While wandering through Ginza, I felt a growing hunger for sushi. A quick Google search and a few GPS directions led me to a small, narrow alley, where I found a seemingly inconspicuous restaurant. Assuming it was my destination, I stepped inside and announced my arrival. The chef emerged, looking surprised, and I felt an awkward pang of guilt about leaving abruptly. I decided to stay for a quick bite before heading to the sushi spot that beckoned me.
Little did I realize, the chef's surprise was not a welcoming one.
It turned out to be a tempura restaurant. Thinking it wouldn't be too bad, I watched as the chef meticulously prepared fresh batter and heated the oil to the perfect temperature. My culinary journey began with fugu jelly, catching me off guard as I hadn't even seen a menu yet. Before I could process this, a parade of tiny shrimp tempura started landing on my plate, interspersed with vegetables. It felt like an endless stream of shrimp tempura—probably around thirty pieces in total.
As I wondered what I had gotten myself into, concerns about the cost began to creep in. When the bill arrived, I was floored: $600 USD. The experience took an even stranger turn when two "gentlemen" walked in, shocked to see me there. In perfect English, they asked, "Why are you here? We don't usually see normal folks or tourists here."
Where was I, indeed?
by SushiAssassin-
17 Comments
Yoshimatsu
https://maps.app.goo.gl/UkHh54y2WsF8ZkDVA
You were in Ginza.
But what did you think of the food???
Look like you had the omakase course and the latest Google review stated the price at about $160 without alcohol. On tabelog, the price range seems to be $250 with alcohol… Nowhere near $600, so you must have had chucked a full bottle or the chef just hated your gut for not making a reservation 😅
Do you have an itemized receipt?
yikes it was that expensive but only has a 3.15 on tabelog. this is why i like to preplan most of the places i eat at when i travel
$600 is about ¥90,000 these days. That was for two? Even for two that’s absurd, unless it was just a lot of wild kuruma ebi, which can get very expensive. The tempura does not look top notch.
Ginza still has a lot of places where they “look at your shoes” and charge accordingly.
What is that last one that looks like soup in a breaded bowl
Did you go to Louis Vuitton afterward lol since you were in Ginza?
One of my favorite tempura places is in Ginza too, but no where near this price. Sucks that sounds like you got scammed
normal folks?
Bro. I got scammed in a hostess bar in Ginza back 2008. Paid 250k Yen because 3 girls sat and talked to me over beers and pizza for 2 hours… it still hurts bad to this day.
I also want to comment that this is GINZA. And so you know, places like Yoshimatsu, like Jiro’s, are highly specialized with the best of the best veggies Japan has to offer (that is the fattest asparagus I’ve ever seen). You ate at a place the prime minister would take another foreign politician to show off.
If this was a regret then go to a $35 tempura restaurant anywhere else BUT GINZA. You’d be happier.
What was the name of the place?
Two foreigners walking in may have been called in anticipation of you realizing you had been scammed and muscle you into paying the out-of-menu fee.
Any cuisine you are served one item at a time will be 10x the price of a full serving of the same thing. Being polite and allowing yourself to be screwed us on you.
lol, man just walked right into a formal omakase course, and sat down
To be fair the story is giving Yakuza vibes…👀😓🥲 Stay safe fren.
That’s a renowned Kyoto-style tempura restaurant, well-known because its owner used to work at the formerly Michelin-starred Nanachome Kyoboshi, and it’s quite expensive. It’s often used for business occasions, especially during dinner times. I’ve dined there a few times for work-related, and dinner cost around 35,000 yen per person, including some alcohol, if I recall correctly. And as is typical of most places in Ginza, the drinks there were really expensive. I definitely avoided ordering a bottle of wine.