Nishiazabu Kamikura

At Nishiazabu Kamikura, head chef Takashi Kamikura and his team don’t settle for second best. Every morning at daybreak in Toyosu Market, they assemble without fail outside historic tuna wholesaler Hicho’s doors, prepared to adorn their sushi counters with nothing but the freshest, fattiest fish. That’s to say nothing of the rice. Nishiazabu Kamikura exclusively uses Tsubuzoroi, a special variety of rice sourced only from the mineral-rich coastal paddies of Ogata Village in Akita Prefecture. Its larger grains make it the perfect taste and texture for sushi rice. At Kamikura, these subtleties make all the difference. Chef Kamikura invites guests to taste the differences between fish aged to varying degrees in the seasonal whitefish tabe-kurabe (tasting comparison) course. Also included in the course menu is the tuna tabe-kurabe course, letting diners compare the quality of akami (lean tuna meat), chutoro (medium-fatty tuna belly) and otoro (fatty tuna belly) sourced directly from Toyosu Market’s finest.