About Hakkoku

“Hakkoku,” is an authentic sushi restaurant following the tenants of Edo-mae sushi, a modern cuisine created during the 1820s in Japan. A combination of fresh raw fish, and cooked rice which is seasoned with vinegar, the Edo style being typically saltier and sweeter than other cuisines in Japan. Rice is at the heart of Sato’s sushi. For his rice he uses a blend of two different red vinegars giving each grain a beautiful red ruby shine and deep aromatic flavour, slicing each piece of fish generously.

The restaurant’s name, Hakkoku, is a play on the words ‘black’ and ‘white’, a reminder of how all contrasting forces exist to complement one another. Whether it be sushi and rice or customer and chef, the opposite relationships create harmony, balance and unity.

For all of his pedigree and acclaim, the charismatic Sato is a rather young chef both in age and years spent cultivating his craft. Sato spent his teenage years jamming in a rock n roll band, followed by a stint at a Western style restaurant before at 25 travelling abroad for the first time, gaining a greater appreciation of Japanese traditions. With the lessons learnt from his travels he quickly begun his sushi education under his father’s watchful tutelage at the family restaurant, then also a highly regarded sushiya. The rest is history.