281 Best Restaurants in Japan

Weekend lunch and the prix-fixe dinners are outstanding—and a good value—at this special place serving French- and Italian-inspired bistro-style cuisine. The food and presentation are excellent without being snooty, and the softly worn wooden interior is funky yet not crass or grimy. Try the beef with red wine sauce or grilled sea bream. Sit upstairs and strike up a conversation with your neighbors or the gracious hosts.

Avant-garde performances of live shamisen—an instrument similar to the banjo—by promising young performers and seasoned experts are the main attraction here. Arrive early to sit on cushions on the floor and enjoy the regional fare. Many items on the menu are incomprehensible even to native speakers, as they go by local names; if you are an adventurous diner, point and anticipate.

The extensive menu here includes regional favorites in addition to sushi and tofu dishes. You can relax in a booth or sit at the counter and admire the skilled chefs.

This old-style soba noodle shop two blocks south of Tenryu-ji Temple sits right in the thick of things and has a splendid view of the river. Feel free to relax on a cushion and face the river while you recharge before visiting your next temple. The tempura comes highly recommended. An English menu is available.

When you slide open the door to what looks like a little house, you may notice the fish tanks and the freezer packed with flounder, sea bream, and sea creatures you might not recognize. But you'll instantly know what you'll be served here: all manner of seasonal grilled shellfish and fish, crisp and brown on the outside but white and tender inside. You'll be eating warabi (fiddle ferns) in spring, and drinking excellent local sake with friendly regulars any time of the year. It's a bit pricey, but if you're a seafood fan this won't disappoint. From JR Morioka, follow Odori to the Iwate Bank and turn right at the statue of Takuboku Ishikawa. The restaurant is 2½ blocks ahead on the right.

Carnivores flock here for the all-you-can-eat Brazilian grilled chicken and barbecued beef, which the efficient waiters keep bringing to your table on skewers until you tell them to stop. It comes with a self-serve salad bar and for an extra fee all-you-can-drink beer, wine and other alcohol for two hours. Hardwood floors, lithographs of bull motifs, warm lighting, and salmon-colored tablecloths provide the backdrop. The drink menu provides the chance to try a selection of Brazilian cocktails. Look for the entrance just off Omotesando-dori on the Harajuku 2-chome shopping street (on the north side of Omotesando-dori), about 50 yards down on the left. There's also a Barbacoa near Tokyo Station, as well as others in Roppongi, Shibuya, and Shinjuku. Dinner with drinks can easily run ¥10,000 per person, but the weekday lunch buffet offers largely the same selection at a fraction of the price.

This is possibly the best coffee in the neighborhood since that is essentially all they sell (save some branded merchandise). Sit on old wooden benches in this tiny establishment that feels as if it's both in the now, and from long ago. Look for the cute neon bear they have as their sign.

Many long lines in Shibuya are more about trendiness than quality, but Beard Papa makes some genuinely good cream puffs in all kinds of flavors. Pick up a single or a six-pack of freshly made pastries. Located in the underground shopping arcade known as Shibuchika. The location is roughly under the main crossing. Head down some stairs and follow your nose to the vanilla and butter smells.

This beer hall is Mt. Takao's only full-fledged restaurant and serves a prix-fixe two-hour, all-you-can eat, all-you-can drink buffet meal that is a hodgepodge of sausages, pasta, Japanese dishes, and desserts, and there are a number of Japanese beers on tap. Beer Mountain is connected to Takaosan Station, the top station of the Takao Tozan Cable Line.

Fearless, meat-loving gourmets should stop at this slightly hidden gem. The use of wood in the decor create a relaxed atmosphere where you can focus on the chef's presentations.

This German bakery serves cakes and cookies that are surprisingly authentic—the baker trained in Germany. There are a few small tables outside, and cozy tables inside where you can enjoy coffee and cakes before resuming your tour. Many Japanese who visit from other parts of the country bring back the bakery's butter cookies as souvenirs.

Yakitori, Vietnamese-style, is on the menu at the bustling restaurant that feels it could have been transported from the streets of Hanoi. The skewers here include chicken thigh on or off the bone, chicken feet, and gizzards, but also vegetables such as okra and sweet treats like banana. The owners also run another no-frills Vietnamese restaurant called Chopsticks, serving excellent pho noodles, on the same block in Koenji’s north side.

While strolling down Naha's Kokusai-dori, stop by one of the island's iconic Blue Seal ice cream shops. "Born in America, Raised in Okinawa," Blue Seal combines American soft serve with Okinawan flavors such as beni imo (purple sweet potato), ube (mountain yam), or sugar cane. If you're desperate for a midnight snack you can also find Blue Seal ice creams at any 24-hour convenience store.

Run by Neal's Yard Remedies, this laid-back café has all-natural wooden interiors and natural produce on the menu. If shopping in Harajuku, it's a great place to stop for a healthy Japanese teishoku set, vegetable curry, tofu lemon cake, or other vegan fare.

Part of the Yufuin Tamanoyu hotel, which until 1975 was a lodging for Zen Buddhist monks, this restaurant retains an air of solemnity. Multicourse menus include dishes such as salt-grilled fish, seasonal vegetables, and homemade kabosu (lime) sherbet, while vegetarian or vegan options can be prepared if given advanced notice.

On the road to Kiyomizu-dera, a wooden archway plastered with senja-fuda (name cards pilgrims affix on the entryways to shrines and temples) is the entry to this charming courtyard teahouse that opened in 1910. The specialties here are amazake, a sweet, nonalcoholic sake often served hot with a touch of ginger, and warabimochi rice cakes. The interior is adorned with an eclectic collection of kites and folk dolls.

The signature dish at this well-regarded trattoria is handmade pasta topped with a flavorful tomato sauce. Carefully selected organic vegetables and fine Italian ham are among the antipasti stars. Entrées that might include tender pork steaks or grilled fish in orange-infused balsamic vinegar are uniformly excellent, and the decadent desserts are a great way to finish a meal: the lychee mousse alone is worth the visit. Savoring your multicourse meal on the terrace is a delight in this trendy, bustling area of town.

Leafy banana trees visible from several blocks away mark this airy two-story town-house café that's especially popular at night with young people. Lunch options that include sandwiches, rice dishes, and curries change regularly. All go well with Moroccan chai or imaginative seasonal smoothies like one with strawberry, mint, and ginger. Among the desserts are mango and coconut cream and French toast with candied almonds. While waiting for your meal, you can browse the wall of books. Attached is an art gallery. The cafe is a 10- to 15-minute walk from either the Oike or Marutamachi subway station.

In business since 1948, Cafe de l'ambre is a legendary haunt for Tokyo's coffee aficionados. The retro decor provides a snapshot of an older Tokyo, while the caffeine fix options include a dozen or so single-origin beans, including some that have been aged for years.

Associated with the funky clothing shop that is just around the corner, this cafe is bright and open, and serves quality coffee, cakes, snacks, and gelato. They also have some Kitsuné-branded goods on hand.

Perched on the Hope Hills area of Nakijin, Cafe Kokuu serves delicious Japanese and Okinawan cuisine in an elegant wooden building with stunning views of the countryside and ocean. All dishes are created with organic wild and farm-grown vegetables from the Yambaru region. Food is served only between 11:30 am and 4 pm.

Sandwiches, rice omelets, and Italian dishes are among the eclectic fare served at this café inside a traditional house. This is a good spot for a meal, or just coffee and cake. One of the few restaurants in town open for dinner, Café Salon Nakaoku is about 150 meters south of the Art House Project's Minamidera installation, after going through the crossing and then taking the right-hand fork in the road.

Shopping and entertainment are two attractive points for Odaiba, but the chance for a short escape from Tokyo's madness is another. To enhance that, stop in at Canteen, a café operated by Transit General Office. The terrace seating is a fine choice for enjoying a cup of coffee and an ice-cream cake.

In an old warehouse facing the waterfront, Cantina serves Mediterranean food with a Japanese twist. The tuna and cod roe pasta in cream sauce is good, as are the seafood paella and the prosciutto and mozzarella salad. Stop by for lunch, or grab a seat on the outdoor patio and watch the sun go down. Credit cards are accepted after 6 pm.

Stop by and watch some specialty donuts being fried before your eyes. The giant cone outside reminds you that you can also get ice cream (soft-serve only), and there's coffee, too. Sit outside and watch the world go by as you get your sugar fix.

Stop off near the end of the Yurikamome Line and have dinner along the river bank before heading back to your hotel. The live DJ, order-at-bar service, and strong cocktails create a lively ambience, and classic western dishes can be ordered at your table via cellphone. There are often festivals here, so make sure to check the event schedule. 

The focus of this laid-back eatery near Hisaya Odori Station is craft beer, with 13 taps pouring a frequently changing lineup of well-handled microbrews, mostly from Japan, such as excellent Ise Kadoya brews from Ise. To go with the beer, there's a menu that includes wild boar sausages, lamb and garlic dumplings, and pizza. The only drawback, as with all of Japan's craft pubs, is price: not-quite-pints are typically ¥880.

Koenji has many culinary bases covered, and with this izakaya it delivers Okinawan food and drink as authentically as you’ll find in Japan’s southern islands: thank the Okinawan owner for that. The menu features regional classics such as goya champuru (a stir fry of bitter gourd, spam, and tofu) and soki soba (noodles with pork sparerib meat), which you can chase down with Orion Beer and a firebrand of an island rice spirit called awamori. Like many Koenji venues, it runs late, opening daily from 5 pm to 5 am.