Bucket list : Eat at Sushi Dai in Tsukiji Market Tokyo

Who/What is Sushi Dai  

Sushi Dai is a famous sushi restaurant in Tsukiji . It is said that Master Dai is the poor man's Jiro. Although not as ancient in the sushi art nor as rigid as Jiro, Master Dai is in a class on his own with experience of more than 20 years. His restaurant is just a hole in the wall in the acclaimed Tsukiji market. The only way to know you will experience the freshest and best sushi is to get it from the source which is Tsukij. 

Who is Jiro

Sushi hs been elevated to art form by the notable 87 year old master Chef , Jiro of the "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" fame. 

The world-renowned Sukibayashi Jiro is just located in Ginza. However, the price of his omakase is nothing to be sneezed at... USD300 and it is said that he is already booked for the year. A blog says that Chef Jiro demands that you eat the sushi he creates for you within a few seconds of being served to guarantee freshness. So all in all you will only be in your stool for a total of 30 minutes. 

Legend has it that he is stern-looking and does not engage in any playful bantering. Hmm mental note -- must watch the documentary stat. 

*****

The Task : Eat breakfast at Sushi Dai

Level of Difficulty : Very high 

How to do it : Wake up then start queueing at 3am

Level of incredulity : The blogs I have read must have been exaggerated. Surely nobody wakes up at that ungodly hour to queue for 2-3 hours just to eat sushi breakfast...... do they ? Hmm.... we found out soon enough 

What actually transpired : 

1st attempt : May 5, 2015

Our first attempt for mission Sushi Dai was May 5 our anniversary. It would have been wonderful to have breakfast on this very important day. Alas, it was Golden Week so the whole wet market of Tsukiji was closed huhuhu 

2nd attempt May 6
Woke up at 7am and started following google map to Sushi Dai. The good news - we found it Yay! The bad news -- the line was so loooong, it will take hours just to get in ! My heart sank. I thought there goes my dream to eat at Sushi Dai huhuhu 

But towards the evening, handsome hubby said. We could give it another go on our last day. Yay!!!! Warned him though that we would have to wake up at 3 am. 

His reaction -- "what? !!%#@? " 

DDay May 8 about 18 C : 

Woke up at 359 am here 259 am Manila time. To go or not to go. 

My fear : I will look stupid. I will never hear the end of it from hubby if I woke him up at 4 am to walk 5 minutes to this place and find it deserted. 

420 am - I am all dressed up and woke up the hubby --- grumpy, tired, achy handsome hubby....poor thing. 

But I was merciless and unrelenting .This is our last day. By hook or by crook, we are going to eat at Sushi Dai or die !! haha 

Walking from our hotel to Tsukiji market, I had spring in my step. The market was bustling and alive so early that morning. It was like a tight-rope-obstacle-course- combined-trek though, briskly traversing the sidewalk on foot. 

Small delivery vehicles were coming left, right and center of us. We were in danger of being ran over at any time. 

And then we saw the line...... 

What?!!!! I thought we would at least be in the first 20 or the first 12. Noooo! I counted the people ahead of us and we were number 40!!! These people were even crazier than us haha. Wow that felt good . They must have been here as early as 3 am !! 

This gave me little comfort though when I saw hubby's face. Uh oh signal #1 fast approaching. I decided to turn my patience button on high. I recited the mantra " I will not be maldita today. I will be patient and sweet, We will make it to Sushi Dai or perish" 

It was our last day in Tokyo. From Day 1 (May 4), we hit the ground running.  We  woke  up early and walked all day every day for 12 hours . We wasted no time. We went to Ginza, Asakusa, Roponggi, Shinjuku, Kabuchiko, Omatesando, Shibuya, Harajuku, Akihabara, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, etc. 

We rode the train like locals and in between, we walked, then ate , then rested then walked some more. We must have finished gallons of water chugging along as we walk .Then stuffed ourselves with all kinds of  sushi, ramen, yakitori, wagyu beef and had  japanese ice cream in Family Mart and SunRUs  before we went home to our hotel. 

We were exhausted. We ached everywhere and we lacked sleep. 

But this was our last day and I had a mission. So I only felt excitement and joy at the prospect of finally experiencing Sushi Dai. 

The hubby? well, he had no choice you see haha. Thus he was grumpy. Who wouldnt be at 4 in the morning. 

We arrived at the line at 445 am no. 40. We got in at 7 am. Ooohhhh happy happy joy joy!! 

Inside Sushi Dai : 

12 stools only. 

Master Dai in glasses. 

2 sous chefs.

Less than 20 sq meters area 

The food started arriving almost immediately as soon as we sat. I looked at our batch and it was mix and match group of locals and tourists..

We can order ala carte, omakase ( chef's choice 10 nigiri +1 personal choice 4000 JPY or P1200 more or less) or just regular (7 nigiri 2000 JPY or P600 more or less). 

Hubby and I were initially confused. There was the problem in translation plus the lack of caffeine made understanding really slow hahaha. At any rate, I just wanted to start the experience so I said yes to omakase and hubby ordered ala carte. 

We were given hot tea, miso soup and egg. Then the feast began.... 

Baby Octopus was so fresh it was still moving!

Oooh Yummy Fatty Toro

Japanese Scallop

Uni!!!!

Horse Mackerel and Salmon

Verdict : 

We highly recommend the experience. Nothing quite like it. Undoubtedly, the best and freshest sushi we ever tasted. 

Be ready for a 2-3 hour wait though . We will return most definitely with the piggery next time :) 

As in all Japanese art, the key is perfection. The temperature of the rice, the freshness of the sushi, the ratio of the rice to fish, the dedication and preparation that goes with, all combine to achieve accuracy and excellence.

Bucket list  ... check :)

The Curious Case of the Japanese Toilet - Tokyo 5/2015

It seems the Japanese pulled out all the stops to make the process of excretion, a cultural experience in itself - pleasant, relaxing and very informative. 

I know a lot of tourists or first-time visitors to Japan may disagree. The sight of all those buttons and japanese characters on the normal toilet may make one feel intimidated at first glance. After all one may hit the wrong button and unwittingly get a free shower LOL 

But the Japanese characters with matching illustration are quite cute and clear by itself, erasing any doubt as to what it is for.

If you still feel uneasy, go ahead and push each button while you're in your cubicle, Be careful not to make a mess though. But if you did, just say "wakarimasen" ( I dont understand ) with a puzzled expression or "Sumimasen" ( which can mean anything from excuse me, sorry, please , etc) followed with lady-san and a smile and you'll be ok :) 

Note the following :
1. Music to mask the sound you make while you are pee-ing or doing the number 2

2 . The artificial sound of flushing is automatically turned on as one sits on the toilet. 

Per Wikipedia, the sound of urinating acutely embarrasses Japanese women . To mask the sound, they continuously flush the toilet. In the process of flushing , a huge amount of water goes down the drain and is wasted. To avoid gallons of water from being wasted day after day, the Japanese engineers figured that creating an artificial flush sound will answer the problem. Ergo, "musically-inclined" toilets were born :) 

3. Toilet seat temperature -- Imagine this, during winter your posterior can remain warm and toasty while answering the call of nature and during summer you can adjust the thermostat to cold Capital idea right? love it :) 

4..Deodorizer -- For more expensive toilets, in case of an emergency , the deodorizing button will erase any evidence of your dastardly deed pronto hahaha 

5.Bidet : Just push the button for washing the front and the back. 

Amazing how on point the water is. There are two "washers" and note that they are self cleaning. The front takes care of washing your nether regions gently and delicately.. While the back takes care of cleaning your posterior . It comes with pressure control. So you get free enema too LOL

6..Water Temperature : Wonderful how the Japanese thought of everything! Do you want it hot or cold on the place where the sun doesn't shine? LOL 

7. Blow Dryer : Not for your hair silly! But to dry your wet regions with after #4 :) Hai from a gai-jin's point of view, Japanese toilets are weird and strange and funny initially but becomes interesting as you learn the rationale behind all those gadgetry and you've experienced for yourself how they are used. 

The toilets do tell a lot about the Japanese mindset. As in everything Japanese, the key is order and perfection. 

Once you arrive at this premise, everything begins to make sense. I so love Japan ! 

Note : Of course, there are still traditional toilets aka squat toilets in some places side by side with the high tech ones. 

But if you're lucky enough to get stuck in a toilet that requires you to squat down, please remember to face the right way -- towards the higher mound. Toilets were spotless and high tech even in their palengke....galing! 

Some restaurants, provide slippers specifically for toilets and another pair for the main restaurant and never the twain shall meet hehehe. So be sure you have your socks on and check that there are no holes in it to embarrass you LOL

May 2015
Tokyo Japan