I’ve been eating sushi wrong my entire life!

Sushi is a popular food all over Japan, but it is a way of life in Tokyo. There are sushi restaurants everywhere and most of them are very good. Some are Michelin starred spots that may cost $300 per person and others can be conveyor belt sushi restaurants where a complete meal may cost under $20 and still be very good. We had the most fun at Genki Sushi in Shibuya area (there are other locations too). At Genki, you order on iPads in front of you (easy to understand photos and descriptions). The menu includes nigiri, tempura, rolls, noodles, soup. Once you order an item, it is then made behind the scenes in the kitchen. Once it is ready, your iPad rings to let you know the item is now on its way and a train starts running from the kitchen directly to your seat. Take your item, confirm it is correct on the iPad and send the train back. This was a lot of fun and the food was great too.

Travel tip – Learning the right way to eat sushi. I’ve eaten sushi all my life by first mixing a heap of wasabi in a small bowl of soy sauce and I would cover my piece of sushi with a piece of ginger – turns out this is all wrong! In Japan, sushi eaters do not add wasabi to the soy sauce, rather you allow the chef to add the suggested amount directly to the item. The small bowl in front of you should only have soy sauce. Chopsticks – we noticed that most sushi eaters use their fingers rather than chopsticks to lift, dip and eat their sushi. It is recommended to dip the fish in the soy sauce at a 45 degree angle, instead of dipping the bottom/rice that will break off. Finally, the ginger is provided on your plate, but it is not to be placed on top of the sushi item as I’ve always done. Rather you eat a slice of ginger separately after each piece of sushi in order to cleanse your palate.

Click here for my video demonstration while at Genki Sushi Shibuya: https://youtu.be/KZAvOCcsIbQ