Tokyomae by Hiroya's tuna, Tuna, TUNA sushi
Tokyo has a reputation for being a city where you can eat well almost anywhere. A recent gourmet event titled The Secrets Behind Tokyo's Deliciousness, hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), set out to explain why that is, and how it continues to hold true as the city's food culture evolves.
The event framed Tokyo's culinary strength not as a matter of luck or hype, but as the result of an ecosystem. Designed as an experience rather than a lecture, guests were invited to engage directly with Tokyo's current food scene and its future direction.
The System Behind the Taste
A short introductory video laid out the central thesis: Tokyo's deliciousness rests on three pillars — markets, technology, and specialists.
The city's logistical network moves ingredients from every corner of Japan, turning the capital into a one-day crossroads for everything from seafood to tropical fruit. Japan stretches roughly 3,000 kilometers north to south, yet ingredients can still be gathered in Tokyo in a single day, creating a density of choice that few global cities can replicate.
These networks allow ingredients from across Japan to be gathered, assessed, refined, and delivered with extraordinary precision.
The theme tying everything together was "evolution": not abandoning tradition, but layering new ideas on top of it. As the narration put it, "Evolution does not mean letting go of tradition. It means adding new elements on top of a strong foundation."
Sushi Without Borders
The first live demonstration came from a sushi restaurant located beneath Tokyo Tower called Tokyomae by Hiroya, a modern label the restaurant uses to distinguish its approach from traditional Edo-mae sushi. Chef Takuya Motohashi described it as sushi rooted in Edo-mae technique, the classic Tokyo style, but intentionally free of genre boundaries.
"Because we can handle ingredients and techniques from Japanese, French, Chinese, and Italian cooking," Motohashi explained, "I don't place restrictions on myself. I focus purely on making something delicious."
Where Technique Enables Play
That "borderless" approach is enabled by technology as well as taste. Motohashi pointed to ultra-low freezing, around –50°C to –60°C for professional tuna storage, as a way peak quality is preserved beyond seasonal limits.
Tokyomae by Hiroya's first dish was a single piece of nigiri combining three cuts of tuna: akami (lean), chutoro (medium-fat), and otoro (rich, heavily marbled). Normally served separately, the cuts were stacked together to express what Motohashi called the idea of one fish, experienced at once. It was playful, but also technical, forcing the balance of fat, acidity, and rice temperature into a single bite.
The second dish pushed the idea further. Shirako (pufferfish milt) was served chawanmushi-style, a savory steamed egg custard, and paired with sake. Guests were instructed to stir vinegared rice into the custard and eat while sipping a cloudy nigori sake. Halfway through, black pepper was added, transforming the flavor profile.
What began as something unmistakably Japanese shifted toward something creamier and more Western. Motohashi described this not as fusion for its own sake, but as a way to expand how sushi can be experienced in Tokyo. "By enjoying sushi together with Tokyo's sake," he said, "you can feel a different side of sushi altogether."
Where Quality Is Decided
The conversation then widened to include the ingredient professionals who support chefs like Motohashi. Joining him was tuna specialist Miyashita Taro from Kitami Suisan, a Tokyo-based seafood wholesaler that operates in both Toyosu Market and Tsukiji Outer Market.
Miyashita explained that tuna quality is shaped long before it reaches a counter. "We bring fish in alive, and from there we add our own work," he said. "Our goal is to make it taste the same as, or better than, it would at the place it was caught."
He also challenged the idea that "freshest" automatically means "best." Depending on the fish, resting and controlled handling can deepen flavor. Selection happens under time pressure and with limited information, making experience critical. As he put it, markets like Toyosu are places of trade, but also of judgment, where professionals translate raw materials into culinary potential.
Tempura Reimagined in Shibuya
The second half of the event shifted from sushi to tempura, featuring Tenki, a restaurant based in Shibuya that pairs tempura with white wine and applies French technique to a deeply traditional form.
CEO Mera Keita described Tenki as an attempt to evolve tempura without breaking it. Chef Gou Kametani elaborated on the method. "We break tempura down into four elements: the ingredient, the batter, the seasoning, and the way it's eaten," he explained. "By redesigning each part, we can create something familiar but new."
A carrot tempura was presented taco-style, wrapped in nori and eaten by hand. Kametani noted that he deliberately cuts the carrot thick and cooks it slowly, letting residual heat work so moisture stays inside. "I want one dish to give multiple impressions," he said. "That's why I like layering different vegetables and ideas into a single bite."
Dessert tempura followed the same logic. A lightly fried strawberry, cooked for barely 30 seconds, was paired with a strawberry-amazake sauce inspired by Italian strawberry-and-rice desserts. "We don't fully cook it," Kametani emphasized. "I want people to still get the fresh aroma of the fruit."
The Infrastructure of Taste
What the event ultimately demonstrated is that Tokyo's food culture works because it is treated as infrastructure as much as art. Chefs innovate, but they do so atop markets, logistics, and specialist knowledge refined over generations. At the beginning of the event, a video aptly made the point that Tokyo's food ecosystem is still evolving — and not yet in its final form, a line many foreign Dragon Ball fans will instantly recognize.
In that sense, the event wasn't just about delicious dishes. It was a reminder that Tokyo tastes good because it understands how deliciousness is built, and gives its chefs the freedom to keep rebuilding it.
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Author: Daniel Manning
