Cheapest Michelin Starred Sushi in Tokyo

So you’re in Tokyo enjoying a rare visit to Japan. You need to treat yourself to the best sushi to make it worth while. There are 16 Michelin starred sushi restaurants in Tokyo marked $$$, special occasion, on the Michelin website. I’m going to list the cheapest of those 16 restaurants with omakase in around $150. For reference a yen is worth a bit less than one US cent.

Aside: There are a few restaurants marked $$$$, spare no expense, that includes some two star restaurants. But I think a simple Michelin star would do the trick without costing me a month of rent. Plus I find that I typically spend more than the review estimate at restaurants.

1. Udatsu Sushi: 8,800 JPY for Lunch Omakase L1
2. Sushidokoro Kiraku: 12,100 JPY
3. Sushi Ichijo: 13,750 JPY for lunch
4. Sushi Matsuura: 16,500 JPY (removed because their official tabelog now lists the price at 20,000-30,000 JPY)
5. Sushi Keita: 17,000 – 21,000 JPY (from reviewers)

None of these can be easily booked online and I don’t speak any Japanese. I’m most intent on getting the lunch Omakase at Udatsu Sushi, it’s confirmed on their website and their official tablelog that their lunch nigiri is a very affordable 8,800 JPY. They don’t have lunch reservations available on their opentable, ikyu, or hot pepper. They also don’t pick up the phone when I call.

My Amex concierge has informed me that reservations in Japan are almost always exclusively booked through a hotel concierge. Wow their jobs really make sense over there, I’ve barely utilized hotel concierges beyond passing recommendations. Unfortunately, I’m staying at capsule hotels and I doubt they have dedicated concierges. Neither of the capsule hotels’ front desks were able to help my Amex concierge book a reservation.

The most expensive option, Sushi Keita, seems to be bookable through a service on byfood.com, a completely English website, with a 2,000 JPY fee. I’m not sure if this service is directly related to the restaurant but it looks like their selection of restaurants is at least curated.

Sushidokoro Kiraku was available for lunch reservations on pocket concierge, somedays you can only create a reservation for two. Sushi Ichijo can also be booked on pocket concierge and ikyu with a minimum of reservation for two people and it can be booked on tabelog for one person. It looks like they allow reservations about two months in advance. They also answered their phone but they don’t speak English.

Sushidokoro Kiraku accepted my reservation from pocket concierge about 5 weeks out from my requested reservation date.