President Obama goes to Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo
On Wednesday night in Japan, President Barack Obama kicked off his Asian tour in a way that will make food lovers pretty jealous: With a meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, one of the world’s toughest reservations and perhaps its top sushi restaurant.
Sukiyabashi Jiro — and its 88-year-old chef-owner Jiro Ono — was immortalized in the 2011 documentary film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” (watch the trailer below). The 10-seat restaurant is located in a subway station, yet carries three Michelin stars and a menu that starts at $300 per person. The Japanese pretty much shut down the whole area, as you can see from the photos above.
Obama’s dining companion was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was reported by the AP as saying that Obama called the meal “the best sushi he had had in his life.” According to the USA Today, Obama described the experience a little more directly: “That’s some good sushi right there.”
Here’s the trailer for “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”:
