lioness in japan

It’s been a long time coming — a tribute to my favourite sushi bar in all of Japan. It’s a really big claim but it seriously has the freshest sushi I’ve encountered at such reasonable rates (about 4,500JPY for a large meal and alcohol).

I think it rivals the tiny restaurant I liked at Tsukiji market (not the one with the queues!). There are probably better sushi joints but I suspect they would be out of my price range (reality check: a pair of tuna belly sushi can cost 4,000JPY at fancy schmancy sushi restaurants). But, Umai Sushikan in Akasaka hits the spot for me anyway — the fish is always melt in your mouth and chilled to the right temperature.

This happens to be the kangaroo’s mum’s fave joint for raw fish, too. She raved about it the first time she tried it which was last November. It was without a doubt that we had to visit Umai Sushikan (means delicious sushi restaurant) again on the first night of her second visit to Tokyo.

Look at that decadent platter of sashimi. Sushikan was the first place I dared to eat raw shrimp (the grey variety!), ikura (salmon eggs) and uni (sea urchin).

Look at the gorgeous sushi — the otoro (tuna belly) is always mouth-watering. When we lived in the shoebox, I used to frequent this sushi bar alone when the kangaroo went on his long business trips. I would go for a 10km run round the palace and treat myself to a late dinner of sushi. The chefs behind the counter were always friendly and chatty if they weren’t busy, so I practiced my Japanese here because none of them spoke any English. They always remembered the kangaroo and asked why he wasn’t with me — I suppose we look like an odd couple and people recall meeting us easily.

Japanese-style oysters — a smidgen of crushed ginger, a sprinkle of spring onion, and soy sauce — were just sensational. I could almost taste the sea in my mouth and that’s the mark of a great oyster.

The kangaroo is a big avocado fan so California roll is always on the agenda.

Usually a bowl of miso soup would wash down the fishy taste of gorging on so much sushi but this time I thought a small serving of deep-fried calamari would be a nice change for the palate.

Here’s Mrs. Kangaroo…. She was thrilled to see the kangaroo since she doesn’t get to meet him much.

I feel extremely nostalgic as I write this because I’m afraid I don’t have many more days in Japan. I won’t go on some crazy binge or start travelling to places I’ve never been because I need to be prudent about finances right now — I wish I could. But as I go through my memories, I think I got a lot out of Tokyo in two years and have met all sorts of people, so I’ve no regrets that I didn’t do more.

Related posts:

1. My neighbourhood
2. More jitters
3. I had no idea…

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