Scott T.
Yelp
This restaurant completely changed how I thought about conveyor belt sushi, or kaitenzushi. Situated at the top level of the KITTE Marunouchi shopping center, Nemuro Hanamaru is easy to spot by the constant lines of people waiting for a seat at the spotless counters in front of the ebullient staff (TIP: use the LINE app so you can browse around the mall and just wait for a msg telling you your seats are almost ready!).
Once you start ordering, you may, like me, become overwhelmed by the feeling that if you ever woke up from a coma, this is the type of place you would want to come eat at first: the bright but soothing energy, the thrum of the music and diners and staff, the softly-rounded pink, green, and blue plates and blonde wood panels... and some of the freshest, most mouth-watering sushi you've ever had for the price.
When I left the restaurant and happened to look at my check, I doubled over laughing in disbelief. How can sushi this good be this affordable?
As an American, I've been conditioned to believe that sushi had to be expensive to even be passable. Cheap sushi was bad or unauthentic, to be eaten in dark restaurants decorated with neon blue lights, at sticky black tables with black tableware - all seemingly meant to evoke some exotic hedonism - along with tiny bits of iceberg lettuce with thousand island, heaps of spicy tuna and teriyaki chicken or bulgogi and kalbi.
Nemuro Hanamaru is the exact opposite of that. If you're visiting Tokyo and happen to be in the Marunouchi area, fire up your LINE, get a number, and enjoy. If you've made it this far, you've earned it.