Our first night in Kyoto, we dined at one Michelin starred Sushi Gion Matsudaya in the historic Gion district.

Sushi Gion Matsudaya, a tiny 7 counter restaurant, offers various sushi menus at different price points where some include sashimi and/or seasonal “kaiseki” style dishes. We chose the sushi only omakase since we had already had a few kaiseki meals on our trip.

Chef Matsudaya.

Prepping Fish.

Nigiri sushi is one of my favorite foods but I rarely eat it as great sushi is costly. Most high-end sushi restaurants will serve the nigiri already seasoned to enhance the fish whether that’s with soy sauce, some sort of citrus zest, or special salt.

Some favorites were the various types of tuna, aji maki, kinmedai, and anago. So delicious.

Ika (Squid): 8/10.

Hirame (Fluke): 8.5/10.

Tai (Snapper): 8.5/10.

Kohada (Gizzard Shad): 8.5-9/10.

Zuke Maguro (Marinated Tuna): 8.5-9/10.

Chutoro (Medium Fatty Tuna): 9/10.

Otoro (Fatty Tuna): 9.5/10.

Akagai (Red Clam): 8/10.

Kuruma Ebi (Prawn): 8.5/10.

Aji (Horse Mackerel) Maki: 9/10.

Tairagi (Pen Shell Clam): 8/10.

Sayori (Kneedlefish): 8/10.

Hamaguri (Clam): 8.5/10.

Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper): 9.5/10.

Uni (Sea Urchin): 9/10.

Anago (Saltwater Eel): 9.5/10.

Tamago (Egg): 8/10.

After eating all the various street foods and kaiseki meals, it was nice to finally eat some sushi. While the quality was great, it wasn’t the best sushi of my life and you can get high-end sushi here in the Bay Area. Therefore, my rating is an 8-8.5/10.