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Ginza Kyubey
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Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
What it is
A sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, open since 1935, serving counter nigiri across several floors with set lunches and a considerably more expensive evening service.
Why travelers eat here
Because it is the Ginza sushi counter that other Ginza sushi counters descend from, and because lunch makes that reachable rather than aspirational.
What is genuinely good
Counter service by long-serving chefs, lunch sets from 8,250 yen, staff comfortable with foreign visitors, and a room that has been doing this since 1935.
Downsides
Expensive in absolute terms and far more so in the evening. A formal counter where the chef sets the pace. Needs booking.
Best for
Anyone wanting one proper sushi experience in Tokyo without a three-month reservation battle or a six-figure yen bill.
Consider eating elsewhere if
You want conveyor-belt sushi or a casual meal. This is neither, and the formality is part of what you are paying for.
Practical advice
Book lunch rather than dinner, and ask for the counter rather than a table, because the counter is the entire point. Eat each piece as it is handed to you rather than waiting. Do not add soy sauce to pieces the chef has already brushed.
Prices and reservations
Lunch nigiri sets from 8,250 yen for ten pieces to 11,000 yen for eleven with dessert. Evening service is substantially more. Reservations recommended.
Getting there
Ginza station on the Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines, about five minutes on foot. Also close to Higashi-Ginza on the Asakusa line.
Where it sits
Ginza, Tokyo's traditional luxury shopping district, a few minutes from the Kabukiza theatre and the Ginza crossing.
How long to allow
An hour at lunch.
The RuinMyTrip verdict
Book the counter at lunch. Eight thousand yen for sushi of this order, in this room, is the best value fine dining in Tokyo.
Sources
Every figure above was checked against these before publication. If one has since changed, tell us and we will correct it.
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The Oribe lunch set is 8,250 yen for ten pieces of sushi with rolls and soup. source
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The Karatsu lunch set is 11,000 yen for eleven pieces with rolls, soup and dessert. source
From the RuinMyTrip team
Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
Ginza Kyubey serves lunch nigiri sets at the counter: the Oribe at 8,250 yen for ten pieces of sushi with rolls and soup, and the Karatsu at 11,000 yen for eleven pieces with rolls, soup and dessert. It opened in 1935 and is the sushi restaurant that made Ginza sushi a category. The counter is the whole experience: the chef works in front of you, hands each piece across individually, and the pace is set by the chef…
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