回転寿司 根室花まる Nemuro Hanamaru

Besides Midori Sushi, a recent sushi conveyor chain that is a hit with the locals is Nemuro Hanamaru which ships the freshest seafood from Nemuro City in Hokkaido. Besides the fact that this is Hanamaru's sole sushi outlet in Tokyo, the above-average attractive looking sushi at highly affordable prices is another reason why the Tokyo-ites are more than willing to queue for it.

The genki energy here is infectious. Lots of shouting by the sushi chefs at the centre that livens up the atmosphere. It's almost like an izakaya except that the lightings are brighter and there is no tobacco smell.

Caramelized sweet potatoes--> our appetizer aka first dish that we grab

Some of the memorable ones are the Kani (crab) salad, Ponzu Sanma, "Burnt scallops" Kogashi Hotate Kani Chawanmushi, Anago (didn't spot one whole anago on the menu though).

Chawanmushi with premium ingredients!

Marinated Maguro

Kuri Engawa no Kogashi Shoyu

Ebi prawn Mayo turned out to be raw!

Occasionally, they would dish out limited time offerings such as this Ootoro sushi.

The minute I heard "Ootoro", I raised my hand eagerly and thankfully secured one of the plates before they were gone.

O..O...OOTORO

Tsukimi Salmon

This tamago was quite different from usual because rice is stuffed inside. But the folks found it slightly too sweet.

Meantime, the shoyu marinated sujiko (salmon eggs) looked beautiful but it was rather difficult to get used to the odd taste and texture.

The crab soup came in huge portion for just ￥320 with lots of meat to dig. But just like the Sanma no Tsumire Soup, it was overdosed with sodium that we could barely empty the bowl. 

Time for some pickled vegs to balance out all the carbs and protein. Don't be afraid to take this because it is not too salty.

The best sushi of the night I had was the Chan-chan yaki Salmon that was coated in miso sauce. Chan-chan yaki is actually a very local way of preparing salmon in Hokkaido usually in hot claypots. Quite surprised to find this in sushi-ya.

There is also a considerable range of desserts such as matcha and sakura mochi. But perhaps those can be skipped and one can head for this "Imo Dango", a Hokkaido specialty yam mochi dumpling that is coated in semi-savoury sauce.

Jelly

Apart from the salt-coma inducing soup, the sushi is value for money and delicious. Plus, all the shouting by the chefs make it seems as though one is having sushi in a fish market.
 It might seem out-of-place in the classy KITTE building but that is what makes this place attractive as well. Just make sure to avoid peak dining hours.

回転寿司 根室花まる  Nemuro Hanamaru
Kitte 5F Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 2-chome
Average Budget: ￥1000-1200
www.sushi-hanamaru.com