Sushi Take (Chef Hiro Restaurant)

※ This is the sushi restaurant called Sushi Take in Kasugai City, Aichi, restaurant of the famous YouTube chef Chef Hiro. Please ensure that this is the correct restaurant before attempting a reservation. ——— The city of Kasugai in Aichi was, until quite recently, largely unknown to visitors. About an hour northeast of central Nagoya City by train, just five years ago it was only known as a fairly popular destination with Aichi residents looking for day trips out of Nagoya. But a single sushi restaurant has single-handedly changed all that. Sushi Take is the restaurant of Chef Takeoka Hiroyuki, known to millions of fans worldwide across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as the one and only Chef Hiro. He’s since become instantly recognisable, with his characteristic shaven head, green outfit and display stand of razor-sharp sushi knives. His wordless yet expressive delivery, deft skill, and use of some of Japan’s most unique ingredients have led to his videos garnering over tens of millions of views, if not hundreds of millions. Of course, this isn’t all just for show. Chef Hiro’s restaurant is in fact open on a regular basis, and sees a steady stream of visitors, from fans of his videos coming from all over the world to pay homage, to his longtime local regulars. Yet all of them invariably say the same thing: that the hospitality is top-notch, the chef is hilarious, and the sushi is flawless, whether it’s traditional favorites like hon-maguro bluefin tuna or sea urchin, or one of his truly inspired creations, which change quickly with the seasons. While Nagoya may not share the same popularity as the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka trifecta of popular destinations, Chef Hiro’s popularity alone has put it — and Kasugai — on the must-visit list for many sushi enthusiasts both within and outside of Japan. Take a seat at his counter — it looks just like it does on YouTube — choose a variety of sake from his towering wall of bottles, and clink your glass with the man himself.