What’s the true form of this rolled sushi hiding underneath the Final Boss sushi?

Among sushi restaurants, Sushi Choshimaru (すし銚子丸) is a hidden gem in the eyes of our illustrious Japanese-language reporter and sushi fanatic Mr. Sato. The chain opened its first shop in 1987 and has grown widely in the Tokyo capital region since then. Unfortunately, due to the “sushi terrorism” happening in the conveyor belt sushi industry in recent months, individual Choshimaru locations will suspend their rotating sushi belts by April 26 and switch over to a full-order system using touch screens.

While that news was a bummer, it wasn’t going to get in the way of Mr. Sato trying out inventive new kinds of sushi. Beginning on March 27 and running through April 28, the chain is offering a weekday-only special menu item. The first item, offered up until April 11, is the “Explodingly Big Sushi” for 1,760 yen (US$13.30). With a name like that, what the heck would this sushi look like? There was only one way to find out.

For his research, Mr. Sato paid a visit to the location in Tokyo’s Hikarigaoka district, which planned to make its final transition to the touch panels on April 18.

 

One new difference that he noticed right away was that the condiments and tea, normally left on the counter all day, were handed to him in a small basket when he sat down. He felt bad for the staff because this kind of change had probably made more work for them.

He immediately spotted a sign for his target, which could be ordered between the hours of 2-8:3o p.m. on weekdays. However, Mr. Sato had arrived at 1:58 p.m. very strategically for a certain purpose.

That reason was because customers who arrive by 2 p.m. receive free and unlimited bowls of fish-head miso soup! Indeed, the staff member who seated him automatically brought him a bowl, which he gratefully downed while waiting the two minutes to place his order for the special menu item, which he then did right away.

After five minutes, it arrived. WHOAH!! Exploding, indeed. Was it a sushi battleship?!

Mr. Sato couldn’t help but wonder: What in the heck was actually going on here?!

In a nutshell, the sushi rolls were [supposedly] at the bottom. Completely covering them were big slabs of salmon, tuna, squid, and shrimp. The whole thing reminded him of the final boss in a video game decked out in as much armor as possible. The only way to get at the rolls was to defeat the upper layer.

The top slices of fish were also decorated with a layer of ikura and spring onions. That combination paired perfectly with the salmon and tuna especially.

Once he had defeated the fish slab armor, he began work on the under-armor. Next up was a generous layer of negitoro, or tuna minced with spring onions.

It wasn’t hard to make quick work of it so that he could see the true form of the rolled sushi underneath. All the while, he couldn’t stop musing how amazing it was that Choshimaru had developed such a crazy menu item.

At long last, he arrived at the heart of the beast–the rolled sushi.

Its true identity was several cucumber rolls filled with flying fish roe. It seemed a bit laughable that the inner core of such a decadent treat was something so ordinary. No wonder it had needed to be fully armed and outfitted with its most quality armor on top!

Even after vanquishing the sushi, Mr. Sato must end any visit to Choshimaru with a serving of its decadent pudding (280 yen). It wasn’t hard work to make that disappear, either.

There are still a couple more days left while the Explodingly Big Sushi Roll is available, so check Choshimaru’s website to find the closest location to you. Then, from April 13 through the end of the promotion, the free and unlimited fish-head miso soup will take its place as the special menu item from 2 p.m. until closing.

In the meantime, Mr. Sato will continue looking for the next weirdest sushi that he can find in Tokyo to share with the rest of the world!

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