Sushi Shunji – Tokyo (April 2025). The Sushi Protégé

For part 2 of my protégé series, we dive into the world of sushi with Shunji Hashiba. Hashiba-san’s claim to fame was being mentored by Takashi Saito, having served as second chef at the legendary Sushi Saito for a couple of years. In 2020, Hashiba-san decided to strike out on his own, opening his own shop next to Sushi Saito. In 2023, Sushi Shunji relocated to its current premises in a quiet part of Motoazabu. Sushi Shunji manage to clinch its first Tabelog Bronze award in 2025 and currently holds a score of 4.28.

I was quite lucky to score a reservation here. I had a free lunch slot in Tokyo during my trip and my original plan was to try to gun for a reservation at Sawada, but a week before my trip I stumbled upon Shunji's Omakase page which had a slot opened. Seeing the reviews and Tabelog scores, I pulled the trigger.

Sushi Shunji is nestled in a basement of a low rise commercial building, surrounded by various pre-schools and embassies in the Motoazabu area. As I arrived for my 12pm lunch, I was greeted by Ayako, the chef's wife and sommelier. Ayako-san speaks English and spends much of the meal helping to translate and explain the dishes to English speakers. For my seating, there were 8 of us seated at the counter. There was a group of four friends (mix of local regulars and their foreign friends) and the remaining 4 were all foreigners.

My 2 hour lunch consisted of 5 otsumami, 12 sushi, miso soup + tamago and a dessert. An English menu was prepared, which was very much appreciated (last pictured).

I found the otsumami course delightful with very interesting courses. The opening Spring Oden was unique and the broth was heartwarming. It came with Firefly Squid, homemade fishcake and dehydrated kelp. It is not often you get Oden in a sushi restuarant. The ankimo in ponzu and tuna cheek were also knockouts. But my favourite was the Hokkigai/Surf Clam shabu. Hashiba-san proudly showed us how huge the surf clams were and proceeded to shuck and shabu them. To add further crunch, he topped off the dish with grilled sushi rice which is reminiscent of rice crispies. The surf clams were very sweet and the broth went so well with the grilled rice, 10/10.

The sushi course was outstanding and very impressive. Every single piece slaps. Hashiba-san's shari is on the milder side in terms of saltiness and acidity, which results in his sushi being very balanced. Personal favourite of the sushi course were the Sumiika/Japanese cuttlefish, which Chef proudly showcases in a huge bowl before preparing it. Texture was like mochi. Another favourite was the Torigai / Japanese cockle. I have had this at other sushi counters before but usually served raw, but here Hashiba-san would aburi (grill) the cockle before serving, resulting in a crunchier and more aromatic bite. The Uni was also a knockout. These were sourced from Aomori and were very sweet.

It was captivating watching Hashiba-san quietly at work behind the counter. His hand movements were very elegant. Service was great as well. Ayako-san ensured that the foreigner guest were well taken care off. Her English is also excellent and I could understand her explanations of the dishes perfectly. While Hashiba-san did not speak much English (although he certainly understands it), he would also check in with each guest from time to time.

There was only one inconvenience throughout the meal, and that was the group of four friends. To put it simply they were obnoxiously loud and Hashiba-san's and Ayako-san's attention was directed at them for a large part of the meal. They seemed to also be regulars at Sushi Saito and they were relaying their wild and drunken experiences with Saito-san at his counter (which seems to be the norm there). Towards the end of the meal, Ayako-san explained that lunch seatings were rather rare and the only reason they had opened that day was for the friend group (it seems like the regulars had alot of pull), hence explaining why the rest of us diners were able to snag a seating so last minute.

Overall, this was a sublime meal and despite the loud dining experience, I would not hesitate to revisit again. Hashiba-san's food was excellent and I could really see him trying to be more creative with his food and showcase his own style. At the end of the meal, Hashiba-san also informed us that he is looking to grow Sushi Shunji and they are due to open a second shop in Toyama later this year. From the sounds of it, he might shuttle between Toyama and Tokyo for a while. It will be interesting to see how Sushi Shunji develops, but with such skill and finesse their future is definitely bright.

Score: 4.75 / 5

Reservation difficulty: I booked via Omakase.in but I would say I got lucky because this seating was opened last minute and I saw it at the right time. It seems that periodically they take reservations on Omakase.in for three months at a time, but you would need to subscribe to their page to find out when they release their seats. Maybe others can chime in on the difficulty level of snagging a place here. They are also available on Tableall.

Cost performance: 2.75 / 5. The course was about 54,000 yen before drinks. This is definitely on the pricier side for a comparable sushi meal in Tokyo.