Sushi Masuda - Tokyo

Chef Masuda used to work for Jiro, of famed documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, before branching out and opening his own restaurant. Located in the basement of a small building in an alley, Sushi Masuda has only six seats at the sushi counter, and a small private room in the back. Our neighbors at the sushi counter were amused by how two young white girls found themselves in one of the most exclusive sushi restaurants in Tokyo. What can I say...I go to great lengths for good food! The meal at Sushi Masuda included some amazing appetizers, before moving on to the sushi portion of the meal. Due to the language barrier, we weren't always sure what type of sushi we were eating (denoted by question marks on this post). The appetizers were truly the highlight of this dinner, my absolute favorite being the miso squid. I also really enjoyed the unique tableware here, from the crystal sake glasses to the decorative plates. In terms of the sushi, I enjoyed Kyubey Sushi better. There, each piece of fish or seafood was seasoned perfectly and served individually to enjoy fresh. At Masuda, they were served in bulk portions and left up to us to add soy sauce. Our dinner here was also more expensive than the evening prior, so I am not sure if the amazing appetizers alone were worth it!

Clam Shabu-shabu (you dunk the clams in the broth on the right to be cooked for a few seconds)

Rock fish with ponzu sauce

Baby squid with miso - absolutely amazing

Sea Eel (I loved this clover bowl)

Broccolini (or so I think...)

Monkfish that was incredibly tender

Swordfish (also wonderful)

Two of the sushi chefs

Our friendly Japanese neighbors

Personal trays for our sushi

?, Nettle fish, squid

Tuna, Sea Bream, ?

Tiger Prawn

Sardine

Clam Sushi

Uni and Tuna Roll

Eel with egg custard

A picture to show how small the sushi bar is

Ginza Kyubey Sushi

Kyubey Sushi restaurant was first opened in 1932, by the father of the current owner, Yosuke Imada. It has clearly withstood the test of time. It's main location, where we had the pleasure of dining, is located in the Ginza district of Tokyo, with five different floors. We sat on the third floor at one of the sushi bars. Although not an inexpensive meal, this was our cheapest dinner in Tokyo, and worth the price for both the quality of sushi and the experience. Each sushi chef, trained by the owner himself and having to work up the food chain for years, serves only six diners at a time. We ordered the omakase (chef selection) twelve sushi course meal, which also includes a roll and soup. It was a lot of fun to see each course being prepared right in front of us, especially when it was the live shrimp squirming around just minutes before it was served. Instead of dunking the sushi in soy sauce, like we are used to doing in the US, each course is perfectly seasoned and eaten as is. I really recommend having your concierge make reservations here if you are planning to go to Tokyo. The owner even came around and introduced himself to us about halfway through the meal. Everything from the cold sake to the melt-in-your-mouth tuna was superb.

Salad with fresh seaweed and radish

Tuna

Sea bream

Squid

Umber Jack

One of the sushi chefs, who worked his way up for 22 years, preparing our next course

Uni (Sea Urchin)

The shrimp still moving around on the plate before being served

The raw shrimp sushi

The head and tail cooked and served to us a few minutes later

Scallop Sushi

Mackerel

Sardine with Ginger and Scallion 

Toro

Eel Two ways - With special sauce (left) and lemon zest and salt (right)

Daikon radish with sour plum sauce and sesame seeds

Soup

Tuna sushi roll being prepared

Three different types of rolls

Rolls include - Toro with scallions, Cucumber-sesame, and pickled squash 

Sweet egg custard (with rice on the left, plain on the right)

Chef-owner Yosuke Imada who inherited the restaurant from his father

Tsukiji Fish Market and Tokyo Sights

Hey All! I recently got back from an awesome few days in Tokyo. This was my first time in Japan and I fully enjoyed it. I can't wait to go back! Of course one of the main highlights was the amazing food I ate there, especially the sushi. But posts on that will be coming later. I first wanted to share with you all some general things we did in Tokyo and highlight the Tsukiji fish market. This is the largest fish market in the world with an infamous tuna auction that commences before sunrise. The local chefs all get first picks at the best tuna selection of the day. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the tuna auction because they limit the number of spectators and you have to line up starting at 3 AM. Instead, we went to visit the market around 7 AM and still got to see a lot of fresh seafood being sold. The stalls are interspersed with restaurants, some more famous than others. Some of these spots even have lines around the corner this early in the morning. We settled on one called Ohedo, without too long of a wait and each ordered a kaisendon bowl. It is not your typical Western breakfast but it includes your choice of seafood (we ordered two different kinds of tuna, and uni/sea urchin) on top of rice, served with miso soup, green tea and pickled radish. The quality of the tuna in Japan is so unbelievable that I was happily eating it for breakfast!

Overall, I highly recommend visiting Tokyo. We strolled through the gardens of the Imperial Palace, ate some local Japanese oysters, visited the Sensoji Temple, enjoyed some amazing sake, and ate way too much. We dined at three amazing restaurants, all of which we had to make reservations through our hotel concierge. They only accept local reservations, for whatever reason, which can make things a bit difficult. It was fun to see the expressions on people's faces when two young white girls walked into very local restaurants! Keep an eye out for these posts in the coming days. Enjoy!

Our first meal in Tokyo - Shabu Shabu

Sensoji Temple

A lot of people inside the temple

Kaisendon breakfast bowl with uni, tuna, miso soup and green tea

Variety of fresh seafood

Octopus in Bundles

Fresh Tuna

Knives being sold at the Fish market

Gardens of the Imperial Palace, still dry from the winter temperatures

Fresh Japanese Oysters

Beautiful Sake Crystalware