The Journal
Michelin, lineage, and how Japan's restaurants take bookings
Field notes from our Tokyo desk — who is actually reachable and how, the histories behind the counters, and the realistic way in. Written by the people who make these calls every day.
27 articles
Lineage & History
Shinbashi Shimizu Family Tree: The Chefs It Trained (2026)
Shinbashi Shimizu is a seven-seat counter opened by Kunihiro Shimizu, who trained at Shinbashi Tsuruhachi. It opens each date exactly one week ahead at 08:00 and does not accept bookings made on someone else's behalf. Chefs who trained there run Sushi Matsumoto in Kyoto, Sushi Take and Sushi Kobayashi in Ginza, and Takagaki no Sushi in Suitengumae; a second generation runs Sushi Hoshiyama in Osaka, Sushi Miyashita…
Lineage & History
Sushisho Alternatives: The Sushisho Family Tree (2026)
Sushisho in Yotsuya takes first-timers by phone only, on one release day a month, and the line stays busy for hours. The chefs Keiji Nakazawa trained are easier to reach. Apprentices who spent four to eighteen years with him now run Takumi Tatsuhiro, Sushi Murase, Sushisho Saito, Sushisho Masa, Takumi Shingo and Sushi Arai, and a second generation trained under them. Of these, Takumi Tatsuhiro, Sushi Murase and…
Lineage & History
Sushizen Family Tree: The Sapporo Counter and the Chefs It Trained (2026)
Sushizen was opened in Susukino, Sapporo, in 1971 by Tsutomu Shimamiya, who trained under Kazuo Nakata at Nakata; its main house moved to Maruyama in 1984. It takes requests on its own web form and by phone, with no release day. Chefs who trained there run Sushi Sakai, Kaneyoshi and Sushi Hidetaka in Sapporo, Umeno Sushi in Hakodate, Sushi Minato in Asahikawa, Sushi Jubei in Fukui, Kyogoku Zushi in Nagahama and…
Lineage & History
Torishiki Alternatives: The Torishiki Family Tree and ICHIMON Counters (2026)
Torishiki in Meguro takes bookings by phone only, for two hours on one announced day each month, and the month is usually gone inside that window. The cooks it trained are easier to reach. Some cook inside Torishiki ICHIMON, the group's own family of yakitori brands, from Torikado in Torishiki's room to Torioka in Azabudai Hills; others left to open counters under their own names, such as Yakitori Omino, Kurosaki…
Lineage & History
Toriyoshi Nakameguro Family Tree: The Yakitori Counter Behind Torishiki and the Cooks It Trained (2026)
Toriyoshi in Nakameguro is the yakitori counter where Yoshiteru Ikegawa trained for about seven years before opening Torishiki in 2007. Other Toriyoshi cooks opened Toriyaki Sasaya, Yakitori Taki, Toriguchi, Yakitori Kamimura and Yakitori Asanomi, and a second generation runs Yakitori Uno and Yakitori Koshin. Toriyoshi itself takes no reservations (you line up to get in), so we do not request it; Torishiki opens…
Lineage & History
Umi Sushi Family Tree: The Chefs Trained in Aoyama (2026)
Umi, a nine-seat counter in Aoyama, opens each date two months ahead by phone and online, and can be requested through our desk at ¥12,000 per seat. Under Mitsuyasu Nagano, its second-generation chef until his death in 2015, it trained the chefs behind Sushi Sakai in Fukuoka, Higashiazabu Amamoto, Sushi Ryujiro (One MICHELIN Star, MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026) and Meizan Kimiya in Kagoshima, and Sushi Sakai has since…
Lineage & History
Sushi Yoshitake Alternatives: The Yoshitake Family Tree (2026)
Sushi Yoshitake in Ginza seats only the person who booked, checks ID and treats proxy guests as no-shows, so we request it only in the name of the guest who attends. The chefs it trained are easier to reach. Yoji Oya (nine years) runs Sushi Oya in Kagurazaka; Masaaki Miyakawa, who ran the Ginza counter while the master was in Hong Kong, runs Sushi Miyakawa in Sapporo; and Koji Takahira (five years, after two at…
Lineage & History
The History of Ramen: How a Chinese Noodle Conquered Japan
Ramen is Japan's youngest great cuisine, a Chinese import barely a century old. Port Chinatowns brought the noodle, Tokyo shops around 1910 made it Japanese, postwar hunger made it national, and Nissin's instant version in 1958 made it global. The regional schools formed after the war, and Tsuta's Michelin star in 2016 closed the circle.
Lineage & History
Dotonbori Imai Honten (Osaka): Kitsune Udon, Prices, Hours and How to Avoid the Queue
Dotonbori Imai's honten, founded on Dotonbori in 1946, is the place to taste Osaka kitsune udon, sweet simmered fried tofu in a pale dashi of Hokkaido kelp and Kyushu dried fish. Udon needs no reservation, so walk in at the 11:30 opening or mid-afternoon; only course meals such as the udon hotpot are booked ahead.
Lineage & History
Tonkatsu Sugita (Kuramae, Tokyo): Prices, Hours and How to Get a Seat
Tonkatsu Sugita (すぎ田) is a twenty-seat Kuramae house, founded in 1977, that fries its cutlets in lard across two copper pots. Lunch is a queue, so arrive before the 11:30 opening. Dinner books by phone in Japanese or through Tabelog's online calendar. Arrive on time, because a late party is treated as a cancellation.
Lineage & History
The History of Sushi: From Fermented Fish to Edomae
Sushi's history runs backward from what most visitors assume. It began as narezushi — fish fermented in rice for months, the rice discarded — arrived in Japan from continental Asia over a millennium ago, sped up century by century, and became recognizably modern in 1820s Edo, when Hanaya Yohei's stalls served hand-pressed nigiri as instant street food. Refrigeration, the postwar counter, and the omakase format…
Lineage & History
How Edomae Sushi Reached Hokkaido
Edomae sushi reached Hokkaido through Tsutomu Shimamiya, who spent three years at a sushi shop in Yokohama and then trained under Kazuo Nakata at Nakata before founding Sushizen in Sapporo in 1971. His counter established Tokyo-style edomae in the north, and cooks who trained there now run counters from Sapporo and Hakodate to Fukui, Shiga and Tokyo.