Food Tours · Tour

Omakase Nigiri, Then A5 Kagoshima on the Table Grill

Two serious meals in one evening, in two rooms in Kabukicho that are genuinely hard to find on your own. Seven guests at most, three and a half hours. The first is an omakase sushi course. Omakase means you hand the decision to the chef, and Edo-mae is the Tokyo school: fish aged, cured, marinated or lightly cooked before it reaches the rice, a technique that began as preservation before refrigeration and stayed because it makes the fish taste better. Your guide explains the etiquette while you eat, which removes the anxiety that keeps most visitors out of sushi counters. The second is yakiniku with A5 Kagoshima black beef. A5 is the top grade in the Japanese system, the A for yield and the 5 for marbling, and Kagoshima's herds have taken the national wagyu championship, which is the closest thing the industry has to an Olympics. You grill it yourself on a table roaster, and learning when to take it off is most of the skill. Between them you walk Omoide Yokocho and Kabukicho, and stop at the full-size Godzilla head mounted on the eighth-floor terrace of the Toho building. It finishes with a Japanese dessert or a drink at a final stop, with a snack restaurant substituted for families with children. Two drinks are included, alcoholic or not, and photos from the evening are sent afterwards. Guided in English by a certified guide. A vegetarian version of both courses is available but must be requested by the day before. The kitchens are not the operator's own, so allergies cannot be guaranteed. Some venues permit smoking. Japanese summers reach 40°C and winters drop below zero; dress for the month.