Sushi in Shibuya - The Real Deal

We left the restaurant still a little hungry because we had heard and read so much about the amazing street food in Shibuya. It was pretty late though, about 1 AM, by the time we finished, so we didn’t find too much going on in the way of food vendors. But we did come across a little sushi bar WITH an English menu! Sold!

It doesn’t get much more authentic then this. This sushi bar was standing room only, and housed about 10 customers at a time. The bar was set with chopsticks, soy sauce, and green tea for everyone who came in. The sushi, like the restaurant  had no frills. There was no mayo, tempura, cream cheese, or crunch. You get a thin slice of fresh fish on top of high quality white rice. The sushi was cut, sliced, and rolled right in front of you when ordered, and served on a piece of bamboo. The chef instructed us exactly how to eat each piece meaning, when to use chopsticks, when to use your hands, and when its acceptable to dip a piece in soy sauce. 

We had salmon, tuna, cucumber, and otoro. The otoro was our favorite by far. Otoro is a high grade sushi, which is found only in Japan. For you sushi enthusiasts,  otoro comes from the underbelly of a tuna. It is then graded, very similar to how beef is graded when selecting a steak. It is extremely oily and can only be consumed fresh. We were waiting until we got to an authentic restaurant to try this delicacy we had heard so much about. It was definitely worth the wait. The chef instructed us that this sushi should never be dipped in sauce, because it has a natural rich flavor. He also let us try it seared which is a popular variation of otoro. 

Here you can see the chef searing our sushi with a blow torch. 

Although it was very simple, it was very good. Who knew that fresh raw fish could melt in your mouth and taste so amazing. I am SO happy to have finally gotten to try authentic fresh Japanese sushi, and I hope we are able to find more places like this one back in Osaka.