Harutaka

One of Jiro-san’s disciple’s for many years, Harutaka is the best! We had to try the omakase menu, everyone should at least once in your life time :)
I’ve never been to Jiro’s, but I heard he’s really fast at serving the sushi, but at Harutaka he does it a bit slower which I love! I would want to actually enjoy the food while relaxing at the same time. We stayed here feeling no pressure to leave for about 2 hours.
Right when we arrived, we didn’t have to wait at all and was seated and served an appetizer and drink. There is no fresher place you can get sushi than this! My favorite was when he had the 3 different grades of toro for you to try. The sushi rice was just superb, and it was delicious!
Thank you Harutaka for making our honeymoon trip a great experience! We will definitely come back again in the future.

«Harutaka» is the best Sushi place I have ever been to, considering its quality of Sushi at the pricing. Well, it’s certainly too pricy for frequent use, but would be a great place to go to for an anniversary or celebration of some sort. And, interestingly, when you eat Sushi at this quality level, it even feels rewarding because it makes you feel you’ve worked very hard on something that’s worth the luxury of having this extraordinary Sushi. That feeling drives you to work harder as you obviously want to come again.
This is getting a bit too philosophical for a humble restaurant blog, but seriously, if you come eat at a place like this, it’s beyond just a meal. So, in that sense, it’s certainly worth a visit. As it’s a small place, I’d suggest you come in a group of 2 – 3 people (4 tops) and make sure you make a reservation at least a week prior.
There are many other fancy Sushi places in the Ginza area, but this place is one of the best recognized ones. I guarantee you would be stunned how good Sushi can be.
Note:
The only reservation I have for you is, if you are visiting Japan for the first time and are from American-​style-​diet countries, I’d say that your sense of taste needs some time for rehabilitation by eating as much Japanese food as possible before coming to places like this, because your taste is too accustomed to strong-​sauce flavors.

Once in a lifetime experience — hands down! A bit pricey (close to $ 300 for the set menu) but I highly recommend everybody try something like this at least once.
There are two options — the sushi only menu (around $ 200) and one that includes appetizers as well (around $ 300). We opted for the $ 300 option… because vacation.
The chef’s are very professional and clearly know what they are doing. They’ve really turned it into an art. The appetizers lead you through a progression of flavors that starts light and moves through slightly heavier /​saltier plates. The fish was delicious, no surprise there.
My observation is that the big difference between this meal and slightly cheaper meals is not the uniqueness of the fish or even the freshness. The premium comes in during preparation — oftentimes we would notice the chef watching us, pull out some fish, cut it, then put it in a box. He would pull this fish out again in 30 minutes. When asked about this, he said simply some fish needs to be a certain temperature — and since he knew we would be eating that particular fish in 30 minutes, he prepared it ahead of time.
It’s the small things, but that and the quality of the rice made a huge difference. I had the opportunity to try other sushi a couple days later and — while delicious — I did notice a slight difference.
Whether or not that difference is worth the premium is up to you — but I definitely recommend it at least once to find out!

Best sushi. Ever. Go here and you will be spoiled! No sushi will ever compare.
Itamae Harutuka was a disciple of Jiro, so the style of sushi is very similar here. Even though he practiced under Jiro, you will never feel rushed as you do in Jiro’s shop. You can spend a few hours here and you won’t feel pressured to leave.
Let me address Annie’s point about getting more fish as «local» because I’ve never experienced this.
1) Harutuka does have a price fixed menu for tourists
2) If you can speak a bit of Japanese, you are able to order piece by piece
If you order the price fixed menu, you are asked if you want sushi OR sushi + appetizer. Just select sushi + appetizer if you want the sashimi ! It doesn’t mean people are getting more fish, it just means they selected sushi + appetizer.
Also, if you see someone getting another type of fish that you didn’t have, just ask Harutuka., Harutuka is very approachable, just make the effort to interact with the itamae and you’ll have a great time.
Favorite place in Ginza.

Unless you are going with a local, I would recommend taking harutaka off your list of restaurants. We read on tripadvisor that regulars were given more items, this is true. The 3 different types of uni was only given to the patrons next to us, along with some different appetizers. I get that as a restaurant you want to go above and beyond for your regulars, but this can be done in other ways. Giving more food to regulars on a set menu is just annoying. Quality of fish is obviously top notch, although I think the rice was a bit overpowering. I prefer the other Michelin starred sushi restaurants in Gina that have attitudes and taste better than at harutaka

My husband and I went to Harutaka two years ago and it’s still our best sushi experience overall (trumps Jiro honten). Fresh and flavorful sushi & tsumami (appetizers), moderate pace, relaxed ambiance, and reasonable price for the superb-​quality food makes this place a must go for sushi fans! I was very glad to see Harutaka risen to 2-​Michelin star this year and won’t be surprised that it’ll rise to 3 in a few.