Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
OAD-ranked counter. Book early, go alone.
A counter sushi venue in Kagurazaka, Hatou has ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top 100 restaurants in Japan for two consecutive years under chef Daichi Kumagiri. Booking difficulty is currently rated Easy, which is rare at this recognition level. Evening service only, Monday to Saturday — worth prioritising on any serious Tokyo food itinerary.
If you are comparing Hatou against the most-booked sushi counters in Tokyo, such as Harutaka or Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongiten, the answer is yes — with one condition. Hatou sits in Kagurazaka rather than the usual sushi belt of Ginza or Azabu, which means a different rhythm to the evening. Chef Daichi Kumagiri has built a following serious enough to earn Opinionated About Dining recognition three years running, climbing from Highly Recommended in 2023 to #93 in Japan in 2024 and #98 in 2025. That trajectory tells you this is not a venue coasting on early praise. Book it.
Sushi at this level is fundamentally a counter experience, and Hatou is no exception. Sitting directly in front of the chef is not optional atmosphere — it is the format. At a counter like this, you are close enough to register the faint, clean scent of well-handled fish alongside vinegared rice, and the pacing of the meal is controlled entirely by what is in front of you rather than by a menu you ordered from across the room. The counter removes the buffer between diner and craft. What Kumagiri chooses to show you, and in what order, is the content of the meal.
This matters when you are deciding between Hatou and a larger-format sushi venue. Places with multiple rooms or a la carte options give you more control and flexibility; Hatou asks you to surrender that. The exchange is a more focused, sequential meal where the chef's judgment carries full weight. For a food-focused traveller who wants depth rather than optionality, that trade is worth making. For a group that wants to eat at different paces or has divergent preferences, it may not be.
The Kagurazaka address reinforces this character. The neighbourhood around 5 Chome Kagurazaka is quieter and more residential than Ginza, with a low-key streetscape that does not telegraph fine dining. Arriving here, rather than at a glossy Ginza tower, sets expectations correctly: the meal is the focus, not the address.
Hatou holds a Google rating of 4.8 from 73 reviews, which is a high score on a small sample , useful as a directional signal rather than a definitive verdict. The more meaningful credential is the Opinionated About Dining ranking, a peer-reviewed list drawn from frequent, serious diners across Japan. Being ranked in the top 100 restaurants in Japan for two consecutive years puts Hatou in a competitive tier that includes venues with Michelin stars and decades of reputation. The upward movement from Highly Recommended to a numbered rank, and the maintained presence in 2025, suggests a kitchen operating with consistency rather than one-off recognition.
For context on what OAD rankings imply about the competitive set, consider that Tokyo's top-100 OAD restaurants span everything from kaiseki institutions like RyuGin to precision-focused sushi counters like Sushi Kanesaka. Hatou is in that company.
Hatou is open Monday through Friday from 6 to 9 pm, Saturday from 5 to 9 pm, and is closed Sunday. The single evening service daily means there is no lunch option and no second seating to fall back on. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which is relatively unusual for a venue at this recognition level and worth acting on before that changes. There is no phone or website listed in Pearl's database; the most reliable booking approach for venues of this type in Japan is through a hotel concierge if you are staying at a property with strong local connections, or through a specialist reservation service. Guests visiting from outside Tokyo planning a broader Japan itinerary may also want to cross-reference dining options at HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, or akordu in Nara for a multi-city food trip.
Price range data is not available in Pearl's current record for Hatou. For a counter sushi venue of this OAD standing in Tokyo, the reasonable expectation is an omakase price point in line with other top-100 Japan restaurants , plan for a significant per-head spend and confirm directly when booking. If you are building a broader Tokyo itinerary, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide, our Tokyo hotels guide, and our Tokyo bars guide.
For sushi specifically, Pearl also covers Edomae Sushi Hanabusa and Hiroo Ishizaka in Tokyo, and internationally, Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong and Shoukouwa in Singapore for comparison. Further Japan options worth noting include Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa.
Quick reference: Kagurazaka, Tokyo , evenings only, Monday to Saturday , closed Sunday , booking difficulty: Easy , OAD Top 100 Japan (2024, 2025).
Hatou is a counter sushi venue in Kagurazaka with a single evening service. The format is almost certainly omakase, meaning the chef sets the menu and the pace. Come focused, arrive on time, and be prepared to follow the sequence rather than direct it. The OAD ranking and consistent Google score suggest the kitchen delivers at a high level, so trust the format. Dress smart-casual at minimum , this is a serious restaurant, not a neighbourhood roll shop.
Pearl rates booking difficulty at Hatou as Easy, which is a genuine advantage over harder-to-access Tokyo sushi venues. That said, the OAD ranking means demand from serious food travellers is real. Book two to three weeks out if you can, especially for Friday and Saturday. Saturday opens earlier at 5 pm, which gives a slightly longer window if you have post-dinner plans.
Yes. A counter sushi format is arguably the leading possible setting for solo dining in Tokyo , you are directly engaged with the chef and the progression of the meal, which is more immersive than a table for one. Hatou's Kagurazaka location is lower-key than Ginza, which suits solo travellers who want concentration over scene.
At a counter sushi restaurant, the counter is the primary , and usually only , seating format. There is no separate bar for drinks. Your seat at the counter is the full experience. This is standard for this style of venue in Tokyo, and the right expectation to arrive with.
Counter sushi venues have fixed seat counts that limit large-party bookings. No seat count is listed in Pearl's current data for Hatou, but venues of this type in Tokyo typically seat between 8 and 14 at the counter. Groups of two to four are the most natural fit. If you have a larger group, contact the venue directly when booking to confirm availability and whether any private arrangement is possible.
No dietary restriction data is available in Pearl's record for Hatou. For an omakase sushi counter, dietary accommodations can be limited by the format , the menu is chef-led and often fish-forward with limited flexibility. Communicate any restrictions clearly at the time of booking, not on arrival. Severe allergies or strict vegetarian requirements may not be well-served by this format; in that case, a kaiseki venue like RyuGin may offer more adaptability.
Hatou does not offer lunch. Service runs evenings only, Monday to Friday from 6 pm, Saturday from 5 pm. Sunday is closed. There is no choice to make between meal periods , dinner is the only option, and Saturday's earlier start gives the most relaxed entry point if you want to avoid a late finish.
No dress code is listed in Pearl's data, but for a Tokyo restaurant ranked in the OAD top 100 in Japan, smart-casual is the floor. Avoid overly casual clothing. Strong fragrances are worth skipping at any close-proximity counter , they interfere with the experience for you and others at the counter. Business casual or evening casual both work well.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatou | Sushi | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #98 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #93 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Highly Recommended (2023) | Easy | — | |
| Harutaka | Sushi | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Florilège | French | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Hatou is a counter-format sushi restaurant, which means seating capacity is limited by design. Groups larger than four are likely to find the format difficult to arrange, and the dinner-only schedule with a single nightly service leaves no flexibility for split seatings. Pairs and small parties of three or four have the best chance of securing seats together. For larger groups in Tokyo, a restaurant with private dining rooms would be a more practical choice.
Book as early as possible — ideally four to eight weeks out, and further in advance if you are travelling from abroad. Hatou has ranked on OAD's Top Restaurants in Japan list three consecutive years, reaching #93 in 2024 and #98 in 2025, which means domestic and international demand is consistent. The single evening service daily and Sunday closure compress availability further. Last-minute access is unlikely without a contact or agent.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is documented for Hatou. At counter-format omakase restaurants in Tokyo at this level, the menu is typically set by the chef and adjusted minimally, if at all. Communicate any restrictions well before arrival — ideally at the time of booking — rather than on the night. Guests with significant dietary constraints should confirm directly before committing.
Hatou does not offer lunch. The kitchen operates one evening service daily, running 6 to 9 pm Monday through Friday and 5 to 9 pm on Saturday. There is no lunch to compare against, so the dinner service is the only option — plan your evening accordingly.
No dress code is documented for Hatou, but a counter sushi restaurant ranked in OAD's Top 100 in Japan warrants respectful, neat dress. In Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighbourhood, which skews toward understated and polished rather than casual, arriving overdressed is rarely an issue. Avoid heavily scented products, which is standard practice at any serious sushi counter.
Hatou is a counter-only, dinner-only sushi restaurant in Kagurazaka run by chef Daichi Kumagiri, with OAD recognition three years running. The format means you eat what the chef serves, at the pace the chef sets — this is not a venue for a la carte browsing or long conversations mid-service. Arrive on time, since the single nightly service window leaves no room to recover a late start. Booking through a hotel concierge or specialist reservation service will improve your chances significantly.
Yes — solo dining is one of the strongest reasons to book Hatou. Counter sushi at this level is built around direct chef interaction, and a single seat is often easier to secure than a pair. As an OAD-ranked restaurant with a 4.8 Google rating from 73 reviews, Hatou has the credentials to make a solo meal feel deliberate rather than incidental. If solo omakase is your format, Hatou in Kagurazaka is a sound choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
