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Yajima Sushi in Tokyo やじま

I first read about Yajima Sushi in the blog post The Ten Commandments of Sushi, written by Tom Downey. The article left me so impressed that I made the visit to the restaurant my highest priority when next time in Japan.

We made the reservation for lunch via our hotel. Their reply was “yes you can come, but no chatting, just eating”. We were well prepared, so we knew what they were requesting: lunch takes half an hour approx. until the next guests come, so you are not supposed to chit-chat or tell stories to each other. Its a place to eat sushi, and as Tom Downey suggests, you have eat it as soon as  it lands on your plate. The fish needs to stay as fresh as possible.

It is there where I learned that you can eat sushi with own hands and leave chopsticks aside. No sauces are  added, the piece is complete the moment you get it. Just put it in your mouth all at once.

Its recommendable to order some sake, as sushi pairs stunningly well with it and gives an extra boost to the overal experience. Mr. Taisho will let you know when you should mix sake with your sushi piece.

You get 20 different pieces of sushi, served one after the other. The lunch costs 4200 yen. Sushi’s are always different, depending on the season and availability. A real bargain for the quality you get. (you can also have dinner at Yajima for 15000 yen.)

The couple running the place is very friendly, sweet and welcoming. The atmosphere is relaxed with the lady often making jokes (she can speak some English and likes Belgian chocolate, so if you want to impress her, bring her a present 🙂 ).

The underground B1 restaurant has only 8 seats, so reservation is a must.

Yajima sushi

Yajima sushi, © Rekall

Ya ji ma Sushi 鮨 やじま
Address: 1-5-9 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3499-6019
Lunch hour: 11:30am-2pm

We visited Yajima in 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.