Care that carries through to the very last bite.
Sushigokoro Nakamura TEXT/KAGEHIRO WATANABE, PHOTO/NAOKO TAKAHASHIRight in the heart of Sapporo, in the basement of the Shikishima Building, directly connected to the underground pedestrian space Chi-Ka-Ho, sits “Sushigokoro Nakamura.” With roughly 30 years of history, the shop first spent about three years in Minami 3-jo, then 15 years in Susukino, and has now been at its current location for 13 years — yet plenty of regulars from the Susukino days still follow along. In an area packed shoulder to shoulder with restaurants, this is a shop whose customers never leave, no matter how many times it moves. That said, it’s not the kind of place where you need to already be a regular to feel welcome. Lunch, especially, is even more approachable — seats fill up fast around midday, but a reservation ahead of time takes care of that.
The lunch menu includes a limited-quantity daily bento, a tuna tekka-don, and three types of nigiri-and-maki set combos. Especially recommended is the great-value "C Set," which comes with tekka-maki. Being lunch, it's reasonably priced, but the ingredients are exactly the same as what's served at dinner — a chance to enjoy genuinely authentic sushi made with aged vinegared rice and seasonal seafood. Naturally, the ingredients are carefully selected fresh from the market every morning. Running a lunch service, they explain, means everything gets used up quickly, so they're always able to serve only the freshest fish.
The sets also come with a rotating, handmade dessert — mousse, crepe, kuromitsu kanten — a rare touch for a sushi restaurant. It's a menu passed down directly from the head chef, who has a soft spot for sweets. Each one is elegantly, lightly sweetened, and it's easy to see why some customers come just for this finishing touch.
If you still have room, don't skip the crab shumai either. Piping hot shumai packed full of snow crab, served with karashi mustard and momiji-oroshi grated daikon, dipped in ponzu — it's a different kind of experience from what you'd get at a Chinese restaurant, fluffy yet rich, with a subtly Japanese flavor profile. And since nigiri and sashimi are available at lunch too, you can always add a piece or two beyond the set menu for a small indulgence. Saturdays especially, they say, see plenty of customers lingering over a leisurely meal. Why not start with lunch as your way into a new go-to sushi spot?
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