Hakkoku

⚠️ Lunch changed to a 20 piece course and increased in price by 6,600 JPY in November 2022.

Hakkoku (はっこく)

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Ginza

📓 Visits: 2 (2018-2022)

Hakkoku was one of the hottest new openings when chef Hiroyuki Sato left Sushi Tokami, having earned it a Michelin Star, and went independent in 2018.  Hakkoku has never featured in the Michelin Guide, though, as is often the case with the top sushi restaurants in Tokyo, we don't know whether that's because Michelin don't deem it worthy or because Sato-san has brushed away their attention.  I visited Hakkoku a couple of months after opening in 2018 and it was a salty sushi experience supplemented with salty side dishes of vegetables.  In 2021 Sato-san opened Maguro to shari (review here).  In 2022 I noticed Hakkoku were running a nigiri-only lunch so it was time to go back.  Sato-san had been running the lunch while restaurants were asked to close by 8pm but since then it's now run by his second chef, Daisuke Miwa.  15 nigiri are priced at JPY 13,200.  The course is available on Saturdays only.

The best item was the kohada which was epic in every sense.  Ankimo, unusually served as nigiri, was small but great and went well with the red vinegar rice.  Tuna was from a 52kg finish from Maizuru in Kyoto and the three main cuts were included.  Kuruma ebi was a bit small but sweet and outstanding in flavour and texture.  Anago was firm and a bit dry and had no detectable fat.  Tamago had a creme brulee top but not much flavour from the egg itself.  Two vegetable side dishes were included: blanched vegetables with bagna cauda and boiled nanohana.  These were very good quality.  The only major fault was with the iwashi which was super salty but I went in expecting to feel that way about more items so was pleasantly surprised I could only make that comment once.

Another unusual feature when dining here is that you are given a menu of all the sushi included in the course.  On my visit in 2018 this was in English but for this lunch it was in Japanese.  Sato-san can speak some English and is quite entertaining but while Miwa-san did properly introduce the sushi to each party, he was only conversing with one regular (in Japanese).  At the end of the lunch chef didn't invite customers to place additional orders but simply left the counter to fetch the bill for each party.

Seats are quite low so if you're tall a longer dinner course could get uncomfortable.

If you can look past the lack of atmosphere this is one of the best value sushi lunches around.  I'd recommend a visit.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13217157/ 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.2

📱 Booking: 🟩 Not difficult.  You can book via Omakase but more seats are available if you book by phone.  For dinner you should be able to get a seat the same week.  For lunch you need to book a few weeks ahead.  They don't seem to answer the phone before around 4pm on weekdays.

📍 Location:

3F La Paix Bldg, 6-7-6 Ginza.  2 mins walk South-West from the B3 Exit (Armani Tower) of Ginza station.  Another multi-tenant building in Ginza with a single lift so expect to have to wait.
Map data ©2022 Google

📅 Visit February 2022

Tossaki temaki
Hirame
Kasugodai
Iwashi
Ankimo
Buri
Katsuo
Sumi ika
Chutoro
Otoro
Zuke
Kohada
Kuruma ebi
Tairagai
Bafun uni
Anago
Miso soup
Tamago

💴 Damage: 13,200 incl water
⏱️ Time taken: 1h40m