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The elusive Sushi Tokami in Ginza, Tokyo is very difficult to find and your chances of successfully reserving a table as a tourist is even slimmer. This 1-star Michelin restaurant, hid in the basement of one of the Ginza district's many tall business buildings is operated by the young sushi dai Hiroyuki Sato. Before we were able to be invited into this exclusive high class sushi joint and embark on one of the craziest dining experiences of our lives, we began our planning 4 months in advance back home in Denmark.
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Delicious Michelin Sushi in Ginza
Getting into sushi heaven requires careful planning and nerves of steel
The day finally came, after waiting 4 months and enduring the wait through our entire travel around Japan (this was the second-to-last day of our trip). At dinner time we showered at our hotel and put on our best clothes, and managed to find our way to the business building in Ginza after searching the streets thoroughly. We descended down the stairs and at the end of a small corridor we could see a Japanese wooden door with traditional flags hanging in front. When we opened the door we were greeted by a woman who asked for our name. Two other couples were already sitting at the long bar-style table inside, waiting for us. In Sushi Tokami you eat together in a seating with a maximum of 10 guests and you all start eating at the same time. This means that they had been waiting for us to show up, which didn't exactly calm our nerves.
Medium-fatty tuna.
We nodded, and our nerves totally broke when he once again asked "Hashida... is your name?". We were completely sure that he would kick us out, and this excruciating moment felt like it lasted forever. We had to explain ourselves to him, otherwise we knew he would not let us in. We explained that our business contact had made the reservation for us because she wanted us to try the best sushi in Tokyo. Sato looked away and resumed his preparations. We were both extremely relieved and found our place at the table drenched in sweat. We had made it.
Lean tuna.
The lady asked for our name and we nervously replied "Hashida!" which is a common Japanese surname. "Hashida?" she asked us and looked at us, and we acknowledged while trying to keep our cool. This was the defining moment. The make it or break it. She told us to follow her, and we entered the small restaurant. When we stepped inside, the frightening sushi dai Sato stopped his preparations behind the table and looked up at us in disbelief. Two nervous Europeans, way too young to afford a meal at his place sparked a look of anger and disbelief in his eyes. "HASHIDA?!" he angrily shouted at us, and everyone in the little restaurant were now looking our way. "..Y.. Yes?" we stammered. He angrily repeated "Ha-shi-da?" and looked at us almost grinning, wanting us to just admit that it was not our name.
Fatty otoro tuna.
Sato is frightening but an extremely nice guy after all
Tokami serves the sushi omakase style, meaning that the menu is all chef's choice based on what is fresh at the market that specific day. Chef Sato goes to the famous Tsukiji fish market every morning by himself and chooses only the best and freshest fish carefully. This means that if he doesn't like the shrimp at the market that day, you will not be eating shrimp. As mentioned Tokami operates in "seatings" meaning that you have to show up to one of two dinner seatings at a specific time. Up to 10 guests can reserve seat at each seating. In our seating we were only 6 people and the ambience was really cozy. After we had calmed our nerves with ginger ale, we began talking to the other guests and we were all having a really good time. Chef Sato turned out to be a really great host. Although he is very awe-inspiring and strict, he is also funny at times and he is incredibly skilled. He prepares one sushi at a time for each guest, meaning that everyone gets the same nigiri one by one, before he begins preparing the next nigiri. You eat the sushi with your fingers, and remember to eat each piece in one bite so as to not offend Sato. He makes his sushi with red vinegar rice, which is more flavorful than regular white sushi rice (be aware if you're not into vinegar taste).
Hiroyuki Sato doing his magic as we watch.
The lamborghini of sushi - what you really came here to read about
Hiroyuki Sato keeps all his fish cuts in a beautiful traditional Japanese wooden box. Pulling out one ruby red fish piece after the other, he cuts small parts off it elegantly and carefully to fit sushi perfectly. This was hands down the most incredible sushi meal we have ever had. The taste is just so incredibly high class, and the freshness is unreal. We have never seen such color in a tuna before, and we walked out of his place completely full. At our seating we were served sashimi and 18 big pieces of sushi as well a steamed dish, a grilled dish, vegetables, fruit and a soup.
One of the climaxes of Tokami's dinner is the tuna trio: lean tuna followed by medium-fatty tuna and fatty otoro tuna.
Mia could not finish her last 3 pieces so I had to eat them even though I was completely full, because we did not want to upset the great sushi master Sato. He instantly noticed that Mia was not eating her sushis and he made a funny joke about it and cut the next one he made for her in half and put the other half on my plate. He was a really cool guy after all. After our meal, he followed us outside the door and thanked us many times for coming to his restaurant. He was smiling and asked us where we came from. As this was the day before new years eve, we asked him if he was going to party tomorrow. "No" he said, "sleep". He was just going to take the day off.
The different tuna cuts used for our sushi.
Good to know before you go:
The menu varies from time to time, but while we were there he served us chef Hiroyuki's special tuna handroll, mixed vegetables, one soup, one steamed dish, one grilled dish, sashimi and 18 pieces of sushi followed by some fruit. More than enough to make a really hungry individual happy.
It's a 1-star Michelin restaurant and so the price is 30.500¥ ($280) each person, cash only. It is very expensive but totally worth it, a fine-dining experience and a good story you will never forget.
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Booking is required!
At the time we went there, they only accept bookings from japanese speaking individuals. We had our hostess call him in advance (while we were still in Denmark) and book for us.
We didn't manage to take pictures of everything, because we were scared of Sato (haha), but we snatched quick pictures of most of the sushi pieces which you can see here.
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