Sushi Kakuno

At Sushi Kakuno, the difference is in the details. Stepping through the entrance — lit gorgeously at night by the crimson glow of the Tokyo Tower — one instantly notices the personal touches that owner and chef Masayuki Kakuno has integrated into the restaurant’s design. Its aesthetic is a result of Chef Kakuno’s vision of fusing modern design elements with a natural feel: the whole thing pulled together seamlessly by a central fish tank embedded in the rear wall. Water constantly flows at the front of the counter, not only soothing guests with the sound of gentle currents, but allowing them to clean their hands at any time. Chef Kakuno also spares no effort or expense when trying to procure his ingredients. A Hokkaido native, he spent 13 years honing his sushi craftsmanship at the famed Ryu-no-Sushi at Fuchu in western Tokyo, before starting Sushi Kakuno in 2017. His experience has taught him that good ingredients are paramount to good sushi, which is why guests seated at his counter can expect sushi made with the highest quality seaweed from the Ariake Sea, soft volcanic groundwater from beneath Sakurajima, and of course, the freshest seasonal fish from the seas around Japan. But perhaps the most interesting is his culinary philosophy: Chef Kakuno hopes for Sushi Kakuno to be a restaurant in which guests say a meal was “fun”, rather than simply “delicious”.