Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Best Little Sushi Shop in Tsukiji

Soup, Sushi Restaurant, Tsukiji, by Reed A. George
Sakura Ebi Soup, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5
iso400, f2.5, 1/40 sec
 
If you live in the United States, you probably know how the best of certain types of restaurants (e.g. barbecue) are usually deceiving in their appearance. Somehow, the best BBQ comes from that "hole-in-the-wall" place on the backstreet. You know, the one you're a little scared to walk into?
 
Well, it's not so different with restaurants in Japan. This little shop is literally adjacent to the Tsukiji fish market, the world's largest seafood market, located in Tokyo. Looking out the front door of this place, you can see the market stalls directly outside.
 
Tsukiji Sushi Shop, by Reed A. George
Tsukiji Sushi Restaurant, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5
iso400, f2.5, 1/160 sec
 
Japan is full of tiny restaurants. While this isn't the smallest sushi restaurant I've ever been in (I think that one sat about four or five customers), this one's not huge, by any means. I think it seats eight diners.
 
Tsukiji Sushi Restaurant, by Reed A. George
Tsukiji Sushi Restaurant, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5
iso400, f2.5, 1/50 sec

This place served up some of the best sushi I've ever eaten. Literally. I'm sure that fresh fish comes in directly from the market every day, and it shows. The selection was awesome. For example, one of the tell-tale sushi pieces is sea urchin (uni, in Japanese). If it is fresh, it is sweet and tasty. If it's even a little past its prime, it's awful. Here, it was downright transformational. Another for me is squid (ika, in Japanese). This place's squid is tender and tasty. Anyway, I digress.

And, my dining company was great as well. Here's three generations of the ladies in the family - my daughter, wife, and mother-in-law:

Three Generations, by Reed A. George
Three Generations, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5
iso400, f2.5, 1/30 sec
The Lumix 14mm really worked well in this tight situation. It was wide enough to allow me to shoot in close quarters, and fast enough to keep the iso at 400, very safe territory for manageable noise with the DMC-G3.
 
I hope you enjoyed this little description of a memorable lunch with my family. Thanks for humoring me.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 
 

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