Sushi at Narita

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
February 4, 2009

Sushi Kyotatsu
No. 3 Satellite, Passenger Terminal 1
Narita International Airport
Narita-City, Japan
+81-476-32-1777

Tokyo’s Narita has always been one of my favorite airports for layovers because of the variety of food in the terminals. Even when I was in high school, before it had been renovated, I could always have a tasty beef or noodle bowl there. These days, there are even more options, and for the past couple of years, I’ve always looked forward to pit stops at Sushi Kyotatsu in Terminal 1.

This is not the most amazing sushi, but for an airport it’s tremendous, and the prices are reasonable, too.

Having tried much of the fish on the menu, even though I’m usually more adventurous, the best value and quality is the chutoro (semi-fatty tuna) at ¥420 a piece (the otoro (fatty tuna) is ¥630 a piece, but the quality doesn’t warrant the additional ¥210).

On my way back from Tokyo to New York this time, I stopped by Sushi Kyotatsu for breakfast — four pieces of chutoro, a piece of engawa (halibut dorsal fin muscle), and a glass of seasonal draft beer. While it’s not common to have a beer or sushi for breakfast, when traveling, with appetites and mealtimes already off schedule, I wasn’t going to miss my traditional pit stop at Narita Airport’s Sushi Kyotatsu. And as long as I’m having sushi, I’m definitely having a beer! I felt great getting on the plane after this meal. If only U.S. airport eateries weren’t such greasy carb fests.