Sushisho is the counter that gave a style its name, and one where a first visit depends on getting through a single phone line on a single day. Its real reach is in the people it trained: cooks who stayed five, ten, eighteen years and then opened places of their own, and the cooks who trained under them. This guide lays out who they are, where they work now, and which of their counters you can realistically get into.
Sushisho in Yotsuya
Keiji Nakazawa opened his first counter, Sushisho Sawa, in Nibancho in 1989, and opened Sushisho in Yotsuya in 1993. The house is known for serving small cooked and cured dishes in turn with nigiri, rather than all the small plates first and the rice after, and for a long line of apprentices who have opened counters of their own. In June 2016 Nakazawa handed the Yotsuya counter to Keita Katsumata, who had joined Sushisho in 2005, and later that year he opened in Hawaii. He left Hawaii in 2022. His counter in Tokyo today is Terakoya Sushisho at Azabudai Hills, and he now runs Sushi Sho in New York, opened in March 2024.
Why it is so hard to get in:
- Phone only for first‑timers, in Japanese. Regulars rebook at the counter.
- One release day a month. On the first business day, from around noon Japan time, the line opens dinner for the whole following month, and it stays busy for hours. Lunch is taken 14 days ahead.
- Fourteen seats, with dinner at 18:00 and 21:00.
- OMAKASE lists only occasional cancellation seats.
The current rules are on the Sushisho release page.
The family tree
Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record.
- Sushisho (Yotsuya) — Keiji Nakazawa; Sushisho Sawa opened 1989, Sushisho in Yotsuya 1993
- Sushisho (Yotsuya, from June 2016) — Keita Katsumata, born 1985; two and a half years at Arashiyama Kitcho, then joined Sushisho in 2005 and trained under Nakazawa; has run the Yotsuya counter since June 2016
- Terakoya Sushisho (Azabudai Hills) — Tatsushige Somaki, joined Yotsuya at 19 and worked 16 years under Nakazawa; runs this counter at Nakazawa’s request. It is Nakazawa’s own restaurant, not an independent one
- Sushi Sho (New York) — Keiji Nakazawa’s own counter; opened March 2024
- Sushi Sho (Waikiki, Honolulu) — opened by Nakazawa in 2016; Taiji Zenda, who trained in Tokyo from 16 and went to Hawaii with Nakazawa, has led it since Nakazawa left in 2022
- Sushisho Masa (Nishi‑Azabu) — Masakatsu Oka, trained under Nakazawa at Sushisho Sawa and in Yotsuya, with about two years and seven months at Aoyama Umi; independent 2004
- Sushi Akira (Ebisu 2-chome, Hiroo) — Kazunori Maeiwa, second chef at Sushisho Masa, then Shinsen Kozasa and Sazenka; opened 4 November 2019
- Sushi Iwase (Nishi‑Shinjuku) — Kenji Iwase, trained at Sushisho Masa; opened in Shinjuku in 2012 and moved near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in 2017
- Sushisho Saito (Akasaka‑mitsuke) — Toshio Saito, a founding member of Sushisho Sawa with Nakazawa; about six years in New York and about four in Yotsuya; independent 2006
- Ichibancho Teruya (Ichibancho, Kojimachi) — Teruya Iida, invited by Toshio Saito in New York and trained at Sushisho Saito from 2006; independent 2012
- Fudomae Sushi Iwasawa (Fudomae, Nishi‑Gotanda) — Motoyuki Iwasawa, second chef at Sushisho Saito; independent March 2016
- Sushi Nara (Zushi, Kanagawa) — Akinori Koike, about ten years in all at Sushisho Saito, Sushisho Masa, Sushi Iwase and Fudomae Sushi Iwasawa; opened 2019
- Takumi Tatsuhiro (Shinjuku‑gyoemmae) — about 5 years in Yotsuya; independent near Shinjuku Station in 2009, moved in 2012
- Takumi Shingo (Minami‑Aoyama) — Shingo Takahashi, joined Yotsuya at 16 and stayed 18 years, long as second chef; independent 2013
- Sushi Murase (Nishi‑Azabu) — Nobuyuki Murase, trained at Sushisho in Yotsuya (length not recorded)
- Sushi Arai (Ginza) — Yuichi Arai, 8 years at Ginza Kyubey, then 6 years in Yotsuya as second chef; independent October 2015
- Sushi Meino (Azabu‑Juban) — Mei Kogo, under a year in Yotsuya, then Nishi‑Azabu Taku, then Sushi Arai, on the opening staff in 2015 and second chef at the basement private counter from around 2020–21; the main teacher is Yuichi Arai
- Sushi Hanakuruma (Meieki, Nagoya) — produced and supervised by Sushi Arai; opened under Hiroyoshi Yokota, who trained at Sushi Arai (diners report a new head chef from mid-2026, which we have not confirmed)
- Takumi Sushi Owana (Ebisu) — Kenji Koana, about 10 years in Yotsuya; independent in August 2017, at 36
Points that are often misreported:
- Sushi Akira, Sushi Iwase, Ichibancho Teruya and Fudomae Sushi Iwasawa are second‑generation counters. Their chefs trained at Sushisho Masa or Sushisho Saito, not at the Yotsuya counter.
- The chef of Sushi Meino is Mei Kogo, who spent under a year at Sushisho; the main training was at Sushi Arai.
- Terakoya Sushisho is Keiji Nakazawa’s own counter, run by Tatsushige Somaki, not an apprentice’s independent restaurant.
- Keiji Nakazawa no longer runs the Yotsuya counter. Keita Katsumata has run it since June 2016; Nakazawa’s own counters are Terakoya Sushisho in Tokyo and Sushi Sho in New York.
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 Yotsuya counter.
Takumi Tatsuhiro
- The chef: about 5 years at Sushisho in Yotsuya. Independent in 2009 near Shinjuku Station; moved in 2012. Ten counter seats and a private room. One MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026).
- Price: dinner omakase about ¥29,700; lunch in the ¥10,000–15,000 range; no service charge.
- How to book: online on Ikyu, Tabelog or Retty, first come, first served, with no release day; or by phone in Japanese. Closed Sundays. See Takumi Tatsuhiro.
- 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 Murase
- The chef: Nobuyuki Murase, who trained at Sushisho in Yotsuya. Twenty seats: a 14-seat counter and a private room for eight.
- Price: omakase ¥33,000 including tax, plus 10% service.
- How to book: TableCheck in English or Tabelog for two to four guests; five or more by phone in Japanese. No release day; a week or two ahead usually works. Closed Mondays. See Sushi Murase.
- Through us: yes; in our collection, ¥6,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Sushi Hanakuruma
- The counter: produced and supervised by Yuichi Arai of Sushi Arai, who was second chef at Sushisho for six years. It opened in November 2022 under Hiroyoshi Yokota, who trained at Sushi Arai, 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 shows live seats, and the house also takes bookings by phone in Japanese. Seatings at 12:00, 18:00 and 20:30; closed Wednesdays. See Sushi Hanakuruma.
- Through us: yes; in our collection, ¥6,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Terakoya Sushisho
- The chef: Tatsushige Somaki, who joined Sushisho in Yotsuya at 19 and worked under Keiji Nakazawa for 16 years. Nakazawa chose him to run this counter at Azabudai Hills, which is Nakazawa’s own restaurant.
- Price: not yet in our records; we confirm the current figure when we reply to a request.
- How to book: by phone in Japanese; reservations only.
- 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.
Sushisho Saito
- The chef: Toshio Saito, a founding member of Sushisho Sawa with Nakazawa, with about six years in New York and about four in Yotsuya. Independent in 2006, in Akasaka‑mitsuke.
- Price: not yet in our records; we confirm the current figure when we reply to a request.
- How to book: TableCheck (a card is required to hold the seat) or Ikyu when seats appear, for the main counter and its annex; parties of seven or more by phone. There is no fixed public release schedule. See the Sushisho Saito release page.
- Through us: yes; ¥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 as hard to book as Yotsuya.
- Takumi Shingo — eight seats; the house declines phone bookings and sells seats through an auction‑style booking site when it posts dates, with occasional seats on Ikyu and Tabelog.
- Sushi Arai — books on OMAKASE in batches, one booking per account per month, and the named guest must attend in person. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends, at ¥12,000 per seat; we do not book from your account, 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, one booking per account per quarter; the next opening was undecided in September 2026.
- Sushi Akira — eight seats on OMAKASE only, and released seats go within moments. We do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask, at ¥12,000 per seat; if no seat can be secured, nothing is charged.
- Sushisho Masa — seven seats in Nishi‑Azabu; by phone in Japanese or on Tabelog.
- Sushi Iwase, Ichibancho Teruya, Fudomae Sushi Iwasawa and Sushi Nara — the second generation from Sushisho Masa and Sushisho Saito; Sushi Nara opened in Zushi, Kanagawa, in 2019.
- Takumi Sushi Owana — Kenji Koana’s counter in Ebisu, opened in 2017.
- Sushi Sho in New York and Sushi Sho in Waikiki — Nakazawa’s own counter in New York, and the Honolulu counter now led by Taiji Zenda. We do not request counters outside Japan.
Where we fit
The release‑day line at Sushisho itself is busy for hours and first‑timers rarely get through, so we do not present it as a request we expect to win. 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. Takumi Tatsuhiro, Sushi Murase and Sushi Hanakuruma are in our collection, requested at ¥6,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
SHOKU NOREN research, checked October 2026.
