Sushi Saito is the counter many sushi lovers name first, and one that almost no visitor can book. The way in, if there is one, runs through the people around it: the branch and the counters the Saito house runs or produces, and the cooks who trained under Takashi Saito and opened places of their own. This guide sets out who they are, where they work now, and which of their counters you can realistically get into.
Sushi Saito in Roppongi
Takashi Saito trained at Ginza Kyubey and then at Sushi Kanesaka, where he was given charge of the Akasaka counter in 2004. In 2007 he took over that counter under his own name as Sushi Saito, and in 2014 he moved it from Akasaka to Ark Hills in Roppongi. The house’s first counter abroad was Taka by Sushi Saito in Kuala Lumpur, opened in 2016 and since closed; Sushi Saito Hong Kong followed in 2018, and later Sushi Saito Bangkok. Several of the chefs in the tree below ran those counters before going independent.
It held three Michelin stars from the 2010 edition of the Tokyo guide, announced in late 2009. It left the guide with the 2020 edition because the public can no longer book it; the guide lists only restaurants the general public can reserve.
Why it is so hard to get in:
- Introduction only. Seats go to regulars and the guests they bring.
- No phone, online or hotel‑concierge bookings at the Roppongi house.
- Be wary of anyone promising a seat. A paid intermediary cannot stand in for a regular’s introduction.
That rules out every booking desk, including ours. The current position is on the Sushi Saito release page, and our booking guide explains what a realistic plan looks like.
The family tree
Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record. The first seven lines are counters the Saito house runs, produces or licenses, in Japan and abroad; one of them has closed. The rest belong to chefs who trained under Takashi Saito, beginning with the Seoul counter Saito opened for his apprentice Kim Joo‑young.
- Sushi Saito (Ark Hills, Roppongi) — Takashi Saito; opened in Akasaka in 2007, moved to Roppongi in 2014
- Sushi Saito Azabudai (Azabudai Hills) — a branch run directly by the Saito house; Junya Takimoto trained at Kitashinchi Saeki and Sushi Saito and ran the private room at Sushi Tsubomi for about a year and a half; opened spring 2024
- Sushi Saito Hanare NANZUKA (Nakameguro) — a Saito and LDH counter; Ryusuke Numao, six years at Kyubey, then Saito’s second chef; renamed from 3110NZ in 2025
- Sushi Tsubomi (Nakameguro) — produced by Takashi Saito and operated by LDH kitchen; opened with Makoto Maruyama, who joined Saito at 40, was sous chef at Taka by Sushi Saito in Malaysia and now heads Sushi Saito Bangkok; the current head chef is Keiya Kawaguchi
- Sushi Saito Hong Kong (Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong) — run directly by the Saito house; opened in 2018 by Ikuya Kobayashi and Kenichi Fujimoto
- Sushi Saito Bangkok (Four Seasons Private Residences, Bangkok) — run directly by the Saito house; head chef Makoto Maruyama, who opened Sushi Tsubomi
- Taka by Sushi Saito (St. Regis, Kuala Lumpur) — a licensed Saito counter and the house’s first abroad, opened in 2016 with Makoto Maruyama as sous chef; now closed
- Sushi Saito Juyon (Cheongdam‑dong, Seoul) — Kim Joo‑young, 13 years at Tokyo counters, about six of them at Sushi Saito; Takashi Saito opened the counter for him, and it carries the Saito name and logo with his permission; opened 10 October 2023
- Sushi Shunji (Moto‑Azabu) — Shunji Hashiba, Saito’s first apprentice and right hand; ran Sushi Shunji at the counter next to Saito from 2020 and moved to Moto‑Azabu in spring 2023
- Sushi Takahashi (Ginza 1-chome) — Jun Takahashi, trained at Sushi Saito; independent at 27, opened March 2014
- Sushi Kobayashi (Ebisu 2-chome, Hiroo) — Ikuya Kobayashi, about 15 years in the Saito group; led the opening of Sushi Saito Hong Kong in 2018 and was head chef at 3110NZ; opened his own counter on 10 October 2025
- Ryusei (Kami‑machi, Miyagi) — Seita Kasahara, trained at Shiro Takanawa, Sushi Matsui and Sushi Saito (about three and a half years at each by one account; ten years in Tokyo at Saito and related counters by another); opened April 2024
- Sushi Fujimoto (Central, Hong Kong) — Kenichi Fujimoto, about 10 years under Shinji Kanesaka and Takashi Saito; formerly head sushi chef at Sushi Saito Hong Kong
- Ebisu Endo (Ebisu) — Norihito Endo, trained at Sushi Mizutani and for a year at an anago specialist, then five years at Sushi Saito from the age of 27; opened February 2019
- Daikanyama Sushi Takeuchi (Daikanyama) — Jun Takeuchi, about ten years at Sushi Kanesaka in Ginza and Akasaka, then at Sushi Saito in its Akasaka years, then about five years at Sushi Sato; opened July 2017, first as Sushi Sato’s second counter
- Shion 69 Leonard Street (Tribeca, New York) — Shion Uino, about eight years at Sushi Saito, described as one of the few allowed to make nigiri at its counter; head chef at sushi AMANE in New York from its opening in July 2017, then at this counter from 2021. He left in December 2025, a fire on 27 December closed the restaurant, and it remains closed
Points that are often misreported:
- Sushi Saito’s three stars date from the 2010 edition, announced in late 2009.
- The house’s first counter abroad was Taka by Sushi Saito in Kuala Lumpur, opened in 2016 and since closed, not Sushi Saito Hong Kong, which followed in 2018.
- Sushi Tsubomi is a counter Takashi Saito produced, operated by LDH kitchen. It is not an apprentice’s own restaurant.
- Sushi Saito Azabudai is a branch of the house, not an apprentice’s counter, and it is a separate restaurant from the Roppongi house.
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; none of them is a way into the Roppongi house.
Ryusei
- The chef: Seita Kasahara, who trained at Shiro Takanawa, Sushi Matsui and Sushi Saito before opening in Kami‑machi, Miyagi, in April 2024.
- Price: lunch nigiri ¥11,000; omakase at lunch or dinner ¥19,800.
- How to book: by phone in Japanese, or by Instagram message. See the Ryusei release page.
- Through us: yes, by phone in Japanese. It sits outside our collection, so the fee is ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Tsubomi
- The counter: produced by Takashi Saito and operated by LDH kitchen in Nakameguro. It opened with Makoto Maruyama, formerly sous chef at Taka by Sushi Saito in Malaysia, who now heads Sushi Saito Bangkok; the current head chef is Keiya Kawaguchi.
- Price: a single course of about ¥20,000 plus tax.
- How to book: on Ikyu, where the 1st of each month opens dates three months ahead, or OMAKASE; the phone, in Japanese, opens the following month on the first business day. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. See the Sushi Tsubomi release page.
- Through us: yes; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Saito Hanare NANZUKA
- The chef: Ryusuke Numao, six years at Kyubey and then second chef at Sushi Saito. The counter, a Saito and LDH restaurant, took its present name in 2025.
- Price: omakase ¥30,000.
- How to book: by phone in Japanese, from the 1st of each month for dates two months ahead. Dinner only; closed Mondays. See the Sushi Saito Hanare NANZUKA release page.
- Through us: yes, by phone in Japanese; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Kobayashi
- The chef: Ikuya Kobayashi, about 15 years in the Saito group, who led the opening of Sushi Saito Hong Kong in 2018 and later ran the 3110NZ counter. Opened in Hiroo on 10 October 2025, the newest counter in the tree.
- Price: not yet in our records.
- How to book: by Instagram message only.
- Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it. This house takes bookings online only. We will try the routes open to us; if none works, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
Other counters in the family
The rest of the tree, including the counters that are as hard to book as Roppongi.
- Sushi Saito Azabudai — twelve seats; OMAKASE opens the whole month two months ahead at 00:00 Japan time on the 1st, and Tabelog also takes online bookings. Lunch ¥15,000 and dinner ¥30,000, plus tax. Seats go very fast.
- Sushi Shunji — ten seats on OMAKASE, one booking per account per quarter, with dates released in blocks. The house does not accept bookings made on someone else’s behalf. 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 Takahashi — eight seats in Ginza; books on its official online page or by phone in Japanese, and dates shown as full online can still open by phone.
- Ebisu Endo — Norihito Endo’s counter in Ebisu, opened in February 2019.
- Daikanyama Sushi Takeuchi — Jun Takeuchi’s counter in Daikanyama, opened in July 2017.
- Counters outside Japan — Sushi Saito Hong Kong, Sushi Saito Bangkok, Sushi Saito Juyon in Seoul, and Kenichi Fujimoto’s Sushi Fujimoto in Central, Hong Kong. We do not request counters outside Japan.
- Closed — Taka by Sushi Saito in Kuala Lumpur, and Shion 69 Leonard Street in New York, closed since a fire in December 2025.
Where we fit
We do not request the Roppongi house, and nobody can legitimately resell a seat there. 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.
