I Tried the WORLD’S #1 Sushi Restaurant in JAPAN (Impossible to Book)

Join me in Japan, Tokyo at the best sushi restaurant, Nihonbashi Kakigara-cho Sugita. Led by master chef Takaaki Sugita, this episode explores the art of Edomai sushi and the chef’s journey from apprentice to sushi virtuoso. A unique journey into the heart of Japan’s best sushi destination.

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My name is Alexander. I’m the co-owner of a ONE Michelin star restaurant, and I’m on a mission – to find inspiration in gastronomy. I love fine dining, good wine and sharing what I know with other people.

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It’s been voted best in  Japan for six years running. That means getting a reservation  is gonna be a pain in the ketsu, if you catch my drift. Say hello to Tokyo. It’s a city of extremes. With 37 million people, it’s the  world’s largest city by population. If you think New York never sleeps,

You should try this place. When it comes to food, you  cannot do much better than Tokyo. There are more options here than  you can shake a chopstick at. And more michelin star restaurants  than anywhere else on earth. For me, it’s a tough decision. There are so many great choices here

But today, I will not be  using Michelin as my guide. I’m using the Japenese restaurant  and food guide called Tabelog. The ratings come from Japanese  customers, not inspectors. And since we’ve come so far, it only  makes sense to go straight to number one.

In the top spot is a place called  Nihonbashi Kakigara-cho Sugita. Or just Sugita for short. This is Takaaki Sugita. He’s the owner and Itamae, or head sushi chef. The inspiration came in high school when he got hooked on a TV drama about a guy who becomes an  apprentice at a sushi restaurant.

It pushed him to take a  part-time job as an apprentice, and there he spent the next 12 years! Working on his knife skills and learning  Edomai sushi from the inside out. It’s the traditional Tokyo style sushi  that dates back to the 19th century.

It features small servings of fresh fish  or seafood on top of small beds of rice. So after apprenticing for 12  years, something amazing happened. His boss threw him the keys  to one of his restaurants. It was Sugita’s to run. And he did just that for the next 10 years.

After a decade of running  his own spot, he was ready. At the age of 40, he took over the restaurant  owned by his wife’s family and made it his own. The name would come from his surname Sugita. To not confuse it with other Sugita restaurants, he added the name of the neighborhood

Nihonbashi Kakigaracho. It was an instant hit. In 2017 he got the first Michelin star, In 2022, the second one. But in the latest Michelin guide for Japan,  you cannot find this restaurant anywhere. The fine dining community is buzzing  about it all over the internet.

And it seems the reason is because  of how difficult it is to get a seat. Reservations are taken on a monthly basis and open up the first Monday of each month. And they do it the old-fashioned way by phone. Most of the seats are taken by regulars,

And if you know one of them, this is  the best way to get a reservation. This is how I got here. Kentaro “Henry” Nakahara. Henry is a chef and restaurant owner with a grilled meat restaurant and  a burger place here in Tokyo. He eats at Sugita every month.

If you don’t know a regular, then a well-tipped  concierge from a luxury hotel is your best bet. And the best way to catch the newest Alexander  the Guest episodes is to be a subscriber. If you haven’t done that yet, go for it. It will help us a lot.

Reservations at Sugita are so  low in supply and high in demand, it’s created it’s own black market. People have paid up to 2000 euros just  to get a seat at Sugita-san’s counter. But don’t get any sneaky ideas. You need to bring your ID to prove you’re you.

And if they catch you scalping your reservation, you will never get another one. All of this funny business with reservations was  likely a turnoff for the Michelin inspectors. And they simply dropped the  restaurant from the guide. Which is not uncommon here in Japan. Two other famous sushi places had a similar fate

When they kept reservations  away from the general public. Sushi Saito is one. The other is Sukiyabashi Jiro. This is where Obama famously went. You might remember it from the 2011  documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Let’s forget about Michelin and other  restaurants and get back to Sugita.

All you really need to know is  they won a boatload of awards and have been ranked number one  sushi restaurant six years running. If you manage to get yourself a reservation,  there are some rules you need to follow. They are listed on the website,  but let me paraphrase for you.

First one is no surprise. Dress up a bit. No shorts, flip-flops, jerseys,  or other casual clothes, and for god’s sake, take your hat off. And save your sprays. No strong fragrances are allowed. You gotta go with the flow. If you have a long list of  allergies OR food dislikes,

Your reservation might be refused. Because more than 15 minutes late means no sushi for you. Your reservation will be cancelled. Finally put your phone away. We had to ask permission very very nicely. From the outside, you would  not know this place was famous. In fact, you would likely walk right by it.

Sugita is well hidden on a quiet side street. There are no G-Wagons or Aston Martins  outside to give it away either. Only the chef’s humble Honda  scooter waits for his return. Entering through the curtains, it opens up into a cozy but welcoming space.

It has a minimalist design which is no  surprise for a traditional Japanese restaurant. An elegant counter made of  hinoki wood is ready for action. And in front, space for 9 lucky people, each with a front row seat. If you want a more private experience,  there is also a side room for four people.

That’s a total of 13 seats. Once inside, we steady ourselves  for the best sushi in the world. 5 to 8 bite size appetizers and 11 or  12 pieces of nigiri sushi are coming. All this for 340 euros. Before the show,

We see the staff working hard to make sure  everything is perfect and ready to go. Here we see a sous chef grating  wasabi root to go with tonight’s meal. Wasabi root is insanely  expensive for a good reason. It is near impossible to grow.

It needs shade, rich soil  that is moist but not wet, and steady temperatures between 9 and 16 degrees. It’s grows naturally in river valleys in  Japan, South Korea and parts of Russia. That means most of the  world’s wasabi is imitation. The green stuff in those little packs is

Horseradish, mustard, food coloring  and a tiny amount of wasabi dust. Fun fact about grating wasabi root. First of all, the top of the  board must be made of shark skin. And grating should be done  with an inward movement, because inward means balance. The meal begins with some snacks.

This is like the opening act and we really  see the chef show off his knife skills. And THAT is a knife. Here Sugita-san is preparing our first dish. Braised abalone. It’s a type of sea snail. It’s also known as sea ears. And that makes sense.

It’s buttery and salty and has the chewiness  of calamari but the texture more like scallop. It has nice earthy umami flavors. As you can see, everything is  done with beautiful precision. Every slice, every motion,  it’s mesmerizing to watch. And you can tell Sugita-san has done  this hundreds of thousands of times.

Up next is surf clam. This is found in northern Japan  and can live more than 30 years. Even the clams live a long healthy life here! You’ve probably seen this before. The Japanese traditional way  of fixing glass and pottery. They use lacquer to put it back together

And decorate the break with  gold,silver or platinum. They do this to highlight the  special event in its history. It’s called kintsugi. It’s not a quick fix. The process can take up to three months. It’s part of the Japanese philosophy  of accepting what’s not perfect.

It reminds us that we will  all be broken at some point. But not to give up. These events become scars in our lives. And we shouldn’t try to hide them. The chef’s is preparing his signature maki roll. Each piece was a party of  textures with crisp seaweed paper,

Soft rice, the delicate crunch of  fresh chives and ultra tender sardine. Together with the fresh wasabi and salty soy  they created a beautiful harmony of flavors I understand why it’s a signature dish. It was incomparable. Next we have sea urchin and salmon roe We also try monkfish liver with hinotori sake

Sugita has 30 different kinds of  sake here, from all over Japan. Without question only the best  quality ever makes it to my cup. Can you mix champagne and sake? Not in the same glass of course. I found the sake made my palette more sensitive.

So when I went back to champagne,  I saw a totally new side of it. Such a bonus! Coming shortly after is  grilled seabass with citrus. It’s so delicious that Henry is moved to tears. I reach out with a bit of support. Our final appetiser is  chawanmushi with herring roe.

This looks like soup but  it’s actually steamed egg. It’s umami-rich and the texture is luxurious. Appetisers done. Now it’s time for nigiri. balls of rice topped with raw fish. Our first one is Iwashi, or Japanese sardine. Sugita-san is so elegant. He has rhythm like he is dancing

And every move he makes  seems to be in slow motion. As you can see, we are eating  nigiri the traditional way with our hands. When it hits my plate I reach confidently… And I fumble it. Shit. I hope Sugita-san didn’t see! Although the presentation was ruined, the  nigiri itself was still absolutely perfect.

Warm tangy rice and the most tender, delicious  fish you ever tasted, with a hint of saltiness. This is a fascinating world, but  there are many things I don’t know. Like what exactly this is. Or this. And I can’t really describe  what is happening on my tongue.

So I silently respect the depth of this cuisine to which I can no longer see. What I do know is that each of  these is gorgeous in many ways. The delicate flavors, the elegant textures, the careful presentation will be  seared into my memory for life.

It’s as close to tradition  and perfection as you can get. The fact that this sushi has been made exactly  this way for over 200 years is really special. Every move, every cut has been  passed down for generations. Here I can connect with it through the food. On a personal level, this is important.

I was also lucky to share  the table with an expert. Henry not only translated but  filled in the knowledge gaps. Making it a history lesson  and food experience in one. I loved unlocking a new side of champagne  using the sake to loosen up my tastebuds.

It was great fun to experiment  with these two magical potions. In this traditional, quiet place,  I actually had a lot of fun. At times I felt like a fish out of water,  but still I was very comfortable here. Maybe because I knew I was in such good hands.

The result was a wonderful experience. And memories I will treasure for years.