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Best non-"high-end" sushi in Tokyo?

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Best non-"high-end" sushi in Tokyo?

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Old Mar 28, 2023, 9:10 am
  #211  
 
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Originally Posted by Patrick Ding
Don't laugh, but $1 sushi places are da bomb. I'd say the're better than most sushi places in America outside of big cities. Definitely check one out--it's entertaining to deposit the plates into the machine (it counts the # of plates to charge) and sometimes you can win a small prize if you're lucky
One of my favorite "nostalgia eats" in Tokyo is Kaitenzushi Ichiban in Shinbashi.
https://goo.gl/maps/Z9XKZAFb4fxWfiCx6

150 yen a plate, 2 pieces per plate. By no means the best sushi in Tokyo, but the price is hard to beat, and it has the salaryman ambience down pat. I frequented this place in my student days and it has not changed a bit in >20 years, other than recently starting to accept credit cards.
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Old Mar 28, 2023, 9:30 am
  #212  
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Originally Posted by joejones
One of my favorite "nostalgia eats" in Tokyo is Kaitenzushi Ichiban in Shinbashi.
https://goo.gl/maps/Z9XKZAFb4fxWfiCx6

150 yen a plate, 2 pieces per plate. By no means the best sushi in Tokyo, but the price is hard to beat, and it has the salaryman ambience down pat. I frequented this place in my student days and it has not changed a bit in >20 years, other than recently starting to accept credit cards.
I see your cheap sushi salaryman joint and raise you a curry with double the ambience: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13022480/
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Old Apr 1, 2023, 3:41 pm
  #213  
 
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Originally Posted by joejones
One of my favorite "nostalgia eats" in Tokyo is Kaitenzushi Ichiban in Shinbashi.
https://goo.gl/maps/Z9XKZAFb4fxWfiCx6

150 yen a plate, 2 pieces per plate. By no means the best sushi in Tokyo, but the price is hard to beat, and it has the salaryman ambience down pat. I frequented this place in my student days and it has not changed a bit in >20 years, other than recently starting to accept credit cards.
Passed by this place in December, but didn't stop. Next time!
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Old Apr 2, 2023, 5:20 pm
  #214  
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Tried to find low end sushi last night by Shibuya but every place had a long line and/or no seating (SRO) both of which were deal killers. So we finally needed up waiting about 20 min at the Sushi Zanmai on the 4th Fl across from The Hub British pub. Mrs. B said the sushi was worth the wait. For about $100 we got a massive amount of fish for 3 plus miso, beer etc.

This equates to about USD $70 plus tax & tip which wouldn’t get you much at a Bay Area sushi joint.

Needless to say we find everything in Tokyo to be a huge bargain compared to California. But especially dining. A beer 🍺 at the ⚾️ game was $5.
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Old Apr 2, 2023, 5:52 pm
  #215  
 
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
This equates to about USD $70 plus tax & tip which wouldn’t get you much at a Bay Area sushi joint.
In the Bay Area, that'd be like a bit of Sashimi & something like an Unagi roll, and probably go over $70 USD after tax, health care charge and tip. So, good deal!
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Old Apr 3, 2023, 5:26 am
  #216  
 
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
Tried to find low end sushi last night by Shibuya but every place had a long line and/or no seating (SRO) both of which were deal killers. So we finally needed up waiting about 20 min at the Sushi Zanmai on the 4th Fl across from The Hub British pub. Mrs. B said the sushi was worth the wait. For about $100 we got a massive amount of fish for 3 plus miso, beer etc.

This equates to about USD $70 plus tax & tip which wouldn’t get you much at a Bay Area sushi joint.

Needless to say we find everything in Tokyo to be a huge bargain compared to California. But especially dining. A beer 🍺 at the ⚾️ game was $5.
It's a wild bargain compared to almost anywhere in the US. Like Visconti, we can get a chirashi bowl each, one glass of sake, and split an appetizer for $70 out here in MA. That's before tip.
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Old Apr 4, 2023, 12:12 am
  #217  
 
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
Tried to find low end sushi last night by Shibuya but every place had a long line and/or no seating (SRO) both of which were deal killers. So we finally needed up waiting about 20 min at the Sushi Zanmai on the 4th Fl across from The Hub British pub. Mrs. B said the sushi was worth the wait. For about $100 we got a massive amount of fish for 3 plus miso, beer etc.

This equates to about USD $70 plus tax & tip which wouldn’t get you much at a Bay Area sushi joint.

Needless to say we find everything in Tokyo to be a huge bargain compared to California. But especially dining. A beer 🍺 at the ⚾️ game was $5.
Good old Sushi Zanmai. Side note - in the Bay, I’ve found Sushi Tomi in Mountain View a pretty good value with their extra special night being $35 for a set, including miso and a fried amaebi head. Been going there for years.
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Old Nov 12, 2023, 11:45 pm
  #218  
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Has anyone heard of, or better yet, tried the Kitaoji Club?

The concept is a training restaurant for up and coming sushi chefs who aren’t ready to work at existing high end, or their own shop, but they use the same super high quality ingredients that are served at JPY30,000++ luxury restaurants so they can practice with high quality fish and rice.

The omakase is only $60 USD 😮
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Old Nov 13, 2023, 2:35 am
  #219  
 
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Has anyone heard of, or better yet, tried the Kitaoji Club?

The concept is a training restaurant for up and coming sushi chefs who aren’t ready to work at existing high end, or their own shop, but they use the same super high quality ingredients that are served at JPY30,000++ luxury restaurants so they can practice with high quality fish and rice.

The omakase is only $60 USD 😮
Yes - we live close to this place and tried it since it just opened. It was very good and for the price - amazing. Unfortunately it seems that this deal will only go through February 2024 -- Here's a review: Omikase for $60 -- so Good!

Since this place has received so much attention recently reservations have gotten harder (there are two seating's - 6pm and 8pm) -- better hurry....
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Last edited by bmwe92fan; Nov 13, 2023 at 2:41 am
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Old Nov 13, 2023, 8:47 am
  #220  
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Originally Posted by bmwe92fan
Yes - we live close to this place and tried it since it just opened. It was very good and for the price - amazing. Unfortunately it seems that this deal will only go through February 2024 -- Here's a review: Omikase for $60 -- so Good!

Since this place has received so much attention recently reservations have gotten harder (there are two seating's - 6pm and 8pm) -- better hurry....
We booked online for early December, but I’ll have the concierge call to confirm everything was setup correctly. I’m going to read your review, thank you!
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Old Dec 17, 2023, 10:51 pm
  #221  
 
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Had lunch the other day at Sushi Banya Kai at Shinagawa that's run by the same group. Quality was very good to excellent and the price could not be beat at 4840JPY for 16-pc omakase for their supposedly 'school lunch' by sushi chefs in training.
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Old Dec 18, 2023, 11:10 am
  #222  
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Originally Posted by chocobill
Had lunch the other day at Sushi Banya Kai at Shinagawa that's run by the same group. Quality was very good to excellent and the price could not be beat at 4840JPY for 16-pc omakase for their supposedly 'school lunch' by sushi chefs in training.
Did you menu and nigiri look like what I posted in my sushi compendium post? I’m curious if it’s worthwhile to try on our next visit
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Old Dec 18, 2023, 5:27 pm
  #223  
 
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Originally Posted by 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
Turret is great


They even have a turret that takes up a large part of the shop.
I agree that walking around the outer market is a good way to see what's popular. I really like Itadori Bekkan, also went to Zanmai and wasn't as good.

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Old Dec 18, 2023, 5:59 pm
  #224  
 
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I went to Tsukiji this past November and was very disappointed with the crowds and overall vibe. It's become a tourist trap and nothing like what I had experienced many years ago.

I was actually with a Japanese friend and he just grinned and agreed that Tsukiji is now only for tourists and is way overpriced.

​​​​
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Old Dec 18, 2023, 6:29 pm
  #225  
 
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Did you menu and nigiri look like what I posted in my sushi compendium post? I’m curious if it’s worthwhile to try on our next visit
I'd say it was about the same or worse as some of those posts.
I've had better sushi in Tokyo but not better sushi for the 5k if that makes sense... It's also nice that it's a bit shorter than the usual 20+ pc omakase and I felt it was a good size for lunch (though YMMV if you're a big eater).

It was relative empty too and super easy to get reservations for that matter.
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