AWA SUSHI (泡鮨), the sushi restaurant inside Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka by Onko Chishin in Osaka, has resumed lunch service. For Monday to Thursday only, it now offers an experience-style lunch course in which guests make three pieces of sushi themselves under the guidance of a sushi chef.
More Than Tasting Sushi: A Lunch That Lets You Experience a Chef's Craft
A sushi counter is a place to watch a chef's movements up close and enjoy sushi prepared one piece at a time. The new lunch at AWA SUSHI turns guests into the ones doing the shaping at that very counter.
In the course, guests make three of the eight pieces of sushi themselves. A sushi chef who trained at starred restaurants teaches, right in front of them, how to handle the sushi rice (shari) and tips for shaping each piece. Guests can try with their own hands what they could normally only watch. Once a piece is made, guests can take a photo of it and then eat it as it is. Tasting both the chef's sushi and their own gives a sense of how delicate and deep the art of sushi-making is, which is part of the appeal of this lunch.
Learning Three Pieces from a Sushi Chef: A 9,000 Yen Lunch Course with a Japanese Set Meal
Head chef JIN
The experience is led by AWA SUSHI's sushi chefs, including head chef JIN, who trained at starred sushi restaurants.
From picking up the shari, to pairing it with the topping, to how much force to use when shaping, the chef explains each step right in front of guests. Because the experience is limited to three pieces, even first-timers can try it without feeling pressured.
The course starts with a toast drink, followed by a Japanese-style gozen set meal that uses seasonal ingredients and is filled with a dish of the day, eight pieces of sushi, and red miso soup (akadashi). Along with the nigiri-making experience, guests can taste sushi shaped by the chef, enjoying both the pleasure of eating and the pleasure of making.
A Small Escape from the Everyday: Weekday Lunch in Shinsaibashi
Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka by Onko Chishin, a short distance from Shinsaibashi Station in Osaka, is the world's first official Champagne hotel. AWA SUSHI, on its second floor, is a restaurant with a sushi counter of 10 seats.
With lunch service resuming, a course with the nigiri-making experience is offered from Monday to Thursday, and a sushi lunch course without the experience is offered from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays.
The nigiri-making experience starts at 12:00 PM for all guests together, and reservations are available for parties of two or more. It suits an outing with friends, a lunch for a mother and daughter, or a treat for yourself on a weekday off, and it can also be combined with shopping or a stroll around Shinsaibashi.
Rather than just eating, guests touch the chef's craft and make the sushi by hand, so the lunch hour itself becomes part of the experience at the hotel's sushi counter.
Course Details
- Course name: [Selected Days Only] Includes One Toast Drink! Osaka Shinsaibashi AWA SUSHI | Nigiri Sushi Experience Lunch Course Taught by a Sushi Chef from a Starred Restaurant
- Venue: AWA SUSHI (泡鮨), 2nd floor, Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka by Onko Chishin, 2-6-7 Minamisenba, Chuo Ward, Osaka (postal code 542-0081)
- Price: ¥9,000 per person (tax included)
- Available days: Monday to Thursday (excluding public holidays)
- Start time: 12:00 PM (all guests start together)
- Reservations: From two guests
- Course contents: One toast drink; a Japanese-style gozen set meal filled with a dish of the day; eight pieces of sushi (guests make three of them); red miso soup (akadashi)
Notes:
- On Fridays to Sundays and public holidays, a sushi lunch course without the nigiri-making experience (¥9,000) is offered.
- The contents may change depending on ingredient availability.
About AWA SUSHI
AWA SUSHI is a sushi restaurant with 10 seats on the second floor of Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka by Onko Chishin. Centered on head chef JIN, it serves dishes that draw on Edomae sushi techniques.
The pairing of sushi and Champagne, possible because it is part of a Champagne hotel, is one of its appeals. It is open to hotel guests as well as to those marking an anniversary, dining with someone special, or entertaining business guests.
Business hours (no regular closing days)
- Lunch, Monday to Thursday: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM (all guests start at 12:00 PM)
- Lunch, Friday to Sunday and public holidays: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM (last entry 1:00 PM)
- Dinner: from 5:00 PM (last entry 8:30 PM)
Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka 2nd floor, AWA SUSHI
About Cuvée J2 Hôtel Osaka by Onko Chishin
The hotel is the world's first official Champagne hotel, created after obtaining formal permission from 11 prestigious Champagne houses (producers). All 11 guest rooms were created together with the houses. In the minimalist, refined rooms designed by architect Shinichi Ogawa, guests can experience each house's history, ideas, worldview, and Champagne culture. The hotel also has AWA SUSHI, a sushi restaurant with 10 counter seats where guests can enjoy sushi and Champagne pairings. In 2025, the hotel joined Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH).
- Address: 2-6-7 Minamisenba, Chuo Ward, Osaka
- Opened: January 13, 2024
- Rooms: 11
- Access: 7-minute walk from Shinsaibashi Station and 4-minute walk from Nagahoribashi Station on the Osaka Metro
- Official website: https://j2.by-onko-chishin.com/
