Known for having won the opening auction for bluefin tuna at Tsukiji’s first fish market of the year for four years in a row, Itamae Sushi has now opened around 60 restaurants in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Indonesia. Through its international network of restaurants around Asia, Itamae Sushi hopes to spread a message to the world – about world-standard sushi and the fusion of sushi cultures. Its newest business, Itamae Sushi Edo, is a restaurant established in Akasaka-mitsuke. It’s an area that provides access to the main sections of Tokyo, a bustling neighborhood where government residences, embassies, hotels, and foreign company offices are all grouped together, but it also has a quiet side that can be glimpsed in the evening. We invite our guests to a sushi restaurant where they can experience the culture and art of the Edo period, which are what brought sushi to life.
The restaurant, which is modeled after the sajiki-seki box seating in a Kabuki theatre, features an interior design that conveys the feeling of Japanese tradition through elements such as Japanese panel screens and ukiyo-e paintings. Take one step inside and you enter an expansive space that makes you feel like you have traveled back in time to the Edo period. Also, at “Edo Food Stand” areas featuring ingredients carefully selected from all around the country, you can enjoy watching a live performance where Itamae chefs prepare your meal before your very eyes, using the food and cooking style of your choice.
This is a unique restaurant where not only Japanese customers, but also foreign guests visiting Japan(*), who are projected to exceed 40 million in 2020 and 50 million in 2025, can enjoy experiencing sushi culture to their heart’s content. By providing a photogenic interior design, an unforgettable experience and a colorful menu that will inspire guests to take pictures and share them via SNS, we are helping to spread Japanese culture around the world.
*=Announced by the Japanese National Tourism Organization on March 30, 2016
One of the images of the Edo period is that of a population teeming with vitality. During this period, sushi was born from food stands. Food is one of the things that supported the evolution of Edo. Food items came together at Tsukiji, and thus present-day Tokyo was formed, and became a city where many people gathered.
A restaurant that reproduces the Edo period – the origin of sushi
Through Japanese panel screens, ukiyo-e paintings, Nishijin brocade ceilings, lanterns and sake box containers that are spread out in front of shop curtains and tatami mats, a space is created that makes you feel as though you had traveled in time back to the Edo period. The theater-style seats that are modeled after the sajiki-seki box seats in the traditional Japanese art form of Kabuki, and the energetic sushi chefs produce a restaurant that will have guests wanting to take pictures before they know it.
Just like a Little Tsukiji! – Choose the fish and preparation method of your preference from the fresh fish available at the Edo Food Stands
In the Edo period, sushi was lined up in wooden boxes called neta-bako. Inspired by this tradition, we have prepared Edo Food Stands that line up neta-bako in neat rows, almost as if they were part of a picture, featuring foods carefully selected from all over Japan. This collection of neta-bako makes for an atmosphere like a “Little Tsukiji” where seasonal foods from all over Japan gather. At the “Edo Food Stand,” guests can choose the food of their preference and also order from a wide range of preparation styles, including sushi, sashimi, sautéed, steamed or boiled.
The Japanese word iki (meaning “refined”) is a keyword that represents the Edo period. Iki may also be interpreted as meaning either “fresh” or “dynamic,” and at Itamae Edo Sushi, we take great pride both in the freshness of our foods and the live performances that Itamae puts on. We invite our guests to enjoy, with all five senses, the joint performance between Japan’s freshness preservation technology, now recognized as being the best in the world, and the sushi and other dishes that our chefs create through the traditional techniques they have inherited from the past.
We also have a wide selection of Japanese sake carefully selected from all around the country. You can experience the Edo culture of enjoying sake with a side dish.
At the “Sushi Stand,” guests can take a picture wearing a kimono – it’s a photogenic opportunity that gives you a chance to experience Japanese culture.
At our “Sushi Stand,” which recreates an Edo period sushi establishment, you can take a picture of yourself wearing a kimono or a happi coat. We are fully equipped with the fastest Wi-Fi, which we make available as a complimentary service, so that you can share your photograph on SNS platforms right then and there.
About Itamae Sushi Edo
Opening ：October 27, 2016 (Thursday)
Seats ：50, including 14 counter seats
Business hours ：11:30-23:00 (L.O 22:30), Mon~Sun
Address ：No. R Akasakamitsuke/1F. 3-9-2, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
TEL ：0081-3-5797-7347
Mail ：[email protected]
HP ：http://itamae.co.jp