Hell is knowing that you're other people.

I tried Takazawa back in 2010 and really liked it!

If you want high-quality sushi and don't care about the name recognition of the source, go to the fish department of a major department store. There is almost always a little sushi bar tucked away in a corner, and the quality tends to be high.

If you like cheap kaitenzushi go to Uobei in Shibuya. You order on a tablet and your food comes on an automated tray that stops in front of your seat. Popular with tourists. If I have visitors I always take them there. Can get crowded around dinner time but the line moves quickly.

We went to Takazawa in October, and it was a dining highlight (among many - Japan is a fertile ground in that department). It's a room with maybe up to ten diners spread around a reasonably large-sized room - so it's unclear to me, other than for snarkiness purposes, how the fellow diners would have impacted our experience (or judgment of ourselves, for that matter).

The chef-owner and his wife (who is the anchor of the front of the house) were wonderfully hospitable, and coincidentally, I had just read about him in a magazine-sponsored culinary competition on the plane to NRT. He hadn't seen the issue yet because it hadn't made it to Japan! It was a nice entry point to conversation, and both of them were very open about their experiences.

The food, too, was interesting and tasty (not necessarily in that order :p ). Is it hard to book? Probably, although our concierge didn't seem to have trouble. I don't think you need to be a pretentious twit (or however "foodie" is being implicitly defined about) to eat there, though (and it probably would dull your experience there, too).

To your original request: must eat? I dunno. Highly recommended, for sure. But to answer the initial query, I'd want to know more about your food priorities. You can get world-class food from so many cuisines in Tokyo (and even from so many Japanese culinary specialties, too, like ramen, tempura, sushi, etc). Is your priority specifically these kinds of Japanese dishes? If so, Takazawa might not make the 'must eat' list. If not, it would be under consideration for me.

Wow. I thought no one was going to post in my thread.

I've been to Takazawa and it was great. I love Maru for a local vibe. But I just stumbled across this gem of a place, Yakumo Saryo. it's invitation only for dinner (I have an in) and open for lunch without.