In the Yushima district of Tokyo, which is a fairly residential neighborhood in the north of the city, I discovered Sushizanmai Restaurant, a well known sushi chain in the country, well sort of. I sampled one of their 53 restaurants which was much fresher and more authentic than I expected from a chain. Apparently locals love it too. I sat next to a local 38 year old doctor named Masa who is a cardiologist that fell into the same practice as his father Dr. Kawazawa.
Masa lives around the corner and comes here every night for dinner. Despite being a chain, he says the fish is fresh and “good” and that the CEO Mr. Kimura is quite the personality with a renowned national reputation and is an active face on TV.
It’s a lovely neighborhood where you can find lots of charming local eateries, the lovely Uchiho Lacquerware Shop, Fejice for Italian Food and Dela French Restaurant for authentic French cuisine and wine. It is located within a block or so of the Yushima train station. They have an old world style bar you can hang at, and you can order pizza, pasta and sake too. There’s a small alley way just down from Dela, which is loaded with mid to higher end Japanese restaurants of various types. It’s the most authentic area I found after five days in Tokyo — all the menus were in Japanese only and I got the feeling that I was the only western tourist they had seen in a long time.
Nearby the chain was Uotaru Restaurant on Kasuga Street, a more traditional style Japanese restaurant, but one with a sushi bar. Masa felt that the food at Sushizanmai was good, good enough to dine at nearly every night. Because I sat next to him and he was a “regular”, I was able to try some new dishes I wouldn’t have tried otherwise….and various kinds of sushi of course.
Details: the restaurant is a stone’s throw from the Yushima metro stop, within a couple of blocks.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
