寿司
From ¥1,500 kaiten counters to ¥40,000 omakase, with the ratings locals book by.
Sushi in Japan runs from conveyor-belt chains to twenty-seat omakase counters that are booked months ahead, and Tabelog is where Japanese diners sort out which is which. The scores separate the tourist-facing places near stations from the counters chefs eat at on their days off. Edomae-style nigiri (aged, cured and brushed with soy by the chef) is the Tokyo standard; coastal cities like Kanazawa and Sapporo win on raw freshness and price.
Tokyo is the sushi capital of the world and Ginza alone has more 3.8+ sushi counters than most countries. The move for visitors is lunch omakase in Ginza or Nihonbashi for ¥5,000 to ¥10,000 at counters that charge three times that at night.
Ginza · Nihonbashi · Tsukiji · Shinbashi · Roppongi
Osaka's sushi heritage is hako-zushi (pressed sushi) and battera (pressed mackerel), but the modern omakase counters in Kitashinchi and Umeda rival Tokyo's at lower prices. Standing sushi bars around Namba and Umeda stations serve excellent nigiri for ¥2,000..
Kitashinchi · Umeda · Namba
Kyoto sushi is historically pressed and preserved, saba-zushi (mackerel) and hako-zushi, because fresh fish had to cross the mountains. Those houses still exist around Gion and Kawaramachi.
Gion · Karasuma · Kawaramachi
Fukuoka sits on the Genkai Sea and its sushi counters in Tenjin, Yakuin and near Nagahama market serve fish that is a fraction of Tokyo prices at similar Tabelog ratings. Lunch omakase for ¥4,000 is common..
Tenjin · Yakuin · Nagahama · Hakata
Hokkaido sushi is about raw freshness over Edomae technique: uni, botan shrimp, scallop and salmon that were landed that morning. Sapporo's best counters are in Susukino and around Odori, and the prices are far below Tokyo for equal Tabelog ratings..
Susukino · Odori · Sapporo Station
Yokohama's sushi counters around Yokohama Station and Kannai offer Tokyo-quality Edomae at lower prices and with easier reservations. The fish market in Yokohama's Kanazawa ward supplies kaisendon shops on the south side of the city..
Yokohama Station · Kannai · Minato Mirai
Kobe's sushi counters in Sannomiya and Motomachi work with Seto Inland Sea fish, and the city's top omakase counters are considerably easier to book than Osaka's or Kyoto's at similar Tabelog scores..
Sannomiya · Motomachi
Kanazawa sushi is the best value in Japan: Sea of Japan fish landed that morning, nodoguro and sweet shrimp as standard pieces, and omakase for ¥8,000 to ¥15,000 at counters rated as highly as Tokyo's ¥30,000 ones. The top counters are around Omicho Market, Katamachi and the station, and most can be booked a few days ahead..
Omicho Market · Katamachi · Kanazawa Station · Korinbo
Nara's sushi tradition is kakinoha-zushi, mackerel and salmon pressed on rice and wrapped in antibacterial persimmon leaves, sold by century-old shops in Naramachi and at the stations. For nigiri, a few counters near Kintetsu-Nara are rated far above their prices on Tabelog..
Naramachi · Kintetsu-Nara Station · Sanjo-dori
How to eat sushi like a local: hands or chopsticks, dipping fish-side down, wasabi and ginger, plus counter manners and three rated places to try.
Five Shinjuku hideaway restaurants in back alleys and basements: ¥200 yakitori, clam-broth ramen, a ¥1,280 tendon lunch, aged sushi and weekend-only coffee.
At a counter, order omakase (chef's choice) and let the chef set the pace. Eat each piece in one bite as it is served, fish side down if you dip; most good chefs season the fish already so you should not add soy. Do not ask for extra wasabi or rub chopsticks together. At kaiten (conveyor) shops, grab plates or order from the tablet.
Omakase needs no menu at all, which makes it the easiest high-end meal in Japan to order without Japanese. Kaiten chains have multilingual tablets.
Sushi is the most competitive category on Tabelog. A 3.5 sushi counter is excellent; 3.8 and above are the places with months-long waiting lists. For kaiten sushi, 3.3 is already very good.
At a counter, order omakase (chef's choice) and let the chef set the pace. Eat each piece in one bite as it is served, fish side down if you dip; most good chefs season the fish already so you should not add soy. Do not ask for extra wasabi or rub chopsticks together. At kaiten (conveyor) shops, grab plates or order from the tablet.
Lunch: ¥1,500 to ¥5,000 (lunch omakase is the best value in Japan). Dinner: ¥8,000 to ¥40,000 at a counter.
Sushi is the most competitive category on Tabelog. A 3.5 sushi counter is excellent; 3.8 and above are the places with months-long waiting lists. For kaiten sushi, 3.3 is already very good.
High-end counters require a reservation, often only by phone in Japanese or through a hotel concierge. Mid-range counters and all kaiten shops take walk-ins. Lunch is far easier to book than dinner.
Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Yokohama, Kobe, Kanazawa, Nara each have a dedicated page. Tokyo: Tokyo is the sushi capital of the world and Ginza alone has more 3.8+ sushi counters than most countries.
Open TabeDog, pick sushi, and see Tabelog's top-rated shops around you with hours, prices and payment methods in English.
Find sushi on the map
