Karin (Ryogoku)

※ This is the sushi restaurant in Ryogoku called Karin, not to be confused with the similarly-named restaurant in Nishi-Azabu called Sushi Karin. Please confirm this is the correct restaurant before making a reservation. ——— With so many superb chefs in Japan getting more and more social media-savvy, it’s becoming increasingly harder to distinguish oneself from the pack. Yet sushi social media has recently seen one name in particular slowly risen to the top: Hashimoto Shunta of the Ryogoku sushi restaurant Karin. There’s no avoiding the subject: Chef Hashimoto’s popularity on social media is due in large part to his good looks. He is one of six chefs in the TikTok and YouTube creator collective “Ikemen Chef to Kyaku”, literally meaning “Handsome Chefs and Customers”, which has amassed millions of views across their various platforms. But he definitely has the skills to match. Though he’s not even 30, Chef Hashimoto has long had a large following of sushi aficionados even before his TikTok success, thanks to his stint at a members-only sushi restaurant in Ginza. It’s there that he defined his unique style of sushi-making: instead of simply using soy sauce as seasoning, Chef Hashimoto defies Edomae tradition by making nigiri that use alternatives like sea salt, ponzu and lime. But it’s the end of the omakase service that his diners most look forward to. Named for the restaurant, Chef Hashimoto’s signature dish is none other than the “karinmaki,” or “Karin roll.” It’s a sushi roll of his own invention, filled with a generous portion of fluffy rolled omelet with eel at the center. It’s also seasoned with what Chef Hashimoto calls “nerikan,” a seasoning made with finely minced kanpyo (calabash gourd) and shiitake mushrooms that are cooked in a sweet and salty mixture of mirin, soy sauce and sugar. But these new and novel flavors mean nothing without quality ingredients, and Chef Hashimoto doesn’t disappoint. He chooses the best ingredients from Toyosu Market every morning from an extensive network of suppliers, to make sushi of quality that rivals even the finest of Ginza and Akasaka. These omakase sushi strongholds would do well to watch out — there’s a new contender in town.