Umi Sushi Family Tree: The Chefs Trained in Aoyama (2026)

Umi is a small counter in Aoyama whose name travels further than its nine seats would suggest. The cooks who worked there under Mitsuyasu Nagano went on to open some of the most sought‑after counters in Tokyo and Fukuoka, and after his death in 2015 the counter itself passed through several head chefs. This guide lays out who trained there, where they cook now, and which of their counters you can realistically get into.

Umi in Aoyama

Umi was founded by a chef named Otaki. Mitsuyasu Nagano took over as its second‑generation chef, and it was under him that the counter trained the cooks in this guide. He died suddenly in 2015. Ryujiro Nakamura, then 28, took over the counter and ran it for about four years; Koichi Taira followed as the fourth head chef and left in October 2021. Both now run counters of their own, described below. Umi continues in Aoyama, near Gaienmae station, and a second Umi counter opened in Ginza in 2024.

The Aoyama counter is not closed to visitors, but it is small and its book opens on a fixed rhythm:

• Nine counter seats, with two dinner seatings at 17:00 and 20:00, and lunch at 12:00 on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
• Each date opens two months ahead to the day, or on the next business day if that day falls on a closing day.
• Online on Ikyu, which the house’s own site links to, on another booking site, or by phone in Japanese (03‑3401‑3368). Try online before you start redialing.
• Closed Wednesdays and holidays.
• Cancellations are accepted only by phone during business hours.

Umi takes bookings directly, by phone and online; we can also request it for you (¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it). The current details are on the Umi release page.

The family tree

Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record.

• Umi (Aoyama) — founded by chef Otaki; Mitsuyasu Nagano was its second‑generation chef until his death in 2015, followed at the counter by Ryujiro Nakamura and then Koichi Taira
  • Sushi Sakai (Nishi‑Nakasu, Fukuoka) — chef Sakai, 3 years at Takadama‑zushi in Fukuoka, then about 7 years at Umi (seven and a half by another account); independent in 2013 in Akasaka, Fukuoka, moved to Nishi‑Nakasu in 2017
    • Gahoujin (Nishi‑Nakasu, Fukuoka) — a sister counter of Sushi Sakai in the same building, opened August 2020; cooks trained at Sushi Sakai make the sushi
    • Zaisho (Nishi‑Nakasu, Fukuoka) — Sushi Sakai’s third counter, opened July 2024; young cooks trained at Sushi Sakai make the sushi
    • Nishimura (Sumiyoshi, Hakata) — Yoichiro Nishimura, 2 years at Nadaman in Osaka and 3 in Kita‑Shinchi, then five to six years at Sushi Sakai by the accounts we have, and head of Gahoujin until March 2023; independent 13 January 2024
  • Higashiazabu Amamoto (Higashi‑Azabu) — Masamichi Amamoto, Totoya Uoshin and other kitchens, then Nagano’s second chef at Umi (about 7 years by one account, 9 by another), then Shinohara in Shiga and Gion Sasaki; independent June 2016
    • Kagurazaka Hatou (Kagurazaka) — Daichi Kumakiri, years in the Kagurazaka Ishikawa group, then 1 year at Higashiazabu Amamoto; opened February 2020
  • Sushi Ryujiro (Minami‑Aoyama) — Ryujiro Nakamura, Aoi‑zushi in Kanazawa, then Umi; took over the Umi counter at 28 after Nagano’s death and ran it for about 4 years, then helped at Sushi Arai; opened 4 November 2019
  • Meizan Kimiya (Meizan‑cho, Kagoshima) — chef Kimiya, the third son of Isshin‑zushi Koyo in Miyazaki; trained at Umi, returned to the family house, then opened in Kagoshima with his older brother in 2015
  • Nakanoya (Hara, Nagano) — Yosuke Nakayama, the second generation of his family’s sushi house; one account calls him Nagano’s first apprentice, while other sources say only that he trained at a well‑known Tokyo restaurant
  • Sushi Taira (Moto‑Azabu) — Koichi Taira, Mizuki at the Ritz‑Carlton Kyoto, then Umi’s fourth head chef until October 2021; opened 14 March 2022

Two points that are easy to get wrong. Koichi Taira led the Umi counter as its fourth head chef, but he was not one of Nagano’s apprentices, and he left Umi in October 2021; he is not its current chef. And Gahoujin and Zaisho are Sushi Sakai’s own sister counters, not restaurants opened by former cooks, while Nishimura is an independent restaurant.

Counters that are easier to book

These are the counters in the tree where a seat realistically comes up. Each has its own chef and its own menu.

Sushi Taira

• The chef: Koichi Taira, from Mizuki at the Ritz‑Carlton Kyoto, who later stood at the Umi counter as its fourth head chef until October 2021. Opened in Moto‑Azabu in March 2022.
• Price: omakase about ¥42,000 plus 15% service.
• How to book: mainly on OMAKASE, one booking per account a month, and also on Ikyu and another booking site; the phone line is in Japanese, and the house points bookings online. The release day is not published. Nine counter seats in an unsigned apartment building; the exact address is emailed after booking. Arriving 15 minutes or more late, or changing the number of guests, counts as a cancellation. Irregular closures. See the Sushi Taira release page.
• Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it. We do not book from your account; our desk phones the house and asks.

Zaisho

• The chefs: Ryoya Hara and Ippei Tawara, young cooks trained at Sushi Sakai, with a sommelière. Sushi Sakai’s third counter, opened in July 2024 in the same Nishi‑Nakasu building.
• Price: omakase from ¥22,000, tax included. Cancellation costs 100% from six days before.
• How to book: online, through the booking page linked from Sushi Sakai’s own site, with a separate page for each chef; other booking sites also carry seats. How far ahead dates open is not confirmed. The phone is for changes and private hire only. Twelve to thirteen counter seats; two‑hour seatings that start together, Tuesday to Saturday, with lunch at 13:30 on Wednesdays to Saturdays. Closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. Smart casual; children 10 and up. See the Zaisho release page.
• Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.

Gahoujin

• The chefs: cooks trained at Sushi Sakai. A sister counter of Sushi Sakai in the same building, opened in August 2020; it is not an independent restaurant.
• Price: omakase ¥33,000. Cancellation costs 100% from six days before, so book only once your dates are firm.
• How to book: online on several booking sites, including Ikyu, or by phone in Japanese, 11:00–⁠16:00 on business days, up to about three months ahead; no same‑day bookings. Three seatings a night, each starting together. Parties of four or more must phone. See the Gahoujin release page.
• Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.

Meizan Kimiya

• The chef: chef Kimiya, the third son of Isshin‑zushi Koyo in Miyazaki, who trained at Umi and returned to the family house before opening in Kagoshima with his older brother in 2015. He makes the sushi; his brother runs the Japanese kitchen and owns the restaurant.
• Price: not yet in our records.
• How to book: by phone in Japanese (099‑295‑0922) or on Ikyu. No fixed release day; weekend dinners fill a few weeks out. A counter of eight or ten seats (listings differ); lunch is a single 12:30 seating and dinner starts at 19:00. See the Meizan Kimiya release page.
• Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.

Nakanoya

• The chef: Yosuke Nakayama, who took over his family’s sushi house on the Yatsugatake plateau. One account calls him Nagano’s first apprentice; other sources say only that he trained at a well‑known restaurant in Tokyo.
• Price: about ¥10,000–⁠15,000. Cash only.
• How to book: by phone in Japanese (0266‑79‑5028). The release day is not published; lunch must be booked by the day before, and one diner booked the counter about two months ahead. Lunch 11:00–⁠14:00 by arrangement and dinner 17:00–⁠22:00, Wednesday to Sunday; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. A counter and tatami rooms, with parking in front; it is best reached by car. See the Nakanoya 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 as hard to book as Umi or harder.

• Sushi Sakai — twelve seats in Nishi‑Nakasu. Online through the booking page on the house’s own site, or by phone in Japanese 10:00–⁠18:00 (092‑726‑6289); OMAKASE is switched off. Only a handful of dates are released at a time, up to about three months out; we can request it at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table, but we cannot promise a seat. Up to four two‑hour seatings a day; cancellation is free until seven days before, then 100%. For the rest of the city, see how to book restaurants in Fukuoka.
• Higashiazabu Amamoto — eight seats, OMAKASE only, with no phone, email or walk‑in requests. Four times a year, at 12:00 Japan time on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October, the quarter three to six months ahead opens and sells out in minutes. The booker must attend and bookings cannot be transferred. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends; if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
• Sushi Ryujiro — One MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026). OMAKASE opens the whole following month on the 1st at 14:00 Japan time, Ikyu lists occasional seats, and phone bookings are suspended. Three seatings a day, at 12:00, 18:00 and 20:30; closed Sundays and holidays. We do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask; if no seat can be secured, nothing is charged.
• Nishimura — eight seats near Canal City in Hakata; omakase ¥29,700, tax included, with no service charge; cancellation costs 100% from seven days before; no children; closed Sundays. Online on several booking sites, including Ikyu, or by phone in Japanese, Monday to Saturday 9:00–⁠16:00. The house refuses bookings made by anyone other than the diner, so we request it in the name of the guest who attends; if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
• Kagurazaka Hatou — eight seats; on the 1st of each month Ikyu opens the whole following month, and it goes at once, with occasional seats on OMAKASE. Its chef’s main training was in the Ishikawa group, covered in our Kagurazaka Ishikawa guide.
• Umi Ginza — the second Umi counter, opened in 2024. It is not on our release calendar.

Where we fit

Umi itself can be requested at ¥12,000 per seat, and Higashiazabu Amamoto and Nishimura accept bookings only in the diner’s own name, so we request those in the name of the guest who attends. 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.