Booking a Counter That Has No Website
Introductions, hotel concierges and the patient art of the waiting list.
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What to Wear, and Why You Should Skip the Perfume
At a counter of eight, the person beside you is eating with their nose as well as their mouth.
How Much to Tip, and When Not To
In Japan the answer is not at all. Abroad it is more complicated.
Talking to the Chef Without Interrupting the Meal
When to ask a question, what to ask, and when to let the knife do the talking.
Ten Years Washing Rice: The Long Apprenticeship
The path from the sink to the cutting board is longer at a sushi counter than anywhere else in the kitchen.
The Itamae Who Left Tokyo for a Fishing Town
Why one of the city's most booked chefs moved to the coast, and what it did to his menu.
A Chef's Knife Roll, Opened
Yanagiba, deba and usuba: the blades a sushi chef carries and what each one is for.
Women Behind the Counter
Sushi was long a closed profession. A new generation of chefs is changing who stands on the other side.