@mirugai even regulars have to use omakase now as they no longer want to handle the booking operations. As you don’t have Japanese number, the chance is even slimmer even if you speak perfect Japanese. Your best shot is to get someone with Japanese tel no books via omakase and you tag along. One party in your group has to speak Japanese well enough and understand all the drill in sushi ya though.

I recommend you try calling either Sushi Kobayashi in Ginza or Sushi take instead.

Thanks @localtaste! I appreciate the insight. Have dined at Sushi Kobayashi and Sushi Take many times so definitely appreciate the suggestions too!

Honestly you shouldn't miss the opportunity if you can grab a seat at Kusunoki , no matter who the fryer is. They have a quite good SOP of frying so should be able to receive good experience anyway.

thank you!

I've been a few times to Hashimoto-san's counter at the main restaurant. There are fewer "wow" moments compared with the taisho's course as the ingredients are cheaper but the difference in technique is marginal. I'd recommend it for an introduction to Kusuoki-style tempura, which IMHO is the best. Note that it's always more expensive than whatever price they advertise.

thank you!

FYI it's not the same Hashimoto at Nakameguro, it's a different apprentice.

That's not correct. The taisho at the Nakameguro restaurant is Ichihara-san who ran Kusunoki in Nagoya. Hashimoto-san has moved from the main restaurant to work as second chef in Nakameguro.

For what it's worth, I ended up going to Kusunoki Nakameguro and I'm pretty sure it was the same Hashimoto who was doing his own counter at the main restaurant (the guy who cooked for me looks like the guy in the photo in the Omakase webpage for the Hashimoto counter at Kusunoki Yotsuya).

Basically, Ichihara prepares food for half of the counter and Hashimoto prepares food for the other half. Same ingredients (you even get to have Ichimura's kuruma-ebi after having Hashimoto's kuruma-ebi -- and Ichimura's diners get to try Hashimoto's).

Cool, thanks for confirming. How did you like it? Could you pick up any difference between the cooking from both chefs?

I would definitely say Ichihara's was better for my taste. His shrimp was more aggressively seasoned.

In terms of frying technique, I couldn't tell as much of a difference, though Ichihara's did taste better to me (which may be due solely to the seasoning or perhaps it was some difference in the frying that led to the difference in flavor).

Good info, thanks :)

@yk would you say it was worth the money? it's a bit more expensive than other "good" options. obviously it's not kusunoki honten but wondering if hashimoto is worth almost 30k yen.

It was a lot more than 30k yen. I was charged 51k yen, but it was an onslaught of high-quality ingredients (Echizen snow crab, 4 servings of shirako, karasumi, etc)

Cost performance is inherently subjective and dependent on a person's individual circumstances. All I will say is, I really enjoyed the meal, especially because the ingredients were of such high quality

Pretty much chimes with my experiences at Kusunoki: outstanding quality of ingredients and a bill that's nothing like what you expect.

It's a sushi experience distinct from Mizukami, with a focus on akazu (red vinegar), making the contrast between the two enjoyable when you visit. Since the nigiri here is exceptional, a lunch visit is also recommended.

Great, thanks for this information.

It's successful

@guest, great! thanks for your advice