Sushi Dai, Tokyo

Japan is a great city for eating - from Michelin-starred restaurants for star collectors, to mid-range establishments to hole in the wall corners and vending machines, there is something for everyone. And, best of all, it's all fresh. Seriously, the seafood here is so fresh, sometimes it is still alive as you put it in your mouth.
SUSHI DAI (寿司大)
I'll start off with Sushi Dai in Tsukiji Market, as this has the honour of being the meal for which I have queued the LONGEST. (It is not the longest I have ever queued for something, as that goes to a performance by Marina Abramovic in the MOMA.)  For a chance to eat at Sushi Dai, I arrived at Tsukiji Market to join the queue at 0645.  I then queued for 4.5 hours and only got to eat at 1115.  I know, I know, it is kind of crazy to queue for so long, but after I was locked into the queue for 2 hours, I was all kinds of determined to stick it out. 

When I got close enough to peek in, I realised why the queue moved so slowly. You can see how small the shop is, I reckon there are only around 10 counter seats.

You would think that arriving at 0645 would be sufficiently early, but I guess not!  I had considered waking up even earlier to catch the tuna auction, but as I found out from people in the queue, to be in good time for the tuna auction, you need to get there at 0330.  There are only 120 slots, and by the time my new friends arrived at 0330, they said that the spots for the tuna auction were already half full! Also, check out the website to see if the market is open.

There are two alternative omakase sets at Sushi Dai. Omakase means "I'll leave it to you", so you basically entrust your food to the chef's good hands. The big set is 4000Y and the small set is 2600Y. The difference between the two is that the small set has chutoro and no otoro (i.e. the tuna is not the delicious fatty one) and has no uni and has less dishes.

After my 4.5 hours of queuing, I DEFINITELY wanted the large set.  This consists of 13 items: otoro (fatty tuna), flounder, snapper, uni (sea urchin), tamago, saury, red clam (alive), chutoro (tuna), baby shrimp, ikura (salmon roe), tuna and mentaiko roll, unagi, and a last dish of your choice. I had a second helping of uni as my last dish - it was so tasty!

This chef was so friendly and really put effort into making each piece, so he was a delight to watch. He also knows the name of all the items in English, Mandarin and Korean (and of course, Japanese). This possibly shows how touristed Sushi Dai is haha.

He's also game for photos haha

No wasabi and soy sauce is required for most of the sushi, as the chefs have already included these elements. All the sushi is presented straight on the counter top before you, instead of on a plate, which I found rather fun.

Otoro (Fatty Tuna)

Flounder

Flounder prep: the chef gives the fish a touch of lemon. Look at his concentration!

Snapper

Uni (Sea Urchin)

Tamago

Ocha

Saury

Red Clam 

This was alive  and had to be slapped by the chef as he placed it on the rice. Here, you can see it trying to peel itself off the rice bed

 Chutoro (Tuna)

The tuna pre-preparation

 Baby shrimp

Ikura (salmon roe)

Normally, the ikura we get is frozen, but these were fresh as they're in season now. Delicious.

Tuna and mentaiko roll

Unagi

For the 13th dish, my friend got a Yellowtail (I got another helping of the delicious uni)

If you're wondering what to get, ask the chefs what fish is currently in season! It turned out that yellowtail was in season at that time

Overall verdict: OISHII! The food was super fresh and prepared really well. (Although I'm not sure if it is a four and a half hour queue's worth of delicious, as I haven't tried the other stalls yet.) 

Address: 5-2-1 Tsukiji Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045

Phone: +81-3547-6797

Opening Hours: 5:00-14:00（Mon-Tue, Thu-Sat) 5:00-12:00(Wed)
Close: Sun, Holidays (Wed where Tsukiji Market is closed (check the calendar - the days marked in red indicate closure)

Credit Card: N/A

Seats: 13 counter seats

Menu: 4,000yen(旬魚おまかせセット/Omakase-Set, 2,600yen(にぎり司/Nigirizushi-Set）

Service: Great! Very friendly, and English is spoken

Directions: (courtesy of the excellent website Picrumb - they also have an app available for around $2 which can be used offline. Lifesaver for people like me who cannot read maps!) 

1. I alighted at Tsukijishijo and followed the very easily navigable directions to Tsukiji market. 

2. Once you are in Tsukiji market, walk straight for about 160 metres till you reach Sui-Jinja (Water Shrine) on your left hand side)

3. When you see the crossing in the picture, make a right turn opposite to Sui-Jinja by following the arrow (Sui-Jinja is circled in blue on the picture)

4. Once you see the red mail box, you are almost there. Make a right turn. You will probably see a long queue for Sushi Dai right about here. 

5. Walk for a few seconds and you'll see Sushi Dai! ENJOY!