Most of the houses in this series are famous for being closed to visitors. Ginza Kyubey is the exception: a sushi house with ninety years behind it that still answers the phone and takes bookings online. Its reach shows in the people it trained. Cooks who stayed eight, ten, twelve years went on to open counters of their own, from Ginza to Kanazawa, Nagoya, Himi and Sapporo, and some of those counters are now far harder to book than Kyubey itself. This guide lays out who they are and which of their counters you can realistically get into.
Ginza Kyubey
Hisaji Imada opened Kyubey in Ginza in 1935. It has grown into a large house: depending on the day’s bookings, guests are seated either in the main building or in its annex, and its cooks have long gone on to open restaurants of their own. Several of the best‑known sushi chefs in Tokyo started here.
Unlike most of the houses in this series, it is not hard to book:
- By phone in Japanese, from 10:00 (03‑3571‑6523). Lunch runs 11:30–14:00 and dinner 17:00–22:00.
- Online on Ikyu, or through the official English booking partner listed on Kyubey’s own site, which also works in Chinese and Korean.
- No release day. Normal lead time works; book earlier if you want the counter at dinner.
- Lunch: only the 11:30 seating takes reservations; later lunch seats are first come, first served.
- Closed Sundays and Mondays, plus Obon and New Year; closures for each month are posted on the house’s site.
The current details are on the Ginza Kyubey release page, and our booking guide covers prices and the counter itself. The house’s own English booking partner is the direct route; we can also request it for you (¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it).
The family tree
Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record.
- Ginza Kyubey (Ginza) — founded 1935 by Hisaji Imada
- Sushi Kanesaka (Ginza) — Shinji Kanesaka, about 10 years at Kyubey; independent December 2000
- Sushi Saito (Roppongi) — Takashi Saito, Kyubey from 1991, then Sushi Kanesaka from 2000; given Kanesaka’s Akasaka counter in 2004 and renamed it Sushi Saito in 2007
- Sushi Arai (Ginza) — Yuichi Arai, 8 years at Kyubey, then 6 years at Sushisho in Yotsuya as second chef; independent October 2015
- Sushi Meino (Azabu‑Juban) — Mei Kogo, less than a year at Sushisho in Yotsuya, then Nishi‑Azabu Taku, then Sushi Arai from its opening in 2015, later second chef at its private counter; independent November 2023
- Sushi Takeru (Ginza) — Takeru Watanabe, Kyubey, then second chef at Sushi Arai, then in charge of the private counters at Sugaya and Sushi Ryujiro; opened April 2022
- Sushi Yoneyama (Nishi‑Shinbashi) — more than ten years at a neighborhood sushi shop, then three and a half years at Sushi Arai and Sugaya; opened 4 December 2022
- Sushi Hanakuruma (Meieki, Nagoya) — a counter supervised by Yuichi Arai, whose opening chef trained at Sushi Arai; opened November 2022
- Sushi Mitsukawa (Higashiyama, Kanazawa; also Roppongi Hills) — Koji Mitsukawa, Kyubey, then Kikaku in Germany; opened in Katamachi, Kanazawa in 2005, moved to the Higashi Chaya district in 2010, and added a Roppongi Hills counter in November 2018
- Sushi Ikuta (Katamachi, Kanazawa) — Takashi Ikuta, Kame‑zushi in Kanazawa, then the second chef to lead Sushi Rekireki, 13 years in all with Sushi Mitsukawa; independent 10 September 2020
- Sushi Rekireki (Omicho Market and Kanazawa Station) — Sushi Mitsukawa’s own sister shops, opened April and August 2014, not an apprentice’s restaurant; we have not confirmed that both are still open
- Nishi‑Azabu Taku (Nishi‑Azabu) — Takuya Sato, 7 years at Zouroku Sushi in Roppongi, then Soan, then the Kyubey main house; opened 2005 with the sommelier Mayumi Nagata. His main training was at Zouroku Sushi.
- Kanda‑Nishikicho Sushi Takaharu (Kanda‑Nishikicho) — Takaharu Kimeda, joined Kyubey straight from school and stayed 11 years (2010–2021), then Halekulani Okinawa; opened July 2024
- Sushi Ryusuke (Ginza) — Ryusuke Yamane, 8 years at Kyubey, then manager of Sushi Ichi in Ginza; opened July 2015
- Sushidokoro Suzu (Akasaka) — Yoichiro Fujii, Asahi‑zushi in Shimotakaido, then Kyubey; independent in Akasaka
- Sushi Hisaichi (Asakusa) — a Kyubey alumnus; opened October 2005
- Sushi Kagura (Shinbashi) — 12 years at Kyubey, then set up a members‑only sushi counter in Nakameguro; opened 18 October 2021
- Naruki (Himi, Toyama) — Naruki Takimoto, who first met sushi at a Japanese restaurant in London, then Kyubey, then Sushi Namba in Hibiya; opened in his home town of Himi in 2022
- Sushi Shota (Odori, Sapporo) — Shota Oda, 5 years at Kyubey, then 3 years at Sushi Kanesaka, then 5 years as head chef of Sushi Tokami; independent December 2022
- Sushi Enishi (Ginza) — Naoto Endo, recorded as a Kyubey offshoot; opened 2015; we have not confirmed that it is still open
- Sushi Kanesaka (Ginza) — Shinji Kanesaka, about 10 years at Kyubey; independent December 2000
- Sushi Tokami (Ginza) — opened 2013; not a Kyubey offshoot, listed here because Kyubey alumni worked there (Sushi Shota’s chef ran it for five years)
- Kizaki (Akasaka) — Hitoshi Kizaki, Kyubey, then Sushi Tokami; independent May 2018
- Hakkoku (Ginza) — Hiroyuki Sato, trained at Akizuki in Shibuya, not at Kyubey; put in charge of Sushi Tokami in 2013; independent February 2018
- Sushi Ugatsu (Shimouma) — Tsuyoshi Sasaki, Sushi Tokami, then Hakkoku, where he handled buying and preparation; independent 1 September 2020
- Higashi‑Azabu Saiko (Higashi‑Azabu) — second chef at Hakkoku; independent 2 March 2022
Two points that are easy to get wrong. Hakkoku, Sushi Ugatsu and Higashi‑Azabu Saiko are not Kyubey apprentices: they belong to the Sushi Tokami and Hakkoku line, which touches Kyubey only through cooks who worked in both. And Nishi‑Azabu Taku’s chef did most of his training at Zouroku Sushi; Kyubey was one stop among several.
Counters that are easier to book
These are the counters in the tree where a seat realistically comes up. Each is its own restaurant with its own chef.
Sushi Hanakuruma
- The chef: a counter supervised by Yuichi Arai, who spent 8 years at Kyubey before Sushisho; its opening chef trained at Sushi Arai. Opened November 2022, two minutes from Nagoya Station.
- Price: lunch nigiri course ¥22,000, dinner omakase from ¥34,100, tax included, no service charge.
- How to book: OMAKASE opens the following month on the 1st at 15:00 Japan time; Ikyu and other booking sites show live seats, and the house takes phone bookings in Japanese. Three fixed seatings at 12:00, 18:00 and 20:30; closed Wednesdays. See Sushi Hanakuruma.
- Through us: yes. It is in our collection, so the fee is ¥6,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Mitsukawa
- The chef: Koji Mitsukawa, Kyubey, then Kikaku in Germany. Opened in Kanazawa in 2005 and moved to the Higashi Chaya district in 2010; the Kanazawa house is the one in our collection.
- Price: lunch nigiri ¥8,800, lunch omakase ¥16,500, dinner omakase ¥19,800, tax included.
- How to book: by phone in Japanese or the house’s web form, from one month before your date until three business days before. Eight counter seats; children from 11. Closed Wednesdays and on dates in the house calendar. See Sushi Mitsukawa.
- Through us: yes, at ¥6,000 per seat as a collection house, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Ryusuke
- The chef: Ryusuke Yamane, 8 years at Kyubey, then manager of Sushi Ichi in Ginza. Opened July 2015.
- Price: not yet in our records. Cancellation costs 50% from five days before and 100% from the day before.
- How to book: on the house’s own booking page, Ikyu and other booking sites, or by phone in Japanese. Seats appear roughly two months ahead with no fixed release day; weekday seats for one are the easiest. Seven seats; lunch at 12:00 by reservation, dinner from 17:30; closed Sundays and holidays. See the Sushi Ryusuke release page.
- Through us: yes. It sits outside our collection, so the fee is ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushidokoro Suzu
- The chef: Yoichiro Fujii, Asahi‑zushi in Shimotakaido, then Kyubey, before going independent in Akasaka.
- Price: courses ¥11,000–33,000.
- How to book: online or by phone in Japanese; the house does not publish how far ahead dates open. Twelve counter seats, sunken so you sit with your shoes off. Lunch 12:00–14:30, dinner 17:00–22:00 (last entry); closed Sundays and over New Year. See the Sushidokoro Suzu release page.
- Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Naruki
- The chef: Naruki Takimoto, Kyubey, then Sushi Namba in Hibiya. Opened in 2022 in his home town of Himi, on the Toyama coast.
- Price: omakase from ¥20,000 (from ¥15,000 on request). Cancellation costs 50% the day before, 80% on the day and 100% without notice.
- How to book: phone only, in Japanese, by the day before. Eight counter seats and two private rooms; 18:00–22:00; irregular closures, confirmed when you book. See the Naruki release page.
- Through us: yes, by phone in Japanese; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Other counters in the family
The rest of the tree, including the counters that are much harder to book than Kyubey.
- Sushi Kanesaka — Shinji Kanesaka’s eight‑seat Ginza counter takes bookings by phone, on its own site and on Ikyu; guests must be 30 or older. Its own family has a separate guide: the Sushi Kanesaka family tree.
- Sushi Saito — introduction only at the Roppongi house. Its family is in our Sushi Saito guide.
- Sushi Arai — books on OMAKASE in batches, one booking a month per account, and the named guest must attend. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends, at ¥12,000 per seat: we do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask, and if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
- Kizaki — eight seats near Akasaka‑mitsuke; the diner must make the booking personally. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends, at ¥12,000 per seat; if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
- Sushi Shota — eight seats near Odori in Sapporo, on OMAKASE only; bookings made for someone else are cancelled. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends, at ¥12,000 per seat: we do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask, and if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
- Sushi Meino — six seats on OMAKASE only; in September 2026 the page listed the next opening as undecided.
- Hakkoku — on the 1st of each month, dates two months ahead open on Ikyu; OMAKASE also takes bookings up to two months out.
- Nishi‑Azabu Taku — OMAKASE opens the month two months ahead on the 1st at 14:00 Japan time, and the house’s booking page and phone also take bookings. It can be requested through us at ¥12,000 per seat.
- Sushi Takeru — eight seats in Ginza 7-chome, dinner about ¥50,000; OMAKASE opens dates in blocks, with Ikyu and the phone as well. It can be requested through us at ¥12,000 per seat.
- Sushi Ikuta — eight seats in Katamachi, Kanazawa; a web form that takes payment at booking, Ikyu, or the phone. It can be requested through us at ¥12,000 per seat.
- Kanda‑Nishikicho Sushi Takaharu — eight seats, courses ¥12,000–20,000 before tax, guests 13 and over; closed Wednesdays.
- Sushi Hisaichi — a counter and private rooms near Senso‑ji, courses ¥7,700–22,000; closed Mondays.
- Sushi Kagura — nine seats in Shinbashi, omakase ¥22,000; closed Sundays and holidays.
- Sushi Yoneyama, Sushi Ugatsu and Higashi‑Azabu Saiko — the second generation from Sushi Arai and Hakkoku.
- Sushi Enishi and Sushi Rekireki — on record in the family, but we have not confirmed that they are still open.
Where we fit
The house’s own English booking partner is the direct route; we can also request it for you (¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it). Where a counter in this tree can be requested, we have said so above: send the restaurant and your dates on the request form, and we will tell you plainly what is achievable. If you would rather leave the family tree behind, the counters in our collection are requested at ¥6,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
SHOKU NOREN research, checked October 2026.
