Sushi Ichijo in Higashi Nihonbashi, Tokyo
Sushi Ichijo (sometimes also spelled Ichijou) is located near the Higashi Nihonbashi station, in the location that used to house Sugita-san's famous Miyakozushi restaurant. Chef ichjijo Satoshi-san took over the building after Sugita-san moved out, and opened his shop in November of 2015. The restaurant resembles the neighborhood it is located in: quiet, a bit rustic, and very "old-school Tokyo", with large refrigerated cases at the counter, and lots of wood-paneled walls throughout.
The sushi is just as rustic as the decor - and this is a great thing! Ichijo-san, who spent 24 years working as a sushi chef at Rokubei in Ningyocho, has said he is a fan of Chef Shimizu (many Tokyo chefs are, after all) and you can tell that he has modeled his sushi after that rustic, classic style. Big pieces of good quality zushi-dane, lots of delicious shellfish, and bold, strongly seasoned shari with a good akasu kick. Right up my alley!
Chef Ichijo doesn't speak English, but he is quite friendly. He was pleasantly surprised to have a foreigner visit his shop and enjoy his food as much as I did. The vast majority if his clientele are local customers who live or work in the area. This fairly new shop is not yet well-known to foreign sushi enthusiasts or tourists in general. As a matter of fact, if you google Sushi Ichijo today you will not find another English review of this shop. I have a feeling this might change, as the sushi served here is truly excellent, and an amazing value. Six delicious otsumami and 16 pieces of nigiri plus plenty of beer and nihonshu came to only ¥22,000, or roughly US $200. A steal!
I enjoyed absolutely everything that was put in front of me, but particularly loved Ichijo's shellfish preparations, especially the akagai and kobashira. The kurumaebi was sublime, and Ichijo's tuna (from Oma) was excellent as well. His salting and vinegar cure for the kohada is perfectly balanced, it was so good that I had to order a second piece.
Sushi Ichijo is currently still fairly easy to book, and I hope it stays that way, but, based on the chef's talent and the incredible food, I have a feeling this will soon become a difficult reservation. I can't recommend this hidden gem enough, and can't wait to go back.
Below you will find an image gallery showing all items in the order they were served.
Sushi Ichijo
Okuda Building, 3 Chome-1-3 Higashinihonbashi
Tokyo, Japan