Sushi Yajima — Restaurant in Tokyo

Scroll to the end of my review for tips to maximize your experience. 15-piece sushi omakase lunch for ¥4950. I was surprised by how much soy sauce was added to each nigiri but overall it was good with very fresh seafood. Upon conclusion of the course, you can also order additional pieces of anything you liked, as well as several other types of sushi.

Due to the affordable price, do adhere to your booking time and finish your course within about 30 minutes. It may seem a little hurried at first, but it is actually the perfect amount of time to ensure you dont feel too full before the end of the course.

I also appreciate the true spirit of omotenashi on display, the master and his assistants were very warm and had even learned a lot of English purely to convey to their guests how to properly enjoy sushi.

Tips:

Come on time, or your course may be rushed to ensure they can honour the next booked seating.

Eat all your pieces in one bite, and immediately after they are served.

Use your hand to pick up each piece as the rice is molded gently and may break apart with usage of chopsticks

If the pace is too fast and you arrived on time, you can try to tell the master: Taberu no osoi kamo shiremasenga oshietekudasai = I may be a slow eater, but please let me know.

Don't ask for any changes to your meal unless you are allergic to something.

Don't wear perfume or...

While researching “must try” restaurants for my Japan trip back in June, I found out about this mom & pop omakase near Shibuya station and decided to try and book them.

Emailed them and got a pretty prompt response in English. Hashed out the details via email and any food allergies/special requests were made. Each person was 5060¥ with 30 minutes allotted time to eat. One person in our party was a kiddo newly introduced to raw fish and did not like wasabithey accommodated.

I ended up needing to add an extra family member making it a total of 6 guests so due to them normally only accepting up to 4 guests per reservation, we were split into 2 separate groups. That became a bit of a gripe bc there were approximately 10 spots in the restaurant and while we were there, a majority of them were open bc another party had just finished so our family could’ve easily eaten together instead of in segments.

Onto the food. Fish is great, very fresh tasting. All the items were shot out machine gun style. Kiddo liked a certain fish and got doubles. I just thought some of the nigiri and maki bits were too hastily made…thus making them look sloppy and a tad unappetizing to look at. Although kiddo loved the food and I was content. The wife (husband and wife duo who own the place) was very kind and sweet. Made us feel very welcome.

For the price though, its...

One the most incredible, unique, authentic experiences I’ve ever had in my life. It’s hard to describe or put into words how great this experience was- if you have any doubt about making a reservation, just do it. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

We love sushi with a passion and have had sushi for every meal since we landed in Japan. This was our third spot. We called ahead to make a reservation day of, and somehow they had availability for 2pm for 2 people. It’s a small sushi restaurant with counter seating only, where you can watch the magic happen.

The couple running this place were some of the nicest, most hospitable people I’ve ever met. Yajima-San was truly one of the best (if not the best) sushi chef I’ve seen in action- doing things to the sushi (and your taste buds) that you will never forget.

He also is happy to pour many shots of sake + beer to help wash everything down (and advise you on what alcohol works best with what types of fish). The rice, the sushi, the technique, the history, the tradition - it was really something else, and something you’d be lucky to witness while in Tokyo.

We had a fantastic experience here chatting with Yajima-san and his wife, and it was one I will never ever forget. Thank you so much for making our final sushi meal in Tokyo one...