Don’t underestimate Tsukiji Sushi!! Cheap and delicious! 3 Tokyoite standing sushi shops

Don’t underestimate Tsukiji Sushi!! Cheap and delicious! 3 Tokyoite standing sushi shops
Miki
Miki 
Updated
| 5 min read

Tsukiji, where delicious fish from all over Japan gathers. Just once I’d like to stuff myself with delicious Tsukiji sushi. Haven’t you ever had that kind of dream? Unfortunately, at Tsukiji’s famous sushi shops it’s normal to wait in line for hours, and the price can be just so-so. If you are looking for cheap and delicious sushi in Tsukiji without the wait, then standing sushi is highly recommended! For those thinking “Umm, standing sushi?” don’t underestimate it. In Tsukiji you’ll find some high quality, delicious standing sushi shops.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Okame: 3 Kinds of High-Level and Reasonably Priced Tuna!

don’t underestimate tsukiji sushi!! cheap and delicious! 3 tokyoite standing sushi shops | tsukiji standing sushi shop okame: 3 kinds of high-level and reasonably priced tuna!

The first place I’ll introduce is “Okame”, located in the Tsukiji Marketplace. From Tsukiji Station on the Hibiya Subway Line, go out of Exit 1. Walk about 3 minutes and you’ll find it on the corner of the intersection of Honganji Yonchome.

At “Okame”, I recommend the Maguro Dzukushi (Tuna assortment). It’s lean tuna, medium fatty (chu-toro) and belly fat (oo-tor) tuna, as well as roasted (aburi) fatty tuna in a 4-piece set. The price is 800 JPY. This is the kind of sushi you can only eat in Tsukiji, and this price is only possible because it’s a standing sushi shop. The sushi is the right size, a larger piece of fish and a smaller amount of sushi rice. It’s a size that’s even easy for women to eat. The fat in this piece of tuna has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. As the delicious taste of the fat suddenly expands on your palate, you’ll rediscover that the best part of tuna is in fact the fat.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Okame: Being Able to Eat Quickly and Casually is Great

don’t underestimate tsukiji sushi!! cheap and delicious! 3 tokyoite standing sushi shops | tsukiji standing sushi shop okame: being able to eat quickly and casually is great

Usually, if you go to Tsukiji to eat sushi on a Saturday, you generally line up for 1-2 hours (at famous shops, people will line up in the morning and end up waiting until about noon). At these times, especially in winter, the wait can seem as harsh as a batsu game punishment (a game played solely to punish the loser)… Tsukiji’s Okame is so small that it can only hold 4 people standing in a row. However, since you stand and eat, most of the customers eat quickly and then leave. Even though it’s a Tsukiji sushi shop, you can eat there without a big deal. So from now on, you can say goodbye to long wait times.

Besides sushi, they also have the required beer, so enjoy a moment of bliss as you have a drink while snacking on sushi. When getting drunk on alcohol and sushi, it’s common to become friends with whoever you happen to be sitting next to. Everyone becomes a little happier when eating sushi at Tsukiji, so you could even say that Tsukiji is like a Disneyland of food. At night, the shop uses vinyl sheet curtains, so when inside, even during cold seasons, it’s surprisingly warm.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Okame: Exceptionally Delicious "Salted Sea Urchin"

don’t underestimate tsukiji sushi!! cheap and delicious! 3 tokyoite standing sushi shops | tsukiji standing sushi shop okame: exceptionally delicious "salted sea urchin"

If you come to “Okame”, you mustn’t forget about their sea urchin (uni). Most of the sushi they have is in the 100-250JPY range, however, one piece of sea urchin costs 400 JPY. It’s a bit of a luxury, but it’s also an item that I definitely want you to eat! The volume of the sea urchin here is the same as the sushi rice. It has the proper sea urchin lumpiness and rich taste. The topping is not soy sauce but salt, which brings out the sea urchin’s delicious flavors. If I had my way, I would come to Tsukiji every day and eat this, that’s how good it is. Yep, Tsukiji sushi is good stuff! With its ample flavor and volume, the sea urchin is a completely satisfying dish.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Okame Information Open Weekdays 11:00am - 11:00pm. Weekends from 10:00am - Close. *Closing hours are earlier on Weekends, so please check in advance. 1 piece from 100 JPY

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Maguro Zanmai: Full Blown Tuna World

don’t underestimate tsukiji sushi!! cheap and delicious! 3 tokyoite standing sushi shops | tsukiji standing sushi shop maguro zanmai: full blown tuna world

The next Tsukiji Sushi Shop to introduce is “Maguro Zanmai”. Similar to the previously introduced “Okame”, the shop is located close to the intersection of Honganji Yonchome. It’s a chain store called “Zanmai” which is headquartered in Tsukiji, and “Maguro Zanmai” is a standing shop with confidence in their tuna. Since they uniquely keep a stock of whole tuna, they can serve it especially cheaply and tastily. Inside the shop there is room for 7 people standing in a row. The shop manager, who wears a plate on his chest which reads “I enjoy playing with cats”, carefully makes each piece of sushi. If you like cats, you might have try having a lively conversation with him about your favorite feline.

What “Maguro Zanmai” really puts its energy into are its rice bow dishes. A rice bowl topped with plain or marinated tuna is 500 JPY. They have a tuna back meat (nakaochi) rice bowl for 600 JPY and a complete selection of other bowls. In the picture is the Bachi Maguro Medium-Fatty Tuna rice bowl (800 JPY). It’s a gorgeous rice bowl that looks like a fully blossomed rose. It’s an exquisite dish featuring measured slices of thick tuna with not-too-oily medium-fat that expands on your palate. It’ll give you the gratifying feeling that “I ate my fill of tuna in Tsukiji!” All rice bowl dishes can also be ordered for takeout.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Maguro Zanmai Information Open Weekdays from 11:00am - 11:00pm, Saturdays from 10:00am - 10:00pm. Closed Sundays Phone: 03-5148-5414 1 piece from 50 JPY

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Chiyoda Sushi: 3 Kinds of Roasted Sushi that Won’t Disappoint!

tsukiji standing sushi shop chiyoda sushi: 3 kinds of roasted sushi that won’t disappoint!

The last place to introduce is “Chiyoda Sushi”. Located 1 minute from Exit 1 in Tsukiji Station on the Hibiya Subway Line, it’s a sushi shop that’s very easy to get to. The bright and clean interior makes it the easiest shop for women to go in, even among Tsukiji standing sushi shops. Since “Better sushi, cheaper” is the goal of this sushi shop, most of their genuine Edo-style sushi is as cheap as 80 JPY per piece.

At “Chiyoda Sushi”, the roasted sushi, with fish that is freshly roasted with a small torch when you order, is fantastic! The roasted red shrimp (120 JPY), roasted salmon (80 JPY), and roasted scallop (80 JPY) are exceptional dishes where the taste and texture of the ingredients are really brought out by the roasting. Be sure to give it a try.

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shop Chiyoda Sushi information Open Weekdays 11:00am - 10:00pm. Weekends 11:00am - 9:00pm. No holidays Phone: 03-6226-5422 1 piece from 80 JPY

Tsukiji Standing Sushi Shops: Hard to Imagine How Good They are From the Outside

Tsukiji’s standing shops are places where you can eat genuine sushi that, from the outside, you wouldn’t imagine them having. At any of these sushi shops, you can eat your fill of Tsukiji sushi without caring about what’s in your wallet.

The 3 shops introduced in this article are all easily accessed and less than 5-minutes’ walk from Tsukiji station. Since you can eat Tsukiji sushi without any hassle here, I recommend doing a little sushi shop hopping. Reasonably priced and still enriched with the passion of the Tsukiji sushi chefs, the “Tsukiji standing sushi shops” are worth a visit.

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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