Thick, Chunky Yellowtail in Yoyogi

It's sometimes hard to find a good place for dinner on a Sunday night in Tokyo so we consulted one of the online food/restaurant guides (Tabelog) and discovered Sushi no Darihan in the Yoyogi district.  While Tabelog's reviews are not always reliable (there's no accounting for taste), this time it exceeded expectations.   The Izakaya is right across the road from the JR station and has that nice 'izakaya feel' about it.  When given a choice between sitting at the counter or a table, we always choose the counter as this is where the action is.  It's known as 'counter intelligence' (or counter intuitive) and puts the diner in direct contact with the chefs preparing the food, the selection of possible food choices on display, as well as other clients looking to chat and share experiences.

White shrimp tempura with sea salt

We started with two different sakes, both clean and dry. Rincara from Niigata and Kyokukou from Tochigi.  An assortment of really fresh seafood followed:

 An appetizer of cod roe and seaweed

• A tantalizing ball of white shrimp tempura (extra points for creativity, delicate crunch and taste)

Yellowtail sashimi (amazing)


​Assorted sashimi (horse mackeral, kohada, shrimp, sole, tuna belly, salmon)
Grilled mackerel
Katsuo-grilled fish with garlic, ginger, wasabi, onion, watercress with pink Andes Mountain salt
Assorted sushi
​A bit more sake!
All in all it was a great experience with friendly staff.  Highly recommended!
Roughly $60.00 US for two, including 3 or 4 sakes each.

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Preparing the Katsuo

The sushi was so good!