How much for sushi in Tokyo?
 

Hello, everyone! I'll be in Tokyo for two days next month and was wondering about the cost of sushi. Can anyone give me an idea of how much I should expect to pay for sushi at a medium-priced restaurant (i.e., not the most expensive, but not the least expensive either)? Thanks!

Meredith

The range is huge. If you go to a round and round sushi bar (the sushi revolves around the room on a conveyer belt), prices start from 100 yen/plate (usually 2 pieces) and go up according to price of fish. A sit down but not fancy sushi bar, about 2000 - 3000 yen/set and up.

Really, though, how much you spend depends less on the place and more on what kind of sushi you choose. Even at the cheapest places which serve sushi made by machine, you can spend a huge amount of money if you choose the expensive types and eat a lot.

Thanks, KimJapan! Yeah, I realize that the cost totally depends on what you order, but it's good to have an idea of what to expect. Thanks again!

Meredith

Be careful and know what you are paying. I think mrwunrfl on this board paid about $15 per piece of very good toro once, without realizing it...

The price depends on which part of Tokyo you are at. Obviously in Marunouchi, Ginza prices would be higher.

If you go for a lunch and sit at the table (as opposed to at the counter), you can usually find a nigiri set menu for a fixed price, say around JPY1500-JPY2000. They usually don't have fancy toppings (eg toro, sea urchin), but should have 8-10 pieces plus a few rolls.
For dinner, it can be anywhere from JPY3000 and up. (OK, you can probably do less than this if you go to kaiten, pick cheaper stuff like squid or omlettes.) Just avoid going into a place where they don't list the price or sit at the counter for omakase (chef's choice). Then you can spend easily JPY20,000 per person, but it can be an experience.

Except for that toro in Nagasaki my general impression was that the prices in Japan were about the same as in the U.S. or maybe a bit less, when ordering individual items (as opposed to a set with a variety of items). But the pieces were larger in Japan than what you get at some places in the U.S.

When I asked about the price of toro at that place in Nagasaki the chef said &quot;one, five hundred&quot;. I knew that a toro order would have one piece, so I though he was saying &quot;one piece costs 500 yen&quot;. That's a good price so I had several orders. He actually should have said &quot;one <u>thousand</u>, five hundred&quot; - for one piece. A high price by standards in Japan or U.S.A., but I have since paid a bit more than that for toro at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

I quit going to the Japanese place here in Seal Beach after my trip to Japan last April. I had kaiten sushi in Nagoya and the pieces were significantly bigger than what I got here, and at a comparable price. The pieces here were pitifully small in comparison.

The sushi at Sushizanmai in Tsukiji is excellent. I forget how much I paid for an order of unagi there but it was worth it. Very big piece and very tasty.

So how much is an order (two pieces) of salmon nigiri sushi cost in Japan? hamachi (yellowtail)? maguro (tuna)?

I usually find myself ordering a lunch fixed menu while I am in Tokyo and the price is usually somewhere around Y2000. Do sometimes just order the types I like such as Maguro, Ikura, Toro, Hamachi and Unagi and than I pay more. I find the prices for sushi in Tokyo to be less than in San Francisco, or Los Angeles for similar quality.

mrw, i missed your original post about paying 1500y for one piece of toro nigiri. yes, thats waaay tooo much.

i paid 500y apiece at the sushi restaurant at ua gate 33 in narita, and it was excellent.

for meredith, i think you could have an excellent sushi meal at a regular sushi restaurant for 3500-4500y. you will not taste an equal for that price in your home town. trust me. :-)

if you must go to a kaiten sushi, i rec. maguro hito in asakusa.

mrw, don't feel bad about paying alot for sushi at bellagio, i paid $21 for a simple bowl of wuntun min there. a better bowl would have cost me $7.00 here.

We ate at a round and round sushi place in Saijo. Maybe because it's a half hour from Hiroshima, it was pretty inexpensive.

Between the 4 of us we had 50 plates. The sushi pieces were at least twice as big as any place we've been to in that states, and there were 2 pieces per plate.

I had cheap things (like chicken) because I don't like sushi. DH had some pretty pricy (but no toro) plates. Our total bill was Y5,000! It was one of our cheaper meals in Japan.