Sushi Yoshitake is one of the Ginza counters visitors ask about most, and one of the strictest: the house seats only the person whose name is on the booking. Its influence travels through the chefs who worked there, one of whom ran the Ginza counter in the master’s absence and another who took the training home to Shikoku. This guide lays out who they are, where they work now, and which of their counters you can realistically get into.
Sushi Yoshitake in Ginza
Masahiro Yoshitake trained in Ginza and worked in New York before opening a counter of his own in Roppongi in 2004. He moved it to Ginza in 2009, and in 2012 opened Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong. Running two counters in two cities shaped the people around him: while Yoshitake was in Hong Kong, one of his cooks was trusted with the Ginza counter. Sushi Yoshitake is not listed in the MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026.
Why it is so hard to get in:
- The person who books must come. ID is checked at the door, a proxy guest is treated as a no‑show, and arriving 15 minutes late also counts as a no‑show.
- OMAKASE releases dates in batches announced on the platform, with one booking per account per month. The phone, in Japanese, is the only other route.
- Thirteen seats, omakase from ¥56,000. Cancellation costs 10% from seven days before, 50% from three days and 100% from the day before. Closed Sundays, holidays and irregular days.
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. You can also book it yourself in your own name; the current rules are on the Sushi Yoshitake release page.
The family tree
Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record.
- Sushi Yoshitake (Ginza) — Masahiro Yoshitake; his own counter in Roppongi from 2004, in Ginza since 2009
- Sushi Shikon (Hong Kong) — Yoshitake’s own Hong Kong counter, opened 2012; its chef, Kakinuma, worked under Yoshitake for more than ten years by one account
- Sushi Oya (Kagurazaka) — Yoji Oya, 9 years at Sushi Yoshitake; independent 2023
- Sushi Miyakawa (Maruyama, Sapporo) — Masaaki Miyakawa, about 2 years at Sushi Yoshitake after turning 40; ran the Ginza counter while Yoshitake was in Hong Kong and also served as head chef at Sushi Shikon; opened 2014
- Sushi Shin by Miyakawa (Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, Nihonbashi‑Muromachi) — a hotel counter overseen by Miyakawa, with Tetsuya Uno as head chef; opened April 2019
- Kurumasushi (Matsuyama, Ehime) — Koji Takahira, second generation; 2 years at Ginza Sushi Aoki, then 5 years at Sushi Yoshitake, before taking over the counter his father opened in 1976 (moved in 2021)
- Sushi Kinoshita (Nishi‑Azabu) — a counter Yoshitake helped create for its owner, Kinoshita; not an apprentice’s own restaurant
- Sushi Tada (Tsukiji) — Junichi Sato, head chef at Sushi Kinoshita, with no training at Sushi Yoshitake itself; independent 7 March 2021
Two points that are often blurred: Masaaki Miyakawa is a direct apprentice, and one trusted with the Ginza counter itself, even though he spent only about two years there. And Sushi Tada belongs to the family only through Sushi Kinoshita; its chef did not train at Sushi Yoshitake.
Counters that are easier to book
These are the counters in the tree where a seat realistically comes up and where our desk can help. Each is its own restaurant with its own chef; none of them is a way into the Ginza house.
Kurumasushi
- The chef: Koji Takahira, the second generation, who trained two years at Ginza Sushi Aoki and then five years at Sushi Yoshitake before coming home to the counter his father opened in Matsuyama in 1976. The shop moved to its current site in 2021.
- Price: omakase ¥27,500, tax included; eight counter seats in two seatings, 17:00 and 19:30.
- How to book: OMAKASE opens the whole month two months ahead on the 1st at 14:00 Japan time, one booking per month; the phone (Japanese) and Pocket Concierge also take bookings. Closed Wednesdays and irregular days. Cancellation costs 50% from seven days before and 100% from three. See the Kurumasushi page.
- 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 Oya
- The chef: Yoji Oya, nine years at Sushi Yoshitake. He opened in Kagurazaka in 2023.
- Price: about ¥40,000 per person in our records; the house charges 10% service. Eight counter seats and a six‑seat private room.
- How to book: OMAKASE, linked from the restaurant’s own site, or by phone in Japanese. The release schedule appears only on OMAKASE and we have not been able to confirm it. Two seatings, 18:00 and 20:30, Monday to Saturday; closed Sundays, holidays and irregular days. See the Sushi Oya 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 Tada
- The chef: Junichi Sato, who was head chef at Sushi Kinoshita, the counter Yoshitake helped create, and opened Sushi Tada on 7 March 2021. He did not train at Sushi Yoshitake itself.
- Price: omakase ¥30,800, tax included; eight seats.
- How to book: online booking sites, Ikyu among them, or by phone in Japanese. The release day is not published. Two seatings, 18:00 and 20:30; closed Sundays and irregular days. Cancellation costs 100% from the day before. See the Sushi Tada 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.
Other counters in the family
The rest of the tree, including counters we cannot request.
- Sushi Miyakawa — phone only, in Japanese, and no proxy bookings. The line opens at 11:00 on the first business day of each month for dates through the end of the following month, and prime dates go quickly. Closed Wednesdays. 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 Kinoshita — books online when seats appear, with no published release day; two seatings, 18:00 and 20:30, closed Sundays and holidays. It strictly refuses proxy bookings and cannot seat guests who do not eat seafood. 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 Shikon — Yoshitake’s counter in Hong Kong. It is outside Japan, so we do not request it.
- Sushi Shin by Miyakawa — the hotel counter in Nihonbashi‑Muromachi overseen by Masaaki Miyakawa. We could not confirm that it is operating in 2026, so we do not list it as bookable.
Where we fit
Nobody can legitimately pass a seat at Sushi Yoshitake to another guest: the house checks that the person who booked is the person who comes, so we request it only 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.
