Best Sushi Restaurant Sukiyabashi Jito No Longer In Michelin Guide As It’s ‘Too Exclusive’


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Do you recall the best sushi you’ve ever eaten?

Smooth salmon sashimi on top of cold, flavourful rice, dipped in salty soya sauce with just a tinge of wasabi…

Image: weheartit.com

*extreme heart eyes*

Okay, now I’m craving sushi so you have to suffer along with me too.

Whether you usually eat sushi at atas Japanese restaurants or simply just the $1.50 kind at foodcourts and Cold Storage, there’s no denying that sushi is one of the best foods in the world (up to personal preference but I’ll respect your wrong opinion if you don’t think so).

Best Sushi Restaurant In The World

And if you’re now wondering where exactly the best sushi restaurant in the world is then – look no further, for there’s already a crowned jewel.

Sukiyabashi Jito, located in Tokyo, Japan.

It’s been long famed for its exceptional sushi ever since 2011, when a documentary was made about the restaurant and the life of its owner Jiro Ono, titled Jiro Dreams Of Sushi.

He’s 94 years old (!) and still running the restaurant with his eldest son, Yoshikazu.

The fame of the restaurant grew even bigger and made worldwide headlines when US president Barack Obama dined there with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014.

Image: BBC.com

Obama even called it the best sushi he’s ever eaten! If even he, who must not be unfamiliar with fine cuisines all around the world, calls it the best sushi he’s ever eaten, then how good must the sushi really be?!

Very good, in fact.

Ever since 2007, Sukiyabashi Jiro has earned three Michelin stars consistently every single year, which is not an easy feat to do.

Image: Giphy

Exclusive Only

Of course, in line with their reputation as possibly the best sushi restaurant in the whole world, not just anyone can dine there.

Image: Wikipedia

The restaurant is so tiny that it can only fit 10 customers in one sitting, and in order to make a reservation there, you either have to:

  • be a regular
  • have special connections
  • go through the concierge of a top hotel
  • be someone important and famous like Barack Obama.

So that leaves practically no hope for most people like us, unless we try really really really hard. SIGH.


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It also has to be done a month before your visit.

The prices properly reflect the restaurant’s value as well, with the chef’s selection starting from 40,000 yen, or $500 SGD. That’s already almost the price of the flight ticket to Japan!

Let’s stick to Cold Storage sushi.

Removed From Michelin Guide

Wait… what? All of a sudden, they’re removed from the Michelin Guide? Does this mean they’re no longer Michelin standard?

Nope.


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Sadly, Sukiyabashi Jiro has been removed from the Tokyo edition of the Michelin Guide this year due to it being too exclusive.

“We recognise Sukiyabashi Jiro does not accept reservations from the general public, which makes it out of our scope,” said a spokeswoman for the Michelin Guide, explaining that their “policy is to introduce restaurants where everybody can go to eat.”

Yeah… let us in!!!

However, they are not losing their three Michelin stars’ status even though they have been excluded by the guide.

Staying Unaffected

Many also believe that this won’t really affect the restaurant after all because it’s already famous and the lack of seats in the restaurant makes it easily filled.

“Truth is since the film and Obama, he is the most famous Japanese sushi chef alive and he will be fine. He is ancient and only has to fill 10 spots anyway,” said Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly.


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If you’re feeling a little dejected that you can’t enter Sukiyabashi Jiro to try out their sushi, fret not – there’s actually a second branch run by Jiro’s younger son, Takashi Ono, at Roppongi. This one’s actually open to the public and is just a teeny bit easier to get a reservation at.

It’s also two Michelin stars, which is not a far cry from the main branch’s standard.

So if you’re a fellow sushi enthusiast, you now know what to do when planning your next trip to Tokyo, even if you don’t have the Michelin guide to rely on – good luck!