Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Serious nigiri. Book early or miss out.
A Michelin-starred omakase counter in Ginza's most competitive sushi tier, Sushi Kojima is worth booking for a special occasion meal where craft and pacing matter. The extended snack sequence, previous-year-harvest rice, and painstaking preparations like pickled tuna and steamed conger eel justify the ¥¥¥¥ price point. Book six to eight weeks out minimum — seats go fast.
Sushi Kojima is built for the diner who treats a special occasion dinner as a reason to go deep, not wide. If you are planning a milestone celebration, a significant business dinner, or a once-in-a-trip meal in Tokyo, this Ginza counter earns serious consideration. It holds a Michelin 1 Star (2024) and sits in one of the world's most competitive sushi zip codes, which means the bar for earning that recognition is considerably higher here than almost anywhere else on earth. Book this when the evening itself is the point.
The room is on the fifth floor of a Ginza building, which already tells you something: this is not a ground-floor destination designed for foot traffic. You arrive with intention. The visual rhythm of an omakase counter like this one is part of what you are paying for — watching a sushi artisan work at close range, every movement deliberate, nothing rushed. The chef's focus is the centrepiece of the room, and the format rewards diners who are present rather than distracted.
The omakase set opens with snacks before a single piece of nigiri appears. Steamed abalone, tender-boiled octopus, and salt-grilled blackthroat seaperch serve as the opening sequence, a pacing decision that keeps sake flowing and gives the meal its structure. This is not a counter where the nigiri arrives immediately. The snack course is substantial enough to shape how you drink, which matters at a ¥¥¥¥ price point where the drinks bill can move fast.
When the nigirizushi does arrive, the rice is a deliberate choice: large-grained rice from the previous year's harvest, mixed with both red vinegar and rice vinegar. That combination is designed to pair across a wider range of toppings than a single-vinegar approach would allow. The preparations that follow — pickled tuna, steamed conger eel, kanpyo , are painstaking in execution. These are not simple items. Each requires time and technique that a high-volume restaurant cannot replicate.
The omakase format here is explicitly structured to support sake drinking. The extended snack sequence before nigiri is not incidental , it is a sake-pacing mechanism. At a Ginza counter of this calibre, the sake list is a working part of the meal, not an afterthought. Expect a curated selection weighted toward labels that complement fish-forward courses. If sake pairings are available, they are worth taking: the snack sequence and the nigiri course each call for different styles, and a well-chosen pairing will track those shifts. For serious sake drinkers, this format is close to ideal. For guests who prefer wine with sushi, Ginza sushi counters are generally not the right format , the pairing logic here is built around Japanese rice wine, and that is worth factoring into your decision before you book.
Getting a seat at Sushi Kojima is genuinely difficult. This is a small counter in Ginza with Michelin recognition, which means demand consistently outpaces availability. Book as far in advance as possible , for a specific date, six to eight weeks out is a reasonable starting point, and for peak dates (weekends, holidays, Golden Week), longer lead time is advisable. Last-minute availability is unlikely. If your Tokyo itinerary is fixed, lock in this reservation before you confirm flights. Hotel concierges at major Tokyo properties sometimes have relationships with reservation services that can help, but even with assistance, this counter fills fast.
Reservations: Book as far ahead as possible; 6-8 weeks minimum for weekday seats, longer for weekends and peak travel periods. Dress: Smart casual at minimum; Ginza omakase counters have an implicit dress expectation even when no formal code is stated. Budget: ¥¥¥¥ , factor in sake and service; the all-in cost at a Michelin-starred Ginza counter at this tier will be substantial. Location: Fifth floor, Ginza 7-chome, Chuo City, Tokyo , plan your arrival time and confirm the building entrance in advance.
See the comparison section below for how Sushi Kojima sits against its peers.
If Sushi Kojima's booking window does not work for your dates, Tokyo's Ginza neighbourhood has serious alternatives worth evaluating. Harutaka operates in the same ¥¥¥¥ tier and is one of the counters that competes most directly with Kojima for the same diner. Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongiten carries significant name recognition and is worth considering if legacy reputation matters to your group. Sushi Kanesaka and Edomae Sushi Hanabusa round out the Ginza sushi tier worth knowing about. For a different style of special occasion dinner in Tokyo, Hiroo Ishizaka offers an alternative format. Our full Tokyo restaurants guide covers the broader field, and if you are building a full trip, the Tokyo hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide are useful starting points.
For high-end Japanese dining beyond Tokyo, HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, and akordu in Nara each warrant a look depending on your itinerary. Outside Japan, Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong and Shoukouwa in Singapore are the regional sushi counters that operate in a comparable tier. If your Japan trip extends further, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa are worth bookmarking.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sushi Kojima | Sushi | ¥¥¥¥ | The omakase set menu begins with snacks such as steamed abalone, tender-boiled octopus and salt-grilled blackthroat seaperch. The large number of items keeps the sake flowing before the nigirizushi arrives. For the sushi, large-grained rice from the previous year’s harvest is chosen to create a sense of presence, and red vinegar and rice vinegar are mixed in to pair with a wide range of toppings. Pickled tuna, steamed conger eel and kanpyo are painstakingly prepared. Watch the chef work and witness the single-minded devotion of a sushi artisan.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| 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 | — |
Comparing your options in Tokyo for this tier.
Book at least four to six weeks out, ideally more if you have fixed travel dates. Sushi Kojima is a small Ginza counter with Michelin recognition, and demand consistently exceeds availability. Waiting until a few weeks before your trip is a reliable way to miss out entirely.
At ¥¥¥¥ pricing, the value case rests on format fit. The omakase opens with a substantial snack sequence — steamed abalone, boiled octopus, salt-grilled blackthroat seaperch — before moving to nigiri made with aged rice and a red vinegar blend. That scope and the Michelin star earned in 2024 justify the spend for anyone who wants a full counter experience, not just a quick nigiri run.
Groups are possible but constrained by counter seating on the fifth floor of a Ginza building. Small groups of two to four are the practical sweet spot. Larger parties should check the venue's official channels well in advance, as a full counter buyout may be the only realistic option, and availability for that format is limited.
Solo dining at a sushi counter is one of the most rewarding formats in Japanese dining, and Sushi Kojima is built for exactly that. The counter position lets you watch the chef work directly, which the Michelin citation specifically highlights as part of the experience. Solo diners also tend to have slightly more scheduling flexibility, which helps with the competitive booking window.
Yes, if omakase is a format you enjoy. The menu is structured to keep sake moving through an extended snack course before the nigiri arrives — pickled tuna, steamed conger eel, and kanpyo are all prepared in-house. That level of preparation is what the Michelin recognition reflects. If you prefer à la carte or a shorter meal, a different Ginza counter will serve you better.
The restaurant is on the fifth floor of a Ginza building — not street-level, so allow time to find it. The omakase runs long by design: the snack sequence before nigiri is substantial, and sake pairing is built into the pacing. Come hungry, come on time, and treat the counter as a participatory experience rather than a passive one. Dress neatly; this is Ginza at ¥¥¥¥ pricing.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
