Tachiguisushi Akira

39 Best Restaurants in Tokyo Right Now | Condé Nast Traveler

"Follow the line (it’s a long one) down a rickety set of stairs to the weathered basement digs of Tachigui Sushi Akira, the casual little sister of renowned Sushi Shoryu. Beyond the blue noren curtain, a young sushi chef stands behind a wooden counter in a closet-sized space that can fit six to seven customers at a time. As the name—translated literally as, “eat while standing”—suggests, sitting is not an option. But this quintessentially Tokyo scene is the stuff that movies are made of. The restaurant uses the same pristine seafood as its progenitor, but a meal with drinks will cost less than half of what you’d pay at Shoryu. The daily menu lists around 20 kinds of fish, from golden eye snapper and top-grade bluefin tuna to nodoguro (blackthroat perch) and delicate shiro-ebi prawns from the deep waters off the coast of Toyama Prefecture." - Melinda Joe