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Favorite dining spots in Japan
What are some of your favorite dining spots in Japan? I am interested in places that you've enjoyed, from traditional Japanese to non-Japanese, from casual to upscale, places that were fun or memorable...
We will be in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Takayama, Kyoto, Kurashiki, Hiroshima, and Osaka. Leaving room for spontaneous decisions yoo. Thank you. |
I've been twice to the Yokohama Ramen Museum, which is a two-story recreation of a Tokyo street scene for the Showa period. And it is a great excuse to have ramen. A selection of exceptional ramen purveyors from all over Japan. Not only is it visually dazzling, but you can order half portions so you get to sample more.
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Last time in Tokyo we really enjoyed the Ichiran Ramen chain. Quick, cheap, and very easy to order. Particularly liked the way you could tailor make the dish to your own preference strength of broth, spiciness etc.
Also in Tokyo is the unfortunately nick named "Piss Alley" new the west entrance to Shinjuku very very busy and great fun, lots of bars, sushi and yakitori place. In Tkayayam we loved the set meals in Sumiyoshi Ryokan where we stayed and also the many places specialising in the Hida beef fro which the area is rightly famous - supposedly the best wagyu in Japan ( with prices to match). When we tired of restaurant eating we headed to the supermarket food depts for bargain pot luck takeaways. |
@tripplanner, thanks for posting this!
@crellston, I’m pleased that we’ll be staying at Sumiyoshi ryokan in Takayama (3 nights!) and we’re staying there partly because I remembered your wonderful description. And of course, the wonderful reviews from other people as well. I’m looking forward to those meals, too! |
Kizuna Sushi, Kabukicho, has an excellent tuna combo and lots more. It is in Godzilla spitting distance. Quite a few foreign tourists, but that is ok, that tuna combo is really good. It is busy but you can turn your back to that if you sit at the sushi bar.
Bikkuri Sushi, Ebisu, on a corner about a block from Ebisu Station. The sign out front is in Japanese, but I think that is the name of the place. Popular and few, if any, other foreign tourists. They have ume shu. I will go back in November and make sure, but I think this is the place: EDOMAE BIKKURI ZUSHI EBISU - Shibuya / Aoyama / Ebisu / Meguro - Menu, Prix & Restaurant Avis - Tripadvisor Sushi Zanmai is a national chain and a go-to place for sushi anytime, anywhere. MOS Burger is a national fast food chain. Yummy, cheap. Popular with students which adds some entertainment value. Omicho Market in Kanazawa, just off the main drag, and across the street from there down the stairs next to the Starbucks, you will find a nice variety of casual restaurants. Doutor for coffee, snack Osaka and Hiroshima both have their own styles of okonomiyaki. Hiroshima has oysters. |
>> "Piss Alley" new the west entrance to Shinjuku
Is that Omoide Yokocho? That also would be just 1 min from Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station on Oedo Line. Essentially the same location as Shinjuku Station, given the Oedo station name has nishi (west) guchi (gate/exit). I will be staying on top of Tochomae station on Oedo Line so would only have to go one stop to Shinjuku-nishiguchi. |
Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful suggestions.
Crellston, I'm with you on supermarkets. With Japan, even with convenience stores there could be more variety than in other countries. And the larger train stations are also food wonderlands. |
Hi tp! When are you going? Your itin is almost identical to where we went on our trip in 2019. WE also did the Tateyama-Korobe Alpine Route. had foggy weather for part of it but otherwise really nice. This was in October.
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Progol, I am sure you will love Sumiyoshi as we did. The two sisters running the place couldn't speak a word of English but were great characters and we managed to communicate vi the medium of mime & signs. It is a while ago now so they may have retired, but in Japan, who knows?
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Originally Posted by crellston
(Post 17498237)
Progol, I am sure you will love Sumiyoshi as we did. The two sisters running the place couldn't speak a word of English but were great characters and we managed to communicate vi the medium of mime & signs. It is a while ago now so they may have retired, but in Japan, who knows?
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Yestravel, we will be in Japan for most of November.
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Originally Posted by davidtaylor3639
(Post 17498690)
You should try Tempura Yoshikawa Inn - It has a great atmosphere and It serves a kyoto-style tempura that is light and delicate compared to other Tokyo variety. and it is one of the traditional inn. You will enjoy there.
Yoshikawa Tempura Restaurant Kyoto (insidekyoto.com) |
In Kanazawa we enjoyed Otafuku for donburi and soba. Kuroyuri for oden which is especially delicious on cool evenings with beer and sake. Mitsukawa Sushi is a great place, small 8-10 seats, excellent food and service, two seatings per evening with the later seating more relaxed.
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In Kyoto we like to indulge in Japanese breakfasts and there are many places that do it very well. A few are Shunsai Imari, Bushido and Roji Usagi. Ochazuke (tea and rice) with tsukemono (pickles) is great for a lighter lunch and very Japanese. Marutamachi Jyunidanya or Kintame are shops that do this very well.
One of our favorite types of dining in Kyoto is obanzai ryori, home style cooking, one of the famous Kyoto cuisines. The others are kaiseki which is very high end and shojin ryori or monks fare. All are based on using the freshest seasonal ingredients especially produce grown specifically in the Kyoto region. There are many restaurants in Kyoto serving obanzai, but most are local spots with no English menus with little to no English spoken. Two places used to foreign visitors is Manzara and Menami. There are large bowls of prepared food lining the counter, you point to what you want and it is served in smaller portions. There is also a kitchen where other hot or cold dishes can be made when ordered. One interesting restaurant En Boca makes pizza in a wood burning oven utilizing the Kyoryori concept of using the best, freshest ingredients for toppings. Not the usual pepperoni or sausages you find elsewhere. Nice for a change of pace. |
Isetan Shinjuku basement food floor
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You may already know this: tabelog.com is the Japanese Yelp, but on steroids. They have photos of everything, seriously: restaurant exteriors (important for finding the place), interiors, and the food. Plus maps, prices, opening hours, everything you need to know. Armed with that knowledge, you don't have to let language barriers stop you. Oh, they will always be there, but they shouldn't stop you.
There is an english language version of tabelog which is nice,, but the Japanese version is even better. So.... Taking the suggestion of curiousgeo above, I searched in Kyoto (京都市) first search box, for obanzai (おばんざい) second search box, and picked a date then entered. Here is one of the places that came up: https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260...vt=1900&svps=2 |
>> but the Japanese version is even better. So...
then I right-click in Edge browser and select "Translate to English" and then translate the resulting "English" to English Ajino Shunda Kyoto Miso Oden & Daily Obanzai! The cook-only course is easy 2,500 yenAji is horse mackerel, so Ajino Shunda could be a "shunda" made with aji, except that shunda is a given name. But it can't be an aji dish prepared by a chef named Shunda. That would be Shunda-no aji, i think. I see that "miso oden" is a thing, so there is no comma missing between those words. Obanzai is in wikipedia. |
IIRC, the Japanese version allows for more searching; let's say you want to search for a particular dish, you can do that. The English version is limited that way. There is no need to "Translate to English" in tabelog. Once you have a place picked out in the Japanese version, just add /en after tabelog.com
For example, in the Japanese version: https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260101/26003530 add /en and you get the English version of the same restaurant: https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260101/26003530 This enables you to do a more thorough search in the Japanese version, and then still get to the English version (which has limited search functionality.) |
tripplanner001 You have mentioned that you still remember the delicious tonkatsu you had in Hakone last time. Which restaurant was that, do you remember?
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Osaka style okonomiyaki in Tokyo on the same Kabukicho street as Kizuna which I mentioned on this thread last year.
OSAKA-YA, Kabukicho - Shinjuku / Nakano / Suginami - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor In Fukuoka for seafood, kaiseki, more, go to CHIKAE FUKUOKA, Chuo - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor |
French Kaiseki in Kyoto: Misoguigawa
https://www.misogui.jp/english.html |
Tokyo - another vote for the chain Sushizanmai
Kanazawa - Iwashigumi a very atmospheric sardine restaurant. There are photos on TA to give you an idea of the place. Takayama - there is a croissant booth at the morning market serving croissants filled with bean paste among other choices. When we were there it was the booth next to one serving beer. Kyoto - Kappo Saraku This was such a lovely meal that we ate there twice, including on our last evening in Japan |
I love Ichiran for ramen, Genki Sushi for quick sushi, and Gyukatsu Motomura for delicious beef cutlets. For street food, Dotonbori in Osaka is a must!
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Tokyo: We had lunch is a fantastic restaurant that I found on Chowhound. It is upstairs in a plain, small office building and features tonkatsu (pork cutlets). KATSUKAMI GINZA.
I see now that, since we were there about four years ago, it gained a Michelin nod. Not surprising!! https://katsukami.com/en.html One our best meals in Japan..very tiny place must book ahead. I am standing with the wonderful Japanese-American guide we hired for the morning, and she left us at the restaurant. Yukari Sakamoto. At neither this place, nor the one, below, did we see any other obvious foreigners. We also had some great meals inside the subway stations; we spent about a week in Tokyo before heading to a secluded onsen ryokan (KAYOTEI) that we reached by a couple of train rides I got a lot of help about that on this forum. A night at KAYOTEI was quite an experience, with dinner and breakfast included. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f548983dc4.jpg I'm cracking up at something Yukari (our wonderful guide) must have said..standing in front of entrance to the FANTASTIC tonkatsu restaurant, on fifth floor here. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d63cab20a5.jpg Inside..only a counter with about 6 seats.... https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...be5394d6b3.jpg Might be the very best pork I've ever eaten. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7b210b9cca.jpg Chef behind the counter of KATSUKAMI GINZA......for tonkatsu. Divine! The other place we LOVED was the very special SHIMA STEAK. We had lunch there and bought a take-out order of their famous steak sandwich to take to the Giants game at the "Dome." This is a family-run restaurant and we were catered to by the female half of the couple who owns it. OOOh..very difficult to find but when we did, we were so very happy!! https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...25fbc23a1b.jpg Tokyo!!! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...074411ad3e.jpg STEAK SHIMA...owner/chef with his steaks https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f322186bee.jpg Counter seating at STEAK SHIMA https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...396fae23da.jpg MEAT IS WEIGHED https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b3f6b665bd.jpg PREPARATION https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8578b58977.jpg FINISHED STEAK https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6b97bb753b.jpg OWNER....SO VERY FRIENDLY EVEN THOUGH WE HAD NO COMMON LANGUAGE..she shows us our steak sandwiches to carry out after our lunch https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...873f9ae662.jpg STEAK SHIMA..dining room...very plain...very homey...very comfortable https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d6ed331fba.jpg The owner walked us out, and down he block, to make sure we did not get lost.....we took a steak sandwich to eat at that night's baseball game! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e0339195b4.jpg Sayonara!! I hope we can return to STEAK SHIMA, and to Tokyo!! Here is a thread about food shopping that I began before your trip; it includes t he names of some of the other places we tried, and enjoyed. Such great food at all price levels!!! https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/japan-food-shopping-for-cooks-1665589/page2/ |
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