by Christine Cunanan

eware. Many of the horror stories about foreigners in Tokyo sushi bars are true. Not a few business executives have marched confidently into a Ginza sushi restaurant armed with the company credit card and anticipating a light and healthy lunch -- only to be slapped with a 35,000 yen bill for two and a lot of explaining to do at the head office.

Then there's the story of four tourists who ordered a meal at a nondescript sushi restaurant and ended up having to be temporarily bailed out by their hotel concierge because of their collective cash was short of the 120,000 yen needed.

Dining on sushi while in Tokyo is almost de rigeur for the seasoned traveler who prides himself on his gourmet instincts and ability to order and eat as the locals do.

Sushi is the logical choice. After all, it is Japan's best-known food as well as its most enduring nourishment -- the preferred meal for every facet of life, from celebrating a pay raise or the birth of a grandchild to feeding unexpected guests. It is usually enjoyed with others, but it is perfectly acceptable to savor it alone.

Unfortunately, navigating your way through a sushi meal requires a detailed roadmap. The restaurant alone can make or break the experience, as well as one's budget for the entire trip.

Most Tokyo residents have their favorite haunts -- establishments where, as regulars, they will be allocated juicier morsels and offered extra services such as a complimentary welcome drink.

These places eventually become counseling centers, tight social clubs and temporary homes where loyal patrons can spend as much time as they please entertained by the chef or proprietor in exchange for a usually arbitrary and fairly hefty bill.

Visiting businessmen without the luxury of a regular sushi place can increase the odds for a wonderful meal simply by knowing which places to avoid and selecting from the choices that remain.

Sushi restaurants in tourist or business districts such as Ginza or Akasaka should generally be avoided, regardless of how deceivingly small and harmless these look. These may serve an unknowing foreigner last night's thawed out leftovers at horribly expensive prices.

"Your bill at a sushi restaurant will basically consist of the chef's general impression of how much you ate, the proprietor's assessment of your socio-economic status, your value as a customer and the conditions that evening." Sushi aficionado

The safer choices would be well-known establishments such as the upscale Fukuzushi in Roppongi, a local selection such as Sushi Kan in Yoyogi Uehara or the more commercial, but also reasonably-priced, Hina Sushi chain found all over the city.

Those determined to discover their own sushi place off the beaten track should wander around the commercial areas of upscale and middle-class residential neighborhoods and observe which sushi restaurant Japanese businessmen troop to upon returning to their homes.

A good sushi restaurant should have enough customers and a comprehensive array of fresh seafood arranged inside the countertop glass case. Take a quick look as you enter and, if the fresh offerings are wanting, head for the door with a smile.

Most foreigners are only familiar with the ubiquitous California roll and tuna. The California roll is unknown to most local chefs, while tuna can be decently-priced or outrageously expensive according to the cut. Maguro is the cheapest, and o-toro is the choicest cut, costing as much as 2,000 yen a piece.

Perhaps the best way to manage the meal is to point and order from the day's offerings.

Foreigners determined to have their sushi should be prepared to pay. Most good sushi restaurants do not have a menu with prices clearly written, so it would be futile to ask for a detailed accounting or to attempt to calculate one's dinner bill by summing up the number of tuna sushi ordered. The numbers just won't add up.

"Your bill at a sushi restaurant will basically consist of the chef's general impression of how much you ate, the proprietor's assessment of your socio-economic status, your value as a customer, and the conditions that evening," explains a Japanese friend. "If the proprietor is worried about bills to pay and there are fewer customers than usual, you may have to shoulder more of the fall-out."

So, the trick is just to enjoy sushi in a reasonable quantity, to humor the chef by showing proper appreciation of his fish-picking and sushi-cutting skills -- the magic word here is "Oishii" -- and to endear yourself to the proprietor if you can. And bring enough cash (30,000 yen per person should be enough) since many small sushi restaurants do not take credit cards.

Until a few years ago, diners who could not pay in full could leave their work calling cards as guarantee of payment. Unfortunately, too many bogus card-carrying strangers attempting to get free dinners at the height of Japan's worst post-war recession has all but put an end to this convenient practice. Today, sushi lovers need to fend for themselves.