Nestled within a quiet corner inside Aman Tokyo, find Musashi by Aman, an authentic Japanese edomae sushi omakase restaurant led by Master Sushi Chef Hiroyuki Musashi. 

Along an 8-seater hinoki cypress wood counter, guests are front row to witness chef Musashi’s unparalleled skills. The seasonal omakase course menu showcases the best of Japan’s unique and abundant offering from both land and the surrounding vast oceans — each dish served in traditional ceramics and lacquerware handcrafted especially for the restaurant.

Set in a calm and serene interior dominated by natural timber and cream tones, the focus is on the beauty of Japanese craftsmanship — both in Chef Musashi’s skilled culinary preparations but also in the handcrafted traditional vessels and wares he carefully selects (and himself creates) to serve them on. The experience is all-encompassing, immersing guests in the culture of Japanese craftsmanship.

Since the age of 18, Musashi worked in restaurants in his hometown of Yamanashi, a neighbouring prefecture of Tokyo, before moving to the main capital at age 36 to pursue further training at the city’s top three sushi restaurants. At age 39 he first opened his basement sushi restaurant, Sushi Musashi, achieving his first Michelin star in his first year of opening and maintaining the restaurant for twelve years.

The unique partnership between Aman Tokyo and Chef Musashi is based on a deep mutual respect. Aman Tokyo approached the chef and pursued the collaboration for two years. Led by a shared values — respect of nature and meaningful encounters — the collaboration came to fruition in 2018.

With a deep respect for traditional craftsmanship, find authentic Japanese hand-crafted tableware, glassware and lacquerware throughout the space. Musashi’s dishes are served in his own hand-made pottery (comprised of a mix of clay sourced from Shigaraki and soil from his own rice farm). The restaurant’s stellar curation of nihonshu Japanese sake is served in handblown glassware or Musashi’s own hand-turned ceramic cups. Hot sake on the other hand, is served in edo-kiriko traditional hand-cut glassware by third-generation master craftsman Toru Horiguchi.

Overseeing all elements of his restaurant, chef Musashi’s day begins with an early rise and visit to Tokyo’s fish market at 5:30am, where he visits four of his trusted regular suppliers that he has been working with for over 30 years since his first restaurant in Aoyama. He visits four specific wholesalers for ebi (shrimp), maguro (tuna), uni (sea urchin), and one for ‘small things’ referred to as kuumono — selling ika (squid), shellfish, hamaguri (clam).

Sourcing naturally-grown vegetables and wild fish examples chef Musashi’s core ethos of utilising non-farmed fish and vegetables grown without unnecessary chemicals.’ The way I see vegetables is the same way that I only use the fish that was free,’ he explains. ‘I believe what our bodies really need is something that just grew on its own. Shizen no power (Nature’s Power)’.’

Crafting his own ferments of miso and soy sauce in the restaurant, chef Musashi also plants and harvests his own shari (sushi rice) in his hometown of Yamanashi Prefecture. The pesticide-free rice field is located at the foot of Mt Kaikomagatake amongst Japan’s southern alps utilising pure Mukawa spring water. Growing the Hitomebore rice grain — it’s charming name is translated to ‘love at first sight’ in Japanese — the short grain variety is best suited for sushi-making. The same rice is also utilised for chef Musashi’s own award-winning sake crafted in partnership with Niizawa-san based in Miyagi prefecture.

The complexity of techniques acquired over decades by a master sushi chef is immeasurable — requiring a keen sense of seasonality, minutiae fluctuations in temperature and sensibility to timing. Ingredients undergo extensive preparation before diners even reach the restaurant — skilled crafting of zuke (immersing in soy sauce), niru (simmering in a broth of soy, sake, mirin and sugar) and shime (curing with salt and vinegar) are what allow Musashi’s omakase to stand out from the rest through his unrelenting attention to texture, taste and detail.

In early summer, chef Musashi’s omakase course comprised of seasonal tsumami dishes and nigiri sushi featured mako-karei marbled flounder from Chiba, aji horse mackerel from Kyoto, nodokuro black throat seaperch from Tsushima, toro fatty tuna and chu-toro medium fatty tuna from Nagasaki to uni sea urchin from Hokkaido. Including a signature hand-roll sushi Ana Kyu (Sea Eel and Cucumber), a refreshing and playful dish marrying the textured depth of the anago saltwater conger eel and crisp cucumber.

Chef Musashi’s personal love for nature also leads him equally closer to the ocean through surfing and skiing. The chef is commonly known to organise a solo 10-day surfing trip across Kyushu, reaching his favourite beach Nichinan in Miyazaki’s Aoshima Island to waves in Kagoshima.

With over three-and-a-half decades as a master sushi chef, Musashi’s main focus remains on his guests and his unrelenting dedication in overseeing all aspects of the dining experience at his restaurant. ‘Most important for me is the guests after they leave dining here, and the level of their satisfaction.’ He continues, ‘For that I make sure I do my best and am very hospitable, and to be hospitable, I make everything on my own. Thats my way of respecting my guests, serving the best quality sushi made my own rice raised with my heart and soul. I put my love into everything and how I feel I should treat my guests.’

Musashi by Aman
1-15-2 Tomigaya Shibuya-ku, 151-0063
Tokyo, Japan

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Images: Champ Creative © and Ben Richards, Musashi by Aman
Text: Editor-in-Chief Joanna Kawecki