SushiUniversity®

The Sushi chef will give you a lecture in Japanese as if he/she is speaking to Japanese customer.

There will be an interpreter available to translate the sushi chef’s lecture into English. There are five courses to choose from: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master and Sake Pairing. The lectures will let you enjoy sushi to the utmost and are not strict, formal settings.

• In the Basic Course, the lectures will be conducted at a sushi restaurant where office workers might want to drop by to grab a sushi dinner after work. The customers are mainly locals and the restaurants have a locally rooted business style. As these locations are used for ceremonious occasions, they are well-known in their community. Often the shop owner/sushi chef, his wife and other family run the restaurant. You’ll hear friendly conversation about seasonal toppings, sports topics and even celebrity gossip. These sushi restaurants are hangouts for local residents, similar to the concept of a bar in Spain, and they fulfill this function.
• In the Intermediate Course, the lectures will be at sushi restaurant people would definitely go to for a celebration, such as for important anniversaries. Japanese people have a long history of the custom of eating sushi for important milestones, life events and after ceremonies, with a sense of gratitude and celebration, and they are conscious of the strong traditional side of sushi. The Intermediate Course restaurants have this history and you can feel this sort of character.
• The Advanced Course is held at high-end sushi restaurants located in downtown areas such as Ginza and Nishi-Azabu, where land prices–and therefore rent–are higher. There are many small shops with only around eight counter seats with an atmosphere of an intimate tension. Get your fill of natural sushi toppings from the seas around Japan. The sushi chefs are particular not only of the sushi toppings, but also pay close attention to wasabi, salt, seasonings and even the dishes upon which the food is served. They prepare various sake that goes well with the sushi and have a wide variety of food and drink on offer.
• The Master Course allows you to choose your favorite 20 sushi toppings (however the same topping can only be ordered up to twice) and eat them in whatever order you want. You will have the chance to relish this ultimate experience where the sushi chef stands across the counter from you, creating your menu as you have a conversation.
• The Sake Pairing Course, as the name suggests, is a combination if sushi and sake. Sushi and Sake are both made from rice, so they are easier to pair than it would be to pair something like wine, which is made from grapes. However, each and every piece of sushi has a complex taste that involves the sweetness of the rice, acidity of the vinegar, umami of the topping and the saltiness if the soy sauce. This course adds a basic pairing experience where you can use this opportunity to try five kinds of Japanese sake.

No matter which course you choose, you can enjoy a relaxing approximately two hours where you speak with a skilled chef while eating sushi. This is your own private course with no other tourists that you can enjoy with friends, family or your partner.

Lectures will be given at counter seats, not table.

In sushi restaurants, counter seats are special since visitors get to meet and exchange words with sushi chef. Also, visitors will be able to see the chef’s excellent knife skills and technique of making sushi. Since there is a limited number of seats at the counter, the participants are also limited to party of 7 (minimum: 2).

Let us remind you of proper etiquette during the lecture.

Please kindly refrain from distracting chef from sushi making while he/she is hard at work. No particular dress code is required, but it is better to avoid flip-flop sandals. No photo-taking without permission of the restaurant. No photo-taking of other customers. Since the smell of the ingredient is one of the constituents that generates delicate flavors of Edomae sushi, smoking during the lecture is not allowed. Wearing a strong perfume is also considered inappropriate in sushi restaurants. Considerate manners for other customers will be greatly appreciated.

Make sure to meet at the appointed hour in appointed hotel lobby.

After you settle the payment, an interpreter will take you to a selected sushi restaurant which is located within 30 minutes of the meeting place. Please take counter seats and then start by ordering your drink. It might be a good idea to try chef-recommended Japanese sake that goes well with sushi.

Let us explain now how to order sushi.

You might find it a bit inconvenient that a priced menu is not provided. The prices are subject to change depending on the availability of the ingredients. Sometimes there is less fresh fish due to rough sea conditions. Sushi chefs select ingredients of the day, make nigiri sushi (hand-rolled sushi) and makimono (nori-rolled sushi). This is called omakase style. The food description of the day will be provided in 12 different languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (simplified or traditional), Korean, Thai and Japanese)

Now the lecture is about to begin. It will last about two hours.

The chef will carefully make sushi while seeing how the customers like the sushi they are serving. When serving, the chef will explain a bit about ingredients or certain method of sushi making. This might be best timing to ask questions to the chef. However, chatting away and leaving the food uneaten is poor etiquette since it is best to eat just served sushi before it gets cold. Sushi is best eaten when served at body temperature, so try to finish the food within 10 seconds of it being served.

Every course of sushi dish is served and the sushi lecture is over.

Now you have learned some history and traditions of Edomae sushi. If you would like to try other items, additional orders can be placed at this time. It will cost around 500 – 2,000 yen per piece. After you pay for the drinks and any additional orders, the course comes to the end. Have a safe trip back to your hotel. The interpreter will escort you to the nearest station. We hope that you will enjoy your rest of your journey.

＊Please note that it may take more than 30 minutes to travel to the restaurant in some cases.

＊＊Payment is only accepted in cash. No credit cards. You will be responsible for the cost of your transportation.

＊＊＊Unfortunately, the online booking system is not available, so status of booking can’t be checked immediately. We first have to check the booking status and then arrange an interpreter. After that, we will send you a confirmation of your application. Advanced application is always welcome.