About Masa
Masa Takayama grew up in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, where his family ran a fish shop beneath the summit. He moved to Los Angeles, then to New York, and in 2004 opened his eponymous counter in the Time Warner Center — the same building, and the same floor, as Per Se. The positioning is not accidental. Masa is the Japanese counterpart to Keller's American temple, and the two restaurants have conducted a quiet, respectful competition for the title of New York's most important dining experience ever since.
The counter is made of solid hinoki cypress, the wood Takayama chose for its grain and its scent — it smells faintly of clean cedar and seawater, which is exactly the correct sensory preparation for what arrives. The omakase begins at $750 per person, not including drinks. The Hinoki Counter Experience, which guarantees a seat at the counter with your own dedicated sushi chef, is $950. A newer seasonal omakase reaches $1,200. These numbers are not errors.
What you receive in return is food prepared to a standard that most kitchens cannot approach. Caviar-topped toro tartare that arrives as a single instruction about fat and brine and temperature. Kegani crab, its sweetness calibrated to the season. Geoduck nigiri with a chew that has been calibrated over decades. The matcha mille-feuille at the end — Takayama's own pastry — is as precise as the savory work that precedes it.
The room seats fewer than thirty. Silence is the house style — not oppressive, but focused, like a concert hall between movements. Eating here alone is not lonely. It is meditative.
