Rice dishes
Sushi toppings
寿司ネタ
27 varieties
Sushi toppings form a catalog of what goes on top of nigiri and gunkan. Tuna alone splits by cut into akami, chutoro, and otoro; mackerel is cured into shime-saba; conger eel is simmered and glazed with tsume. The same fish or shellfish is said to become a different topping depending on how it's cut and worked for the counter. This section follows not the fish itself, but the work, the cut, and the role each takes on as sushi.
No single place of origin27
- Akagaiark shell, its flesh reddened by blood carrying iron rather than copper
- Akami no Zukesoy-marinated lean tuna — the cure that came before the fatty cuts were prized
- Ama-ebinorthern shrimp, its raw sweetness building after it's caught
- Anagosea eel simmered soft under sweet glaze
- Botan-ebispot prawn, a rarer and richer relative served raw
- Chutoromedium-fatty tuna, between lean akami and the richest otoro
- Engawathe fin-moving muscle strip along a flatfish's edge — fatty and prized
- Hirame no Kobujimeflounder sandwiched between sheets of kelp to draw out extra umami
- Hotatescallop adductor muscle, sliced thin and served raw for nigiri
- Ika no Kanoko-zukurisquid scored in a fine cross-hatch to make its thick skin easy to bite through
- Ikura Gunkansalmon roe, separated grain by grain, mounded in nori-wrapped rice
- Kanpyodried gourd shavings, simmered sweet-savory, rolled into maki
- Kazunokoherring roe, salted or dried into a bundle prized for its crunch
- Kisu (Kawashimo-jitate)sillago given a quick pass of heat on the skin before it's sliced
- Kohadavinegar-cured gizzard shad, the measure of an Edomae chef
- Kuruma-ebi (Yude)tiger prawn, boiled straight on a skewer and shelled for nigiri
- Magurotuna — the modern king of sushi
- Mirugaithe giant water siphon of a gaper clam — a rare topping now often substituted
- Negitorominced fatty tuna scraps mounded on a rice cup, wrapped in nori
- Ni-hamaguriclam simmered in a sweet soy broth and glazed with its own reduced liquid
- Otorothe fattiest cut of tuna belly, once dismissed and now the most prized
- Sayorihalfbeak — a slender, silver-bodied fish with a jet-black belly lining
- Shime-sabamackerel cured first in salt, then in vinegar
- Shirakofish milt, a soft, custard-like organ served raw or lightly seared
- Tako no Sakura-nioctopus simmered in a sweet soy broth until it takes on a pale pink blush
- Tamagoa sweet, sponge-like omelet slice — the topping said to prove a sushi chef's skill
- Uni Gunkansea urchin roe mounded in a nori-wrapped rice cup
View all Sushi toppings on the map
Before you go
- How to use a convenience storeA quick guide to choosing rice balls and hot snacks, buying coffee, paying by cash, IC card, or tap payment, using the eat-in corner, and sorting your trash — the basics for a first visit.
- Station food and ekiben (station bento)Where and when to find ekiben (station bento) before it sells out, etiquette for eating on board, how standing soba and udon stalls work, and where to find souvenirs sold inside the station.
- Soraben and airport diningA guide to what soraben means and how it differs from ekiben, whether to buy before or after security, etiquette for eating on board, airport restaurants, and things to check before buying food souvenirs to take home.