Sushi dokoro Kanpachi is a noted sushi store located in Tokyo, a 5 minute walk from JR Okachimachi station. You will see a sign as you walk from the north exit of Okachimachi station along the Kasuga-dori heading Asakusa. Turn right as the sign says and there will be a building in red bricks. The first floor is it. There are salt and long chair in front of the door.

As you enter through the split shop curtain, you will hear “welcome!” in high spirit voice. The waiter or depending on how full the restaurant is, the chief himself will lead to a seat. If you have a baggage, they will kindly offer a place to put. You can feel the politeness of the store and the welcomed atmosphere.

Today, I came to have lunch. There are two types of meal for lunch; “Matsu” meal that costs 1900 yen and “Toku Matsu” meal that costs 2800 yen. You will choose either “Matsu” or “Toku Matsu” when you have a seat. You will be asked what you want to drink here as well so if you want alcohol, mention it.

The first dish served is vinegared food. There are seaweed, daikon raddish, carrot, and little bit of sesame topping. This vinegar has a mild taste since it is being mixed with dashi so you can drink it. In fact, the head chef tells you to drink it all. “Our vinegar is not sour so try it,” he says. The dashi and sour vinegar refresh your mouth and stimulate you stomach and make you hungry.

Salada

Next is sushi. The head chef of Kanpachi adjusts the amount of wasabi and rice depending on the topping. If the topping fish has lot of fat on it, then he puts lot of wasabi, and vice versa. This is because the fat decrease the hot taste of wasabi. The amount of rice is adjusted to the best amount so it will be gone at the same time as the topping fish. The softness of the rice is also considered carefully. The head chef takes every small thing into consideration to make the best sushi.

To be more specific, if there is a person who cannot eat the sushi in one bite, he or she will cut the sushi in half. In that case, the head chef will change the place to put wasabi and the rice shape so the customer can eat it in the best condition even though the sushi is cut in half. The chef extremely cares in how the food should be served so that it can be eaten at the best.

Let’s go back to the sushi. The chef will ask you if there are any fish you don’t like. If you do, ask him to change it to a different one. He will serve you toro, a fatty tuna, first. It is so that you can have the most delicious piece before you get full. There are lot of wasabi in this one since toro has lot of fat on it but you will not taste too much spice but instead, just the right amount. Also a tsume is spread on top of it adds a salty taste making it the best sushi. A tsume is a sauce used on top of a sushi. In Kanpachi, there are 6 types of tsume used depending on the fish.

Toro

Next is tsuke, or tuna with its outside being dipped in soy sauce. It has been eaten since Edo era when there were no refrigerators since tsuke can be preserved. The more you chew, the tastier it gets. Chewing 3 or 4 times will make the rice loose but I want you to keep on chewing instead of swallowing it. You can enjoy the change in taste and you will become addicted to it for sure.

Tsuke

Since ark shells have less fat, the wasabi in it should be lesser but you will taste as hot as you did in toro or even spicier. The crunchy texture is fun to eat and you can enjoy the difference between the ark shell and the tsuke that you just had. You won’t need a soy sauce for this one either.

Ark shell

There is citrus sudachi squeezed onto the flatfish, or hirame, so it has a tight sour taste. Compared to the other sushi, flatfish seems to have more rice than the others but this amount is the best for flatfish.

Flatfish

If you eat the gunkan at Kanpachi, you may not be able to eat other gunkan rolls. The seaweed is good to that extent. Of course the ikura’s texture and smell is amazing, but personally, I love the seaweed. You should eat it up before the seaweed become soft.

Ikura

Anago, or sea eel is very soft and has slightly sweet tsume on top of it. The taste and aroma is different from the other sushi you have eaten.

Anago

In the egg for “Toku Matsu” there is shrimp in it. The texture and aroma is amazing. The inside is soft as the aroma of shrimp and egg spread in your mouth. Your mouth and stomach will be composed.

Egg

The toppings froze with big ice cubes

You should eat the tuna rolls quickly, before the seaweed gets soft as well. You will need to use soy sauce now.

Tuna rolls

From here are the sushi that I ordered in addition. Octopus is being boiled in Kanpachi. The octopus will have a soft texture by boiling it instead of having it raw. Many foreigners say that octopus is like a gum but this is something different. With the tsume, you will be surprised how good octopus can be.

Boiled octopus

Bigfin reef squid, or aori ika. Since summer is the season for squid, there were three types of squids. Depending on the types of squid, the way to make cutting marks will change. Bigfin reef squid has smooth texture.

Bigfin reef squid

Cuttlefish is thick in texture. If you like the thick sticky texture you should order this.

Cuttlefish

Gizzard shad (kohada) is a must for blue-backed fish lover. Sudachi citrus is squeezed on top of it, taking away the raw smell of blue-backed fish.

Gizzard shad

Kanpachi special sushi is the cucumber rolls. A thin sliced cucumber with sesame and salt topping is rolled. The crunchy cucumber and seaweed is addicting.

Cucumber roll

Here is a rare sushi of sand borer, or kisu. Sand borer as tempura is common but as sushi, it may be your first time trying it. The clear taste and chewy sushi is just right for the summer season. You may like this more than fatty tuna.

Sand borer

Here are yellow pickled daikon, or radish and beans made at Kanpachi. The pickled daikon has nice salty taste and the sesame on top deepens the flavor. The beans are soft and big. It takes a long time to make the beans have this lustrous and become this soft. I wish you to try them out.

Yellow pickled daikon, or radish and beans

Gari, a sweet pickled ginger, is also made here. If you eat some, the chef will add more as he realizes. It is not too sour so you can eat continuously. It is a good ginger.

■Sushidokoro Kampachi
Their art of cuisine that impresses even gourmets is a must-see! This is the restaurant where you can enjoy the Edo-style food by skilled chefs.

Hours: 11:30-14:30 14:30-23:00(L.O.22:30)
Holidays:Wednesday
Adress: Tokyo-to, Daito-ku, Daito 4-29-15 Ueno Nagaya Town Plaza 1F
Access: 10 minutes by walk from the north exit of JR Okachimachi Station
URL:https://www.kanpachi.co.jp/