Sushi Kanesaka Honten

This is the best sushi I’ve had in my life. I want to go back to Japan just to eat here again. Every dish I had was perfection. Even some of the items I was skeptical about ended up being the best ones. The tuna cheek was very memorable for me along with many other things I just can’t remember the names. This was also the first time I’ve ever had uni and it was just wow. Since I’ve been back in the states I’ve been on a hunt to find something even remotely close and I’m about to give up. One of my goals in life will be to eat here again. Must must go if you can get seats!

«You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.» — Obi-​Wan Kenobi
You never forget your firsts. Car. Love. Sex.
Omakase in Japan. Now that’s a first I won’t forget anytime soon.
The curtain pulled back, and there the wizard was. I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, but nothing could prepare me for the culinary orgasm I was about to experience.
The otsumami blew my socks off. Sea bream innards on top of finely sliced ika. a big lump of hairy rock crab. seared hokkaido scallop wrapped in nori. Slightly seared tako. I checked my pants at this point, false alarm.
Then, a parade of nigiri. Amberjack, sea bream, akami, chutoro, otoro, anago, japanese horse mackerel, spanish mackerel, kuruma ebi and the best (hokkaido) uni i have ever had. Tamago that tasted like flan to top it off.
Wow.
It goes without saying that the quality of fish was amazing, and that i’ll never have anything like it stateside. But the rice was exquisite: perfectly warm and soaked in vinegar, once in your mouth you can feel each individual grain of rice.
Excuse me while i run to to the bathroom and change pants

«Kanesaka» is one of the most popular sushi restaurants in Tokyo and has been highly rated for many years. I had the «Omakase» (Chef’s recommendation) course and it started with a few appetizers and then about 13 pieces of sushi came, which pretty much filled me up. Everything, except for a few, was great, especially their sushi rice. It was actually nothing like what I’ve ever had at other sushi places. Very distinct, flavorful, and of course tasty. I was stunned.
I was also surprised by the fact that half of the customers were non-​Japanese! It looks like this place is famous for foreign travelers and I guess they are marketing themselves in the foreign markets pretty well. And I realized that they very carefully tailor their Omakase course dishes for non-​Japanese guests in order to fill the gap of sense of taste between Japanese and non-​Japanese guests. Obviously, for non-​Japanese guests, there’s more grilled or cooked dishes that are easier/​more familiar to eat. I think it’s pretty wise and that’s probably why I saw all those foreign guests looking happy and enjoying the food. That little twist actually makes all the difference.

Five stars!
Loved this sushi-​ya. It had a fabulous vibe and was great for English speakers. Out of the three other sushi-​yas we attended, this one was the best in my mind.
The service was on point, every single fish was divine and there was a healthy mid of new and classic fishes included in the omakase.
Some of the more meh fishes in the states were better prepared here and in some cases were standouts for me.
They have a 10pc sushi set for 100,000yen, 15 pc at 150,000Y and 17 – 18 pc for ~$ 180,000Y.
One thing to note is that it’s very hard to find. It’s a small alley off of the Main Street.

Exceptional, life altering, traditional Edomae sushi experience nested in the heart of Ginza.
Shinji san is without a doubt one of the greatest sushi masters in the world, watching him prepare your meal is a unique experience that should be cherished as much as the food.
What really set this restaurant apart from its «best-​of-​the-​best competition» (Saito, etc) is the sublime sushi rice (perfect texture and unique taste) and the masterful ways in which Shinji san operates his yanagiba.
However, I need to warn you… you will be craving this sushi for the rest of your life and you will be back for more (this was my 3^rd visit this past year alone).

Sushi was very very good. Definitely a great foodie experience. I did the small omakase with a side order of uni. Unago appetizer was really yummy, as was the swordfish. Uni was sweet and very satisfying. Aji was also quite nice. Tamago tasted like dessert– so good!

Absolutely incredible experience. Best sushi I’ve had in my life.
Pretty pricey in terms of regular sushi places but quite the norm for Tokyo (I think it was approximately $ 350 a person for dinner, excluding alcohol). Regardless of the price, it was worth every bite.
Not too much English is spoken but everyone is friendly & they allowed us to take pictures, which is strictly verboten in many other fine sushi restaurants in Tokyo.

As a self-​proclaim sushi connoisseur, I had to check out at least one Edomae sushi restaurant when I was in Tokyo. There are many highly regarded restaurants like Saito and Sukiyabashi Jiro, but they were very difficult to get a reservation. I decided to go with Sushi Kanesaka for lunch after some research. It seems many of these restaurants are located in the Ginza area. I guess it has to do with the close proximity to Tsukiji fish market.
The location is easy to miss, so look for the motorcycle accessory store across the street. Sushi Kanesaka offers different lunch omakase option, and we went with the 15 000 yen sushi only option (19 pcs and clam soup). One group next to us went to the more expensive option, which included several extra interesting dishes. One of them looked like raw crab, but I wasn’t too sure.
The qualities of ingredients were exceptional, but there was one fatal flaw that prevented a high rating. The temperature of sushi rice was too high. It should be closer to body temperature. Small mistake like this is what distinguish good from great restaurants, and Sushi Kanesaka fell short here. Our chef was serving three groups, and he probably spent 95% of the time chatting with one group in particular. I am sure they were regulars, but it made me wonder whether he paid enough attention to preparation.
I had a good experience, and the sushi were quite good overall. My favorites were the otoro, clam, and mackerel. However, I probably won’t return on my next trip since there are so many competitors at this level.

I was not blown away by the ¥30 000 omakase at Kanesaka. Parts of the meal were absolutely amazing. We were all blown away by the first few things we were served, including a dish of small raw shrimp and uni and a large lump of shredded crab meat. However, a lot of the nigiri that came afterwards just didn’t taste that special. The meal didn’t feel worth the price tag.
Our server seemed genuinely confused most of the time. She couldn’t explain to us how the ¥20 000 and ¥30 000 omakase options were different, although they are the only 2 options on the menu. She didn’t know what many of the fish were called (in either Japanese or English). Whenever we asked her something she didn’t know, she yelled across the room to Chef Kanesaka for help.

I have to admit that I was very skeptical as I descended a flight of stairs into the basement with a few friends.
After having survived a few meals of varying quality, I couldn’t believe how excellently prepared and presented our meals were. I didn’t initially realize that we were being served by Chef Kanesaka himself, but as we talked throughout the night his earnest and humble nature really appealed to me. That said, I think his work spoke for itself. I found the rice consistency and flavor just right for me, and the fish cut and freshness still stand out in my memory.
The 30,000Y omakase reserves you a seat for two hours and many dishes that leave you feeling full and satisfied, and as if you’ve made a friend with the Chef.

Amazing sushi and amazing service. I visit Japan quite often, but I’ve never been to a high end edomae sushi bar before, besides the one time I had a fugu sushi set in Nagoya for 15 000 yen.
I tasked a friend with getting a reservation somewhere. We failed to get a reservation at Jiro’s because that system is just crazy insane, and Sushi Saito was all filled up. I was happy when we found this place, 1 starred Michelin, 4.18 on Tabelog. Actually, my friend accidentally made the reservation for the Palace Hotel branch, but we managed to switch it the day of to the Ginza main branch.
The restaurant is located down a classy stairwell in a small, but well decorated underground room. I would call the décor very elegant. If you come with a slightly larger party and want to shell out the big bucks, you can reserve the private room with Japanese style seating.
I came for lunch with the friend that helped me book. I picked the 10 000 yen set while he got the 5000 yen set (quite a steal for the sushi you are getting). I started off with some very good matcha green tea.
I can’t exactly remember the names of everything we had, even though I had pictures, so I’ll just list the courses as I got them. At these kind of sushi bars, like wine, you move from white fish to heavier tasting red fish.
Some kind of whitefish with a bit of grey streaks — medium firm texture with a nice mildly salty taste
Same fish with soy sauce. He doesn’t give you soy sauce, and instead adds it for you when necessary for the effect
A slighty redder sushi — Aji perhaps?
Maguro, and Otoro — Wow, what soft otoro. The tuna had great flavor too.
Ika — nice and firm, lovely flavor
Amaebi — Sweet flesh, very nice
Shad I think? — Red flesh, with skin on but split
Tako with some soy sauce — I love octopus!
Mirugai
Japanese ginger (myoga) with clam miso soup (shijimi) I think. This miso was slightly different than the asari miso soup you get. A bit lighter with heavier clam flavor
Marinated maguro with some kinda of pickled topping
Some kind of crazy shellfish — Quite interesting
Ikura — Delicious delicious salmon roe
Uni — Okay, good, but I still like sweet uni better than bitter uni
Anago
Tamago yaki — Apparently mixed with ebi to make it really smooth. It had a delicious mild sweetness to it, with a hint of seafood from the ebi. Great way to finish off the meal with dessert. Looked like a stick of cheese
2 pickled ginger rolls
That’s a lot of sushi guys. Even the 5000 yen set got a lot of sushi as well, as it was basically my set with ¹⁄₃ of the pieces missing.
My favorites — hard to pick, but probably all the Tuna, Aji, Shad, Tako, Anago, Tamago yaki
Best sushi I’ve ever had, seriously.
I had a very relaxed and pleasing lunch here. I hear Jiro’s is quite rushed because of all the demand. The restaurant wasn’t too full at all, only like 3 other sets of diners with us.

With my almost creepy intense love for Shinji by Kanesaka at the Raffles Hotel Singapore, how could I go to Japan and not try Sushi Kanesaka.
You’ll note that I’ve only given Sushi Kanesaka four stars, and that’s because unfortunately I don’t really think it matches up to other Michelin-​starred sushi restaurants in Tokyo.
Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t say a single thing negative about any of the dishes I had that evening (well, maybe that the squid wasn’t the best I had on the trip). I was served by Shinji Kanesaka himself (or apparently, affectionately called Shin-​san by the Japanese guests to my right), and between their boisterous interest in learning English, the two rather attractive and friendly Taiwanese ladies to my left, and Shin-san’s own antics, it was a very loud and hilarious evening.
Everything was delicious, fresh, and well prepared. I was honestly, a little hungry when I left, but was flush with the joy of that excellent meal. Sushi Kanesaka is nothing like Shinji though, and much like Sushi Dai Singapore and the original, a meal at Shinji is far more elaborate. Despite its price, Sushi Kanesaka is, at its heart, more of Chef Kanesaka’s soul, as opposed to Shinji, which is more of his façade. It’s humbler, warmer, and… different.
But was it worth twice what I paid at Sushi Imamura? Or indeed, nearly three times what I paid at Sushi Dai? I don’t think I can really say that. It was good… very good. But on hindsight, considering you’re in Tokyo, a tad overpriced.
I would still go back though, because Shinji Kanesaka, the chef, has a special place in my heart for introducing me to the joys of high-​end edomae sushi. He changed the way I saw raw fish on rice, and indeed, changed the way I thought of Japanese food.
I had never known sushi till I ate at Shinji, and I owe it all to the man who stands behind the counter here. How could I not want to go back?

Sushi on a totally new level.
After watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, I had to eat at an edomae sushi bar while visiting Japan. We couldn’t secure a reservation at Jiro or Mizutani, but were able to grab a seat here. If you ever seen that documentary, they say rice is a big part of how good the sushi is. I didn’t really believe it until I put one of the nigiri pieces in my mouth. The vinegared rice was amazing! It tasted so good, I wanted to jump for joy. It’s really hard to explain, but it was not like any rice I ever tasted and I even went to daiwazushi that same morning!
There were two menus that evening. 20,000Y or 30,000Y omakase. We ordered the 30,000Y menu. Yes, it is expensive and not something you’d do everyday but for a splurge and if you enjoy sushi, it is a great experience. The shokunin serving us knew some english which helped with communication and him explaining to us the fish. Eat it how the chef serves it. He already puts the right amount of wasabi and brushes on the sauce. Just pick it up and eat it.
Tamago — It is sooo good. It’s nothing like what you’ve had in the united states. It’s more custard like than omelet. Sweet and satisfying.
It is not as rushed as Jiro, either. I’ve read you are in and out in under 30 minutes. Here we were able to enjoy each piece and have a nice relaxing dinner.

love this place. lunch menu 5000 yen: such a great deal for excellent sushi.
they also have 100,150,200k menus that include sashimi, more o-​toro. it’s top quality, perfect rice, vinegar, and ratio. tamago done as a custard with pillowy anago. love the negitoro temaki here. also one of the few open on Sunday!
1 michelin, 4.07 on tabelog