Aiba Masaki's knife skills are outstanding! "Aiba Manabu" guests are delighted with the enticing sushi served by the "Knife Prince"

■ “Knife Prince Season 5 Sushi Restaurant Aibatei” opens! Welcoming special guests and serving delicious sushi

“Aiba Manabu” is a show where Aiba Masaki learns various things about Japan. This time, it is season 5 of the popular project “Knife Prince”. “Sushi Restaurant Aiba-tei” opens.

Aiba, also known as the “Knife Prince,” has trained in fish preparation and has a high level of skill in nigiri sushi, and has previously served superb sushi to big-name guests such as Akira Terao and Kinya Kitaoji. This time, a host of impressive guests will be coming to the restaurant one after another.

The first to arrive were Sawaguchi Yasuko and Kato Ryo, who are appearing in “Kasouken no Onna Season 24,” which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series’ start.

On this day, there was a full menu of seasonal ingredients, including amberjack, red meat, golden horse mackerel, gizzard shad, abalone, and conger eel. Sawaguchi, who said it had been a while since she had been to a sushi restaurant, ordered amberjack first, but was captivated by Aiba’s skillful knife handling as he removed the scales and the way he lightly pressed the ingredients, commenting, “Your movements are so beautiful.”

Kato, who joined “Kasouken no Onna” this season, seemed to feel pressured about appearing in a long-running popular series, but revealed that he was able to open up to everyone on set thanks to Sawaguchi’s attentive attention to detail as the troupe’s leader. “Since Kato joined, the number of laughs on set has increased,” said Sawaguchi, revealing that filming is proceeding smoothly.

Sawaguchi also immediately ate the amberjack nigiri, praising it highly, saying, “The size is just right! It’s delicious!!” Even Eiji Kotoge of Viking was surprised, as he blurted out, “What a day!”, exuding his cute charm.

There was also a scene where Sawaguchi talked about how she spends her days off. “He’s already a pro!” Sawaguchi was delighted with Aiba’s skills, and Kato looked very satisfied.

Next up was Yanagisawa Shingo, who appeared in the drama “Subarashiki Kaya, Sensei!” Haraichi’s Sawabe Yu also looked worried at Yanagisawa, who appeared in high spirits, saying, “This is going to be a long one…”

Yanagisawa ordered the sweet, seasonal Bigfin Reef Squid. Aiba handled the giant bigfin reef squid with great skill, and Yanagisawa exclaimed, “Wow, that’s amazing!”

After eating the beautifully made sushi in one bite, he also performed his impressive impersonation of Masaaki Sakai, a man with 45 years of experience in the entertainment industry, and really livened up the atmosphere on set.

They also performed their signature “One-Man Koshien” and “One-Man Police” to their heart’s content, and went home with smiles on their faces.

Additionally, Muroi Shigeru and Mitsuishi Ken, who appear in Minami-kun ga Koibito !?, also visited the store.

Aiba and Muroi co-starred in the 2009 drama “My Girl” as father and son. They also co-starred with Mitsuishi in the 2011 drama “Bartender,” so they were happy and nostalgic to be reunited after such a long time.

And the topping that Muroi ordered was gizzard shad. It was small and difficult to prepare, but Aiba cut it with ease.

Muroi stared at the skill of the chef in fascination, saying, “Beautiful!” The chef’s carefully crafted masterpiece was highly praised, with Muroi saying, “Delicious!” and Mitsuishi saying, “Yummy! The seasoning is just right.”

Muroi and Mitsuishi also ordered an additional abalone, and were deeply moved by its deliciousness. Although they are both veterans, when asked how they memorized the script, their answer was unexpected.

“I’d like to come again, what day of the week will you come?” (Muro) concluded on a high note.

Last up was Nomura Mansai, who has been in the entertainment industry for 55 years. Aiba was a little impressed by his mature presence, saying, “His mature composure is amazing!”

“Let’s start with something light,” he says, ordering horse mackerel. He watches Aiba’s delicate knife work intently. After tasting the finished nigiri, he narrows his eyes and says, “Mm, mm… it’s good.”