"Tuna aged and cut to the day keeps Yuichi Arai's Michelin star; the ¥36,000 second counter is bookable. Go solo."
Fourteen nigiri, seven tsumami, ¥36,000. That is the arithmetic of the bookable seat at Sushi Arai, the basement counter in Ginza's Ruan Building where Yuichi Arai has held a Michelin star with sushi organised around tuna he selects at auction, and sometimes rests for days, cut by cut. The address is 8-10-2 Ginza, 8-chōme's quiet end; the room never opens on Wednesdays; and the chef's own counter takes no cold bookings at all.
Arai trained where Ginza trains its best: years at Kyubey, then at Sushi Shō, before opening this room in 2015 at thirty-three. The specialty is maguro. He adjusts the cut and the seasoning of the shari to the day's fish, runs the rice warmer than the textbook, and will hold a loin back when the fat wants time, which is why two visits a month apart can read like two different restaurants in the best sense.
The omakase is a single course, seven tsumami into fourteen nigiri, and the kohada is the quiet test piece between the tuna acts. One Michelin star has stayed on the door through the 2025 Tokyo guide. The practical fact that matters: Arai's first counter is referral-only, while the second counter, run by sous chef Hiroki Usui, releases seats to the public at ¥36,000 through the OMAKASE platform. That second counter is the honest way in, and it is no consolation prize. For how Arai sits against the city's other counters, see the Tokyo sushi ranking for 2026, and for the craft itself, our global sushi guide.
A basement room, two pale hinoki counters, and the hush Ginza does at this level: low voices, no music, staff who reset the wood between pieces. Lighting is bright at the counter and dim everywhere else, the standard grammar of a serious sushiya. There is nowhere to linger before or after, and nobody minds; the meal is the room. Closed Wednesdays, seatings from noon, 18:00 and 20:30.
Book Arai solo because the counter rewards undivided attention: the pacing is the chef's, conversation is optional, and a single diner gets the same fourteen nigiri as a party of four. Solo seats are also genuinely easier to win on the OMAKASE release calendar. Sushi Saito is the harder ticket; Arai is the one you can actually plan a trip around. More counters built for one sit in our solo dining guide.
Not for the indecisive or the substitution-prone: one set course, no menu, and the famous first counter is referral-only. You are booking Usui's second counter.
Yes, if tuna is what you grade a sushiya on. Arai's maguro selection and his willingness to age it set the room apart even by Ginza standards, and ¥36,000 sits below several lesser-starred neighbours. Among Tokyo's reviewed restaurants it is one of the strongest value plays at the starred level, second counter included.
Through the OMAKASE reservation platform, where second-counter seats release months in advance and disappear quickly; set an alert rather than browsing on hope. The first counter, where Arai himself stands, is referral-only and effectively closed to first-timers without a regular's introduction. Hotel concierges at the Ginza luxury houses can sometimes pull a seat, but the platform is the dependable route.
The omakase at the bookable counter is ¥36,000 per person before drinks, covering roughly seven tsumami and fourteen nigiri. Sake pushes most bills past ¥45,000. There is no shorter or cheaper course, and lunch follows the same format. Budget for it once and properly rather than trying to trim it.
Smart and understated. No printed dress code exists, but the room expects what high-end Ginza counters expect: no shorts, no heavy cologne or perfume (it interferes with the fish, and chefs at this level do mind), and nothing that needs explaining. A jacket is welcome, never demanded. Arrive five minutes early; seatings start together.
Good for the right client, with caveats. The counter impresses anyone who knows sushi, and the referral mythology around the first counter gives the booking weight. But conversation runs quiet and the pacing belongs to the chef, so it suits a two-person close better than a table of six. For louder hospitality, our client-dinner guide has alternatives.
Seats release months ahead on the OMAKASE platform; the main counter does not take cold bookings.
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Sushi Arai holds a place on our ranked Tokyo counter list, weighed against Saito, Sawada and the rest of the city's starred rooms.
Tokyo's best sushi counters →
