These may serve an unknowing foreigner last night's thawed out leftovers at horribly expensive prices. Your bill at a sushi restaurant will basically consist of the chef's general impression of how much you ate, the proprietor's assessment of your socio-economic status, your value as a customer and the conditions that evening. Those determined to discover their own sushi place off the beaten track should wander around the commercial areas of upscale and middle-class residential neighborhoods and observe which sushi restaurant Japanese businessmen troop to upon returning to their homes. A good sushi restaurant should have enough customers and a comprehensive array of fresh seafood arranged inside the countertop glass case. Take a quick look as you enter and, if the fresh offerings are wanting, head for the door with a smile.
Most foreigners are only familiar with the ubiquitous California roll and tuna.
The California roll is unknown to most local chefs, while tuna can be decently-priced or outrageously expensive according to the cut. Maguro is the cheapest, and o-toro is the choicest cut, costing as much as 2,000 yen a piece. Perhaps the best way to manage the meal is to point and order from the day's offerings. Foreigners determined to have their sushi should be prepared to pay. Most good sushi restaurants do not have a menu with prices clearly written, so it would be futile to ask for a detailed accounting or to attempt to calculate one's dinner bill by summing up the number of tuna sushi ordered.