Nihonbashi Kaisen Don Tsujihan: Viral seafood rice bowls in Tokyo

There are so many amazing restaurants in Japan that go viral and one of them is Tsujihan. Tsujihan gained a lot of popularity for seafood bowls and I saw it all over my feed 🤩. It quickly climbed on my list of restaurants I wanted to try during my honeymoon trip to Japan.

There are around 6 locations in Tokyo and we went to the Kagurazaka branch in the Shinjuku City area for lunch. Here is how our experience went!

Nihonbashi Kaisen Don Tsujihan Kagurazaka
 Japan, 〒162-0825 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Kagurazaka, 3 Chome−２−2-15, Yamanouchi Bld, 1F

The vibe

So the main reason we went to the Kagurazaka branch in Shinjuku City is simply because it was closest to our hotel. One of my biggest concerns with going to eat at Tsujihan is that it is a viral spot and I have seen comments/reviews talking about how they waited 1 hour or more to eat here 😱. Sorry, but I’m like 31 now and I don’t think any restaurant is worth more than a 45 minute wait unless the food is free.

With multiple locations, there are definitely some Tsujihan branches that have a reputation of having less or no lines (like the Ark Hill location), but I didn’t think the Shinjuku one was one of them. So we came here around 20 minutes early before opening time at 11am there was no line. We were basically the 3rd and 4th person in line after walking around the area for an extra 10 minutes before 11am.

This Tsujihan location is inside a building and the line starts outside – you will see the sign with photos of their seafood bowls. Once 11am came, one of the chefs/workers from inside let us in. Around the first 10 folks or so get seated all at the same time, so try to make sure you make the cut every time they let in 10ish customers. Example, if you are the 11th or 12th person that didn’t make the cut for the first seating, you will need to wait until the first batch of 10 folks finish eating and will be waiting longer than the 18th person who just made the cut for the second seating.

The inside of Tsujihan was basically one dark hallway. There was bar seating facing the chefs and you all file in a line in and sit down. So if you are first in line, you will sit at the very back/inside of the room, and if you are the last in the line, you will sit closest to the door. The first half of the seats have a better view of the chef so the more inside you are, the better. I actually think our 3rd and 4th spots were the best (better than 1st and 2nd spot).

Everything at Tsujihan is done in an orderly fashion. After we all sit down, they go down the list and take our orders. The bowls were already all prepped and most of what you see is the assembly of the bowl.

Food review

The menu consists of seafood bowls or dons with different amounts of toppings and special add-ons. The cheapest bowl is priced at 1,250 yen (~$11 CAD) and the most expensive bowl at 3,600 yen (~$33 CAD). We both ordered the same menu item.

Note that they only accept cash.

After sitting and ordering, they give you a small plate of sea bream sashimi. It has this sesame-flavoured sauce on it and you can eat it alone with the sauce immediately. You can also save a few pieces to add to your bowl later on.

The chefs are quick in preparing the bowls after you order and they do it in order of seats. We basically got our food within 5 minutes of ordering.

Matsu course (2,200 yen/ $20)

So we both ordered the matsu course, which is their second most expensive bowl out of 4 bowls on the menu. Every bowl starts off with the same base – a ball of mixed seafood that includes salmon roe, tuna, shrimp, whelk, geoduck clam, squid, herring eggs, cucumber and green onion. The matsu bowl basically has extra crab, salmon roe and the addition of uni (sea urchin) 🤤.

For $22, I was very satisfied with the amount of food and presentation. You pour a little cup of soy sauce over this pile of seafood and then mix it all up to eat with your rice. My first bite included the uni and I loved it 🥰! A big burst of umami flavour and it had such a great balance with the soy sauce and rice.

I ate all the seafood and just had a little bit of rice left in my bowl towards the end of my meal. At this point, you give your bowl back to the chef and he will pour in sea bream broth and give your bowl back to you.

I am notorious for leaving rice in my bowl 😖 (my mom and my husband always talk about that Chinese myth that if you leave uneaten rice in your bowl, your partner will be ugly/have spots all over their face). So I was pretty happy they added this sea bream broth although I find Japan to be quite hot still in September and I was like do I really want to drink hot soup when I already feel hot 🥵?

The sea bream broth was very delicious! It had a good depth of flavour and was very comforting 👍. I was able to finish the rest of the rice in my bowl!

I saw online that people also recommend you to save a piece of sea bream sashimi and eat it with the broth, so I did that also. But I think out of all the different ways to eat the sashimi, I preferred eating it alone or with the rice more than with the soup.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Given that the seafood bowl was absolutely delicious, price was a steal and we basically didn’t have to wait, I give Tsujihan a solid 4 stars! It was totally worth it and a great experience and start to our day 👍.

I was impressed by Tsujihan’s business model and just how everything operated so smoothly and quickly. From the customer line up to the creation of the bowls, to even the payment and leaving of the user experience, everything happened systematically and orderly. Based on each batch of customers, everyone kind of gets their food at around the same time and finish eating and leave at around the same time.

Again, I don’t think any restaurant – including Tsujihan – is worth anything over a 45 minute wait. So if you see a huge line, I would just skip it and go to another location or come at another time. But for the price of the food and the quality, I would recommend for sure!

Sincerely, Loewe