Last visit Dec 2024 · 2 visits

Takaoka: with the deep love of Chiba

Sushi · ¥¥¥¥ · Nobuto, Chiba · 4 min read

Chiba rarely gets much credit on the sushi map — the great counters are assumed to be a Tokyo thing. Takaoka (たかおか) is the standing argument against that: an Edomae counter in Chiba City good enough that, for a while, it carried the prefecture’s name into the heart of Tokyo.

A Chiba counter, briefly Tokyo’s

Chef Chiharu Takaoka built his name here in Chiba over more than a decade before opening a counter in Tokyo Midtown Yaesu, a minute from Tokyo Station — and tellingly, he called that Tokyo room Chiba Takaoka (千葉たかおか). The name wasn’t sentiment; it was a sourcing statement. Wherever the counter stands, the rice, the water, much of the fish, and a good part of the sake list come from Chiba, and the cooking is built to show off what the prefecture lands rather than to chase the usual luxury checklist.

The meal

If you’ve made the trip to Sushi Ei in Nishi-Chiba, this is the same region’s cooking in a different register. Takaoka is definitely more refined. The interesting thing is that it serves seaweed and lotus root (renkon) as the otsumami, so your mouth never gets bored even when waiting for the next piece.

A ceramic bowl of marinated aji (horse mackerel) dressed with sliced scallion — Marinated *aji* (horse mackerel), dressed with scallion — a *hikarimono* opener.

Two pieces of ankimo, monkfish liver, in a dark broth on a black lacquer plate with a dab of wasabi — *Ankimo* — monkfish liver, served in a light broth.

Slices of sawara, Spanish mackerel, on a cut-glass plate, each dotted with green — *Sawara* — Spanish mackerel, each slice touched with a dot of green.

A single piece of kinmedai (golden eye snapper) nigiri on a black slate board at the counter — *Kinmedai* (golden eye snapper) landed at Chōshi, the great fishing port on the Chiba coast.

All the sake is from Chiba, so don’t ask for Juyondai or Aramasa here — try some Chiba sake.

A green bottle of Fukuiwai junmai ginjo sake on the counter — *Fukuiwai* (福祝) — a junmai ginjo from Fujihira Shuzō in Chiba.

A red-labelled bottle of Fudo dry junmai sake beside a small dish of wakame seaweed — *Fudō* (不動) — a bone-dry junmai, also from Chiba.

Getting in

Chef Takaoka has since moved back to his original counter in Chiba; the one in Tokyo Midtown is now run by his deshi (apprentice). Please check carefully which counter you’re booking before you reserve.

Location

Aishin Building 1F, 1-7-6 Nobuto, Chūō-ku, Chiba

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