal tourist spots but Gatten Sushi is a nice choice for conveyor belt sushi. Near Tokyo station I could recommend Nemuro Hanamaru in the KITTE building.

If you find yourself going out to Takao then Sushiemon is a nice option.

None of those options are super fancy but they're all good quality and a fine meal for the price.

freecia

I feel like this could be qualified as if you're used to American "fish style" sushi and not "roll style" sushi, it's hard to go wrong. People sometimes want/crave a localized version of an ethnic food.

Those who want roll combinations with sriracha, cheese, or mayo might be happier going to a cheap and cheerful kaiten sushi chain like Kura https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/menu/ or adjusting their expectations (and cravings) a bit. Kaiten sushi also has the nice benefit of being able to order what you want, often from a screen and separated from all visible judgement (if you end up ordering multiple chicken mayo, Chanja spicy looking mince thing, or only want salmon/fatty tuna, want to try new things with low interaction in case you hate it), vs mostly set courses some more traditional places offer.

Nemuro Hanamaru is more of a solid fish place. I usually go to the kaiten restaurant or the standing counter in Ginza.

This thread has often been more towards solid fish offerings. +1 for Topcare's instructions on tabelog 食べログ, just add in a price filter and look at the pictures.

seigex

You make a great point, I'm used to eating nigiri and much prefer it to makizushi, so I might be a bit biased.

JayhawkCO

Figured I could bump this thread. I have an 11 hour layover in Tokyo flying into HND and out of NRT. I arrive at 05:55. I was hoping to get some good early sushi. I won't be there in time to get in line for Sushi Daiwa, which is all over the internet as "the place to go". Do any FTers have recommendations of places I can make it to, are delicious, won't cost me north of $100 (I can eat a good amount), and I won't have to wait for more than an hour? I arrive on a Tuesday in June if that matters.

Agneisse

Are there other activities you wish to accomplish in the 11 hours besides early sushi?

Tsukiji market will have lots of non-Internet famous places open for sushi breakfast. Unless you're a real connoisseur of raw fish (I certainly am not), they're probably all "good enough" for the objectives described. They also post menus to give an indication of price point. So, just pick one that's not empty but also doesn't have Sushi Daiwa levels of queuing.

If you also want sushi for lunch / snack, Nemuro Hanamaru recommended above is not expensive but only opens at 11am. They are however very judgment free (you write the number of what you want on a piece of paper and hand it to the chef, no discussion offered or required) and the non-standing restaurant has an electronic queuing system (queue ticket comes with a QR code that is constantly refreshed with the anticipated wait time), so the time spent actually standing in line (vs wandering around Ginza while keeping an eye on the queue webpage) should be well under an hour.

JayhawkCO

Not a ton. I need to buy some anthropomorphic something another for my wife. That's why I was thinking of breakfast sushi around 8 and then I could just wander. I'm probably going to take the train to Narita sometime around 12:30 or so to enjoy the F lounge at NRT.

Pickles

Sushi Daiwa is good but it's wildly overrated for what you get. As proposed, many other places in the area have excellent sushi at the same quality and price point, so any of them is probably more than adequate for your purposes.

JayhawkCO

I read good reviews about . Anyone with any experience?

od_sf

The last thing you'd want to do on such a tight schedule is trek all the way to Toyosu for a sushi breakfast. Daiwa, Dai, and the place you mention above (Dokoro Yamazaki) are all in Toyosu. They're passably decent sushi, but not worth the trip to Toyosu on such a tight schedule. (And possibly not worth the trek to Toyosu under any schedule, to be honest...)

There are no "delicious" sushi shops open for breakfast, in my opinion. You're much better off having sushi at lunchtime. Personally, I'd do that instead of the whole "get to NRT at 12:30 to enjoy the F lounge" thing. But if you must absolutely have sushi for breakfast, I'd recommend a place like Sushi Dokoto Tsukijiya in Tsukiji - it will be comparable in taste to places like Daiwa, but Tsukiji is easy to access and centrally located, so you can have a nice walk around Ginza or Shimbashi afterward.

Sushidokorotsukijiya

joejones

I would take Keikyu from HND to Higashi-Ginza, get a locker for bags if needed (keep in mind you can't check through from HND to NRT), walk a few blocks southeast to Tsukiji 4 intersection, get some sushi at basically any of the places to the south of that intersection (there are a LOT of them and many are open 24 hours or close to it), maybe check out the big temple nearby, then wander back to Higashi-Ginza and take the Asakusa Line direct from there to NRT. Very easy and should leave plenty of time to enjoy the F lounge.

davidgrahammd

I would seriously consider going to the Tsukiji market (what used to be called the outer market) and just walk around the stalls. You can get pretty amazing food in a low pressure environment.

Since many of the shops have their own specialties, it's a very easy way to sample a lot of different things. One of my go to shops when there is Kurogin which specializes in tuna

And if you need a coffee to keep you going, nearby is Turret Coffee. Absolutely recommended...just make sure to go past the Starbucks on the corner