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Restaurant “Sushiya no Hachi” (すし屋の野八) in Asakusa, Tokyo is serving up some really tiny sushi. So tiny, in fact, that you might not even be able to find it on your plate!

Sushi chef Hironori Ikeno is the man behind these minuscule works of art. He has perfected his craft to the point that he can make each piece using only one grain of rice. Don’t believe your eyes? Don’t worry- you’re not the only one who needs a magnifying glass!

Regular sushi is already prepared in bite-sized portions, so it’s baffling to think that it could get much smaller…let alone small enough to put a topping over one grain of rice.

According to Mr. Ikeno, the practice initially started over 10 years ago when he was joking with a customer. But then he became curious to see just how small he could go, until he created the smallest possible size without the morsel becoming microscopic. As we can see in this short video, each piece takes approximately five minutes to make, compared to one minute for a regular piece of sushi.

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▼ Preparing the neta for the rice

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▼ Adding the fish to the rice. Careful now…

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▼ Cutting tiny strips of nori seaweed

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▼ Nori wrapped around the grain and its neta. Wow

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▼Compare the miniature sushi with regular pieces!

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Here’s the short video clip in  English:

Apparently, Mr. Ikeno usually only makes his special one-grain sushi for children, couples, and foreigners, so if you fit one of those descriptions and find yourself in Asakusa sometime, why not stop by for a bite? Or should we say…a nibble?

Restaurant Information:
Sushiya no Hachi
1-3-7 Kaminarimon, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0034
Located approximately 300 meters from Tawaramachi Station
Hours: 5 PM-2 AM, closed on Sundays
Phone number: 03-3841-3841

Address in Japanese:
すし屋の野八
〒111-0034　東京都台東区雷門1－3－7

Source/images: Kotaro Blog, YouTube