Tokyo Sushi — Restaurant in Hakone

Eating here was such a great experience. As many other reviews have said, it is run by an older couple, the wife takes orders and brings out the food and the husband makes the sushi. This was easily my most memorable meal in Japan and fit perfectly with our relaxing time in Hakone. The couple don’t speak much English but it’s very easy to figure out how to order and communicate even if you don’t know any Japanese. They offer a lot of different sets, but because we wanted to try a bunch of different fish, we just individually ordered pieces. Each meal comes with a small pickle dish and a clam miso soup, which I wasn’t expecting but was a nice addition. Every piece of nigiri we ate was so delicious. Everything tasted fresh and hit the spot! The couple just seemed so happy about everyone that came in to eat there and even took photos of us, which was so cute! You’ll see they put up a ton of photos of people who have eaten there in the past along with a lot of other decor like wood block paintings. The interior is very cute and charming. It makes you feel like you’re having a very intimate dining experience in someone’s home, which was wonderful. We sat at the tatami mat table. I would say the restaurant probably seats 12 people total, so even though there probably isn’t a ton of foot traffic there, try to get there earlier so you can get a seat before other parties get there otherwise you’ll have to wait for someone to finish their whole meal. The meal was also extremely affordable. For all the nigiri we ordered and two large beers, it came out to under 8000yen/60USD for 2. They even gave us a beautiful blessing that it looked like the couple had made before we left. We left so full and so happy!

One thing I will mention is that if you’re walking there from Gora or anywhere on the other side of the river, there is a fairly steep and long passage of steps to walk through in the forrest to get there. It wasn’t too difficult for the two of us to walk through but if you’re going with elderly people, carrying any suitcases, or with anyone who is wheelchair bound, it’s probably best to take a car or try to find a bus that will get you there. Otherwise the walk there for us was very scenic...

This is genuinely the best experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant and will stand by this forever. Although they speak limited english their gestures help you understand and are attentive enough to notice when you need refills. So honestly you just need to say yes and they would probably do what you want to ask.

Service: I wanted to start with this because the owners, an older couple, went ABOVE AND BEYOND. When I did not have enough cash to pay, they quickly understood without anger or sadness and drove me to the 7/11 atm. This was done without asking or offering, they just did it and yes they want their money but do you really think anyone would just drive their customer to an atm? I know this was NOT A FLUKE, because they spent much time and effort to figure out where my hostel was including being out a map and calling a friend. Which I do admit was weird at first, but I figured out afterwards that it was because they WANTED TO DRIVE ME BACK TO THE HOSTEL since the bus stopped running. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They all of that just to give me a ride that I didn’t ask for as I was planning to walk back so they spent their TIME AND GAS to take me.

Atmosphere: As mentioned above they are super nice and welcoming to anyone including foreigners. They are so funny and genuine that you can chat with them without knowing Japanese. They show care and worry such as when it was raining, they asked others if they were going to be okay since it was pouring outside. Then at the end they gave me artwork of Mt. Fuji(last picture).

Food: I got salmon and tuna nigiri as suggested. Although my total was a little high around $30-40, I was quite hungry and wanted to try more than 1 option. The fish is obviously fresh and are thick cuts so you can really taste it. The rice is fragrant and sweet so it honestly has enough taste to stand alone.

This is 100% worth a visit not just for the food but the experience. The owners deserve...

Cozy, welcoming atmosphere and delicious fresh ingredients at an unbeatable price point.

Their large platter is 2000 yen, and a perfect size for one person. It comes with a miso soup that has many delicious fixings (taro, scallions, konjaku jelly, carrots, daikon, mushrooms, and thin pork slices). 9 pieces of nigiri and 2 taller pieces each of cucumber and yellowtail roll (see photos).

They have additional a la carte items that I couldn't identify because it was all in Japanese.

Some specific notes on the nigiri: yellowtail roll was especially fresh cucumber roll comes with some of the best tasting shiso I've had included fatty tuna, ebi (cooked shrimp), white tuna, squid, tamago, clam, uni with roe, and 2 other fish I couldn't quite identify

Important: seating is available at the bar, but if you sit at one of the two tables you need to sit cross legged which might not be good for folks with bad knees.

The restaurant is small and will not fit large parties, nor would you want to bring one there.

Seems like a husband and wife owned business. They are so lovely and welcoming to foreigners and you can order to go as well (though it won't come with soup).

Not sure if they take credit card but I think it's cash only.

No joke I would not mind eating most if not all my meals in...