Tokyo, Japan
¥¥¥ ・ Sushi
A brightly plastered wall catches your eye in this alley in Shinjuku Ward’s Arakicho before the cheerful owner-chef ushers you in. Service is omakase set meals only. Snacks are simple, honest fare such as seafood sashimi and grilled items. Sushi is presented in a definite order, starting with lighter flavours and working gradually toward richer ones: first white-fleshed fish such as gizzard shad, then tuna followed by conger eel, for example. The shop is named after the owner-chef’s grandmother; she stayed hale and hearty, so the name is a wish for the restaurant to have a long life.