Sushi Oya

My wife and I had an excellent omakase experience here. The service was attentive, and the chef very talented. Our menu highlights were the liver pate, and skipjack tuna and snapper sushi. The sake recommendations were also solid. Highly recommend.

Great Sushi Omakase in a beautiful setting.
Interesting combinations at the beginning of the meal. I liked the Liver dishes the most (we had Ankimo und Abalone with it's liver both fingerlicking good). The Gunkan pieces (Iruka and Uni) besides the different Tuna-cuts were the most memorable. The Nihonshu pairing too was excellent.

Yoji Oya is the greatest young sushi chef in Japan. Come and eat here!

Excellent omakase presentation. Very attentive service. Chef speaks English so he explains in both languages. Would return

[To a promising international sushi restaurant]

General Yoji Oya (40 years old) has an unusual background.
Due to his father working for JETRO, he was born in Chicago, went to elementary school in Bangkok, attended Beverly Hills High School in high school, and graduated from a prestigious private university in Mejiro. After graduating from college, he trained at a sushi restaurant run by a somen restaurant in Nagasaki, and then trained his skills by chopping bonito and yellowtail several times a day at a izakaya-style restaurant in Shinjuku.

Later, through a series of connections, while I was making ``New York-mae'' sushi in New York, I was approached by the famous Ginza restaurant ``Sushi Yoshitake,'' which has been awarded three Michelin stars for 11 consecutive years, and was approached by Hong Kong. He was assigned Noyotake and returned to Japan in 2018, before the Hong Kong protests broke out. I will be in charge of Yoshitake's private room. I don't think I'm the only one who thinks, when I hear about this background, that it's not the right time for an international person to live in Japan.

But on the other hand, it was because he was overseas that he reaffirmed the goodness of Japan and the depth of its culture, and it also meant that he looked at Japan once again, so he became independent here in Kagurazaka and seems to be on the right track. As a Japanese person, this is a happy story.

Well, that's enough for the introduction, and let's move on to the main topic, the food scene that day.

First, we started with the Mexican Tecate beer (800 yen including tax), which is rare for sushi restaurants. Apparently, the owner, Mr. Oya, has this beer because he likes it. I ordered it because I wanted to see if it would go well with sushi. ...It has a refreshing and clear taste that not only does not interfere with meals, but also whets the appetite.
If it's from a can, the real way to drink it seems to be with salt and lime, but of course it's served in bottled beer (canned beer isn't sold commercially...).

First, let's start with the ``Mie Prefecture Clam''...topped with pounded butterbur. Below that are soy milk confited (cooked at low temperature) in walnut oil, lily root paste made with kelp stock, bamboo shoots cooked in stock, and fava beans topped with tortoiseshell bean paste. ...This is a dish that took a lot of effort from the beginning. Absolutely delicious.

``Shirauo''...Shuto of bonito boiled in bonito stock. The whitebait is pickled in it. It is sandwiched between bamboo leaves and grilled over charcoal, then seasoned with salted cherry blossom leaves, and topped with raw mullet roe. This is also a time-consuming item. That's how adorable it is. ...The fragrance of the cherry blossom leaves on the whitebait is delicious, and it is a dish that gives you a sense of Japanese wabi-sabi as you enjoy the last remaining spring cherry blossoms.

``Oyster rice''...Oysters cooked in onion oil, mixed with sushi rice, sesame seeds, and shiso leaves. Deep taste.

``Isobe-yaki''...Scallops are grilled in dashi stock, covered with green seaweed and okaka, then wrapped in crispy seaweed and handed to you. ...Wow, this is a unique Isobe roll that I've never had before because it's cooked in dashi soup.

``Steamed abalone''...Yoshitake's signature dish. Abalone from Shimane Prefecture is steamed for 6 hours. Serve with liver sauce. The texture is soft and very delicious. The liver sauce has a deep flavor and is exquisite. ...If I had a lot of sauce left over and was feeling a little confused, someone would put some red vinegar rice in it and let me mix it up myself. It's delicious enough to take your breath away.

``Bean liver''...It's made with red bean liver and sprinkled with yuzu. Rich, sweet and delicious. Even if you eat it with wasabi on top, the fat will give it just the right flavor.

``Yawatahama white sweet sea bream, red sea bream milt''...White sweet sea bream cooked at low temperature is seasoned with an elegant light dashi soup. Daishiro sesame oil is also used as an accent. In between, you can also enjoy the rich flavor of Shirako.

The grip starts from here.
From Sumiika. It contains a lot of hidden knives and is coated with salt water. Not too sweet, elegant and delicious.

Tsubodai...Tsubodai is also said to be a mythical fish. Although it is a white fish, it is also fatty and has a fluffy, soft texture that is delicious. I kind of liked it.

“Grunt”: We use the grunt from Junichi Fujimoto, a famous fisherman from Imabari. It is famous for the method called ``Ikekoshi,'' which involves letting the fish rest in the aquarium from the time they are caught to the time they are killed to prevent them from accumulating stress. I wonder if I'm eating with my head because eating with that knowledge makes it taste even better?

“Red meat”…red meat of tuna. The tuna has finally arrived. From here, I changed to red vinegar sushi. The vinegar in the vinegared rice is quite strong and I like it.

``Shimoda's back tuna''... Tuna at this time of year is said to be tough, but it's fatty and delicious enough for me.

“Katsuura Chutoro”…it melted.

Otoro Peeling
...The peeling between the stripes is exquisite. The vinegar in the vinegared rice is strong and the texture is incredibly soft. It melts in your mouth.

Kohada...Kohada for 3 days. The vinegar at the end of the Kohada itself is quite strong. Kohada in Edomae may have been like this. Will it be popular with young people who are said to be sensitive to strong vinegar? I like it though.

``Katsuo''...Kagoshima bonito marinated in a sweet soup stock made with grated onions. Gentle and delicious.

“Hokkigai”… Characterized by its sweetness and good texture.

``Two types of sea urchin gunkanmaki''...The sea urchin is in two layers. The top photo is purple sea urchin from Hokkaido, and the bottom photo is horse manure sea urchin from Miyagi. The meat was small, but the price of sea urchin has skyrocketed recently, making it a real luxury item. It's delicious, after all.

``Kuruma prawns''...When boiled, they have a semi-raw texture, a hint of fiber, and are sweet and delicious.

``Conger eel''...The claws are modestly sweet and elegant. The flesh of the conger eel is fluffy and soft.

``Miso soup''...A little bit of Japanese ginger added to the ingredients gives it a refreshing taste. Miso soup is also quite delicious.

``Tamagoyaki''...A unique taste that resembles a sticky cream cheesecake.

By the end, it was a fulfilling 3 hours of talking and eating delicious food. It seems that there was only one rotation on this day, but it was originally supposed to be two rotations at 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm, so it was a two-hour race. I guess it's a little busy then.

There are 7 counter seats. There is also a separate private room that can seat up to 6 people. I think the private rooms would probably be better suited for inbound foreigners who want to eat the highest quality sushi at a higher price.

The basic course is 35,000 yen + 10% service charge. Lately, I've been searching for delicious sushi restaurants under 20,000 yen, so it's been a while since I've had a fresh sense of adventure.
Thank you for your delicious meal. thank you very much.