Sushi Nanba (Toyama)

The former holder of a Michelin star in the special edition Michelin Guide Hokuriku 2021, Sushi Nanba is actually unrelated to the bustling Osaka district of the same name. Its name, rather, comes from its head chef and founder Nanba Kaoru, an Okayama native who cut his teeth behind the counters of Ueno Sushi in Hiroshima, and later Sushi Ei in Toyama. A reservation-only restaurant, Sushi Nanba is located in a residential part of Toyama City, about a 20-minute drive southeast of Toyama Station, or a 10-minute walk from Oizumi Station — the location specifically chosen, oddly enough, for its inaccessibility. “I wanted to set up in a place where people would make a conscious effort to come to,” says Chef Nanba. Sure enough, the parking lot is almost always full with Nanba’s guests’ cars. The restaurant is especially popular at lunch — at less than ¥10,000 for lunch, Michelin-quality sushi is extremely rare, but Nanba continues to keep its prices low. Yet quality is never once compromised — a dizzying array of local Toyama seafood is used, ranging from flounder to blackthroat seaperch to conger eel, each one carefully chosen to show off Chef Nanba’s love for his adoptive prefecture. His love also shines through in the choice of tableware used at the restaurant. An avid collector of tableware — especially Bizen ceramics from his home prefecture of Okayama — each course is served on the specific type of dish that best suits it. Each nigiri is crafted to be picture-perfect, and not just be visually enhanced by the plate on which it’s served, but also emphasise the beauty of the plate beneath.