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It’s been one month since Nakazawa, who’s also a guitarist for two bands, joined the Japanese RocketNews24 team. On a recent day, our veteran reporter Mr. Sato told Nakazawa to follow him as he ventured into the outside world. When Nakazawa asked where they were going, Mr. Sato coolly replied: “To a good place. I’m going to make you happy.”

Not one to argue with a perpetual fan-favorite reporter, especially as a new recruit, Nakazawa obediently agreed.

Two short train rides later, our two adventurers finally arrived at their destination: a collection of bars and other late-night eateries near Tokyo’s Kita-Senju Station. Nakazawa followed Mr. Sato silently until the expert reporter suddenly stopped in his tracks. “We’re here,” Mr. Sato announced. Nakazawa looked up and was shocked to discover that they were standing in front of what looked like a hotel—and not just any hotel, but a LOVE hotel!

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Though they had been walking in a straight path after leaving the station, Nakazawa was caught off-guard when Mr. Sato suddenly changed direction and veered onto a side street and headed deeper into the maze of back alleyways. As his face remained expressionless and his pace unwavering, Nakazawa admitted that he felt a twinge of fear at what lay ahead.

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Finally, the moment came when Mr. Sato abruptly stopped and announced that they had reached their destination. Nakazawa followed the direction he was pointing in and his eyes came to rest on none other than the exterior of…a love hotel!? Why would his senior bring him to a place frequented solely by horny couples and the occasional shifty looking businessman? The only thought swirling around in Nakazawa’s head was, “Mr. Sato, you can’t be serious!”

▼ “We’re here.” But where the heck is here?

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Nakazawa stammered out an awkward plea to let himself go freely this time, despite being the newest member of the team and in the presence of a more experienced coworker. On any other occasion he would do almost anything for RocketNews24’s own in-house celebrity—anything but that!

▼ “Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy…but yeah, this is crazy.”

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In all of his seasoned professionalism, Mr. Sato calmly answered: “Huh? What are you taking about? Look.” This time, Nakazawa’s eyes lit upon a small sign by the door…displaying a list of sushi!?

▼ “Read, you fool!”

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▼ “Ohhh. Phew, I almost had a heart attack there.”

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They opened the doors and walked down a flight of stairs, and it was indeed a sushi restaurant, and not some kinky love hotel! Nakazawa was palpably relieved. After all, no matter how attractive Mr. Sato is, he had only just met the man a few weeks ago…

It turned out that Mr. Sato had wanted to celebrate Nakazawa’s one-month anniversary of joining the team and decided to take him out to sushi at this restaurant called Sushitani. Touched as he was, Nakazawa couldn’t help but scream inside his head: “Couldn’t you have just said so from the start!?”

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The restaurant was divided into a counter area and booths, inviting a casual atmosphere. A quick glance at the menu showed a full selection of sushi toppings. The prices also appeared to be comparable to other places in the city—except for the salmon set, which was strangely cheap at five pieces for only 380 yen (US$3.18).

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▼ The inexpensive salmon set

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Despite the restaurant’s easily confusing facade, the sushi’s taste was reasonably solid, and the ingredients were definitely fresh.

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The only other surprising item on the menu was an extra-large portion of chawan-mushi (a steamed egg custard, usually served in a teacup-sized dish) being sold for 1,000 yen ($8.38). Mr. Sato decided to order it half for fun, but he got much more than he bargained for when it arrived in a porcelain bowl usually reserved for rice and meat dishes! It was a mystery to them why the restaurant offered that dish, and only that dish, in an extra-large portion variation…

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All in all, Nakazawa greatly appreciated Mr. Sato’s generous treat to commemorate the start of his working at RocketNews24. But he still hopes that the next time Mr. Sato decides to have him tag along somewhere, it will be to a less conspicuous place!

▼ Nakazawa celebrating the end of his “ordeal” with a full stomach.

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Restaurant Information
Sushitani/すし谷
Address: 1st floor, SS Building, 1-32-2 Senju, Adachi-ku, Tokyo
東京都足立区千住1-32-2 SSビル 1F
Hours: 5pm–3:30am
Closed: Sundays and national holidays

All images © RocketNews24