Best Sushi in Japan

My friend Noriko and her husband Masaaki took Brian and me to their favorite sushi shop in all of Japan last weekend as a sort of sayonara lunch (hence the gift of a beautiful strand of fresh water pearls). It was the second time I had been there with them, and I was glad Brian could join us this time. I reconfirmed that, indeed, it is the best sushi I have ever eaten!

They told us they eat out for sushi about 6 times a year and only come to this restaurant. It's a small little restaurant at the YRP Nobi station where the sushi chef hand picks only the highest quality fish and seeks out rare seasonal delicacies. Of course, if you don't speak Japanese, then this would be lost in translation. But with help, we tried many different types of fish and shrimp, so the sushi chef mentioned to our friends that he was impressed since most foreigners stick with tuna and sea bream. We've come so far! In April 2002 when we both ate raw sushi (at Fugakyu in Boston) for the first time on one of our first few dates, I never imagined we'd be together eating the best sushi in Japan 7 years later.