If New York City has pizza, and Los Angeles has tacos, then Vancouver is a sushi town. The Japanese influence throughout the city is undeniable. Japanese convenience stores and ramen shops line Robson Street. Manicured public gardens like Nitobe Memorial Garden and Momiji Gardens offer moments of tranquility with ponds, waterfalls, and traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. In the spring, thousands of blushing cherry blossom trees transform downtown into a sakura oasis that could be confused with Tokyo if only the locals suddenly switched to the Japanese uniform of wide-leg culottes.

But the most noticeable element transferred to Vancouver from Japan is the prevalence of sushi. There are more than 600 sushi eateries in metro Vancouver. Nearly every city block is populated with sushi restaurants, making raw fish often as easy to find as a cup of coffee. Quantity rarely guarantees quality, yet the city’s close proximity to the Pacific Ocean has worked in tandem with a strong Japanese influence to make Vancouver a sushi destination whose culinary impact can be felt around the world.

The ubiquitous California roll, which helped propel sushi into the mainstream, is rumored to have been invented in Vancouver by chef Hidekazu Tojo. “In the ’60s and ’70s, when I started making sushi in Vancouver, most people thought seaweed was gross because of its dark color. They were also not eating raw fish,” says Tojo. Trying to broaden sushi’s appeal, Tojo swapped raw fish for cooked crabmeat and turned the roll inside out to hide the seaweed. The California roll became the first roll to feature rice on the outside, then a radical idea that helped disarm the foreign concept of seaweed at the dinner table.

Vancouver’s sushi scene has come a long way since the days of seaweed- and sashimi-fearing diners. Today, the city’s best sushi restaurants proudly serve generous slices of ruby red sockeye salmon sashimi alongside aburi sushi where slices of tuna belly and scallop are seared with the lick of a charcoal flame. During spot prawn season, rare B.C. spot prawn nigiri creeps onto omakase tasting menus. It is served alongside buttery Hokkaido uni that is able to maintain peak freshness after making the short trip over the Pacific Ocean from Japan.

But while the Japanese influence in Vancouver is palpable, much of the sushi is untraditional. Chefs deploy rice paper, egg crepes, and even baguettes in lieu of seaweed. Rolls are finished with whimsical toppings like crispy onions, pistachios, mango slices, and flavored Kewpie mayo before being dipped in house-made tamari emulsions instead of soy sauce. These west coast renditions may read as sacrilegious to sushi purists. But the playful, anything-goes sushi culture that has been cultivated in Vancouver has allowed invention to thrive. When it comes to unconventional sushi, the city that bred the California roll has hardly rested on its laurels. Here are the best places to experience the uniquely delicious results.