Otaru Masazushi Shinjuku — Restaurant in Tokyo

I have been a long-term supporter of Masazushi in Otaru, Hokkaido, and I was thrilled to discover their shop in Takashimaya, Tokyo. I anticipated continuing the fantastic experience I had with them before, but unfortunately, this location did not meet my expectations.

Upon arrival, we waited in line without checking the menu as we were eager for lunch. However, when we finally saw the menu, I was surprised by the prices, which were significantly higher than I remembered from Otaru, coupled with a narrower selection of items. I understood that the Tokyo location, especially within a luxury department store like Takashimaya, would warrant higher prices to cover rent, but I hoped the quality would justify it.

When we tried ordering some winter-special Nigiri, all those that we chosen were not available. This was slightly disappointing considering it was winter and we went there during lunch, which was considered to be early part of their operational hours. We ended up ordering from the regular offering and we ordered Crab, Otoro Tuna and Nishin Nigiri.

When the food arrived, I was disappointed by the portion sizes. While the taste was excellent — consistent with the high standards of sushi in Japan — the portions simply did not align with the prices charged.

Here’s my rating for each item:

Seafood Chirashi: 10/10 for freshness, 5/10 for the range of seafood, and 0/10 for portion size. There was only one piece each of salmon, kingfish, and fresh prawn, along with some ikura, uni, two pieces of tuna, egg, and pickles

Sea Urchin Bowl: 9/10 for freshness, but unfortunately, 0/10 for portion size

4 Pieces Nigiri Sushi: 10/10 for freshness

I believe that Masazushi should consider offering better value, even in a premium location. I truly appreciate the quality of their sushi and hope they can address the portion sizes to better match their pricing, as I want to continue enjoying my experiences...

The standard of service and food is not up to the price they charge. We order the premium omakase set which cost ¥24,000++ and was short change by below par quality food eg salmon sushi. May be because we are foreigner, they thought we don’t know much about Japanese food.

When we told the chef that the Uni is not fresh, he pretend don’t understand and refuse to change even we are not eating it. The chef attitude is cold and not interactive.

In addition, the waiter’s services we received does not reflect typical Japanese service standard.

It is the worst omakase I have ever tasted. Strongly not...

There was still a small queue at almost 2pm for lunch, but the food and experience is superb. They mainly serve in sushi sets (range from about 3000yen to 10000yen). My was a 5500yen set with delicious appetizer, Items are fresh and the shrimp is very fulfilling. The service there is remarkable. While they speak in fluent english, they have also spotted that i am a leftie (probably saw I have switched direction of chopsticks from the picture above to the other way). So that my spoon and dish of ice cream was served the opposite way when the dessert came for us. Great value and definitely...