Sushi in Tokyo doesn't mean the same thing as sushi elsewhere. The city has more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the world — and at the same time you can eat excellent sushi from a conveyor belt for a few hundred yen. Here's everything you need, whatever your budget or ambition level.
Types of sushi — what to order
握り
Nigiri-zushi
Hand-shaped rice portions topped with fish or seafood. This is the Tokyo original form — simple, perfect. Eaten with fingers or chopsticks, dipping only the fish side in soy sauce.
軍艦
Gunkan-maki
"Battleship" — round rice ball wrapped with a nori seaweed strip that holds the topping in place. Uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe) and tobiko (flying fish roe) are classic gunkan toppings.
巻き
Maki-zushi
Roll sushi wrapped in nori. Hosomaki is thin (single filling), futomaki thick (multiple fillings), temaki is a hand-roll cone. In Tokyo sushi, maki is secondary — nigiri is the main event.
ちらし
Chirashi-zushi
"Scattered" fish bowl: a bowl of rice topped with sashimi slices, roe and prawns. Affordable and generous — a good option if you don't want a full sushi meal.
おまかせ
Omakase
"Leave it to the chef" — the chef decides what you get based on what's best today. The highest sushi experience. Price range ¥15,000–100,000+ per person.
回転
Kaiten-zushi
Conveyor belt system — plates circle on a belt and you take what you want. Some chains also use a tablet ordering system. Cheapest from ¥120–165 per plate.
Sushi for every budget
Budget
¥500–2 500
Kaiten-zushi chains. Sushiro, Kura Sushi and Hama Sushi are good and affordable. Plates ¥120–165. Five plates in one sitting is normal.
Mid-range
¥3 000–12 000
Traditional sushi restaurants charge roughly in this range. Good options around the Tsukiji market area and Ginza.
Omakase
¥15 000–¥100 000+
Chef's counter sushi at its finest. Reservations required months in advance at top restaurants. For beginners, a "lunchtime omakase" ~¥15,000 is cheaper and easier to reserve.
Best places
Kaiten-zushi chains
Sushiro (スシロー)
Multiple locations in Tokyo
¥120–220 / plate
Kura Sushi (くら寿司)
Harajuku, Shinjuku and others
¥115–330 / plate
Uobei (魚べい)
Shibuya — touch-screen ordering
¥115 / plate
Tsukiji area
Although the large tuna auction moved to Toyosu in 2018, the Tsukiji outer market is still busy in the mornings. A morning visit is worthwhile: fresh nigiri at Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi restaurants in Toyosu (requires queuing in the early morning) or a more affordable option from the Tsukiji outer market stalls between 8–11am.
For omakase beginners
Sushi Saito may be the world's most famous sushi restaurant — but the waiting list spans years. A better starting point is Sushi no Midori (Shibuya Hikarie), with reasonable prices (~¥2,500–5,000), no reservation needed and high quality. Or Tsukiji Sushiko in Ginza at lunchtime.
Sushi restaurant etiquette
🍣 Know before you go
Eat with fingers or chopsticks. Nigiri sushi is perfectly acceptable to eat with your fingers — it has the more traditional history too.
Dip only the fish in soy sauce, not the rice. Rice absorbs too much soy and the chef's careful seasoning is ruined.
Pickled ginger (gari) is a palate cleanser — eaten between pieces, not on top.
Wasabi: The chef of quality nigiri adds wasabi themselves between fish and rice — don't add extra unless you specifically request it.
Eat immediately: Nigiri sushi is eaten the moment it's prepared. It doesn't wait.
⚠ ⚠ Reservations for omakase
All top sushi restaurants require reservations — often months in advance. Tableall, the Omakase app and Pocket Concierge are the most popular booking services. Most require credit card details for the reservation. Cancellation fees are common.