306 Best Restaurants in Japan

In contrast to many of the meat-heavy choices in Chinatown, this Cantonese restaurant specializes in fresh, flavorful seafood dishes. Menu highlights include the shrimp-shiso spring rolls, steamed Sakhalin surf clams with garlic, and a rotating selection of fresh fish caught that day. Not to be outdone by the seafood, the sweet-and-sour ribs are a treat. 

This ornate Chinese restaurant is a local favorite, and it's easy to see, smell, and taste why. Kairakuen serves the best chanpon—Nagasaki's signature dish of Chinese-style noodles, vegetables, and pork-based broth—in town.

This establishment, in an old Japanese house, serves the best Chinese food in the city. The dining-room windows look out on a small, restful garden. Make sure you plan for a stop here on your way to or from the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in.

This kaiten-zushi (sushi served on a conveyor belt that lets you pick the dishes you want) restaurant serves eye-poppingly large fish portions that hang over the edge of their plates. All the standard sushi creations, including tuna, shrimp, and egg, are prepared here. As in any kaiten-zushi joint, simply stack up your empty dishes to the side. When you are ready to leave, the dishes will be counted and you will be charged accordingly.

Famous for its kamameshi, or rice casseroles, this restaurant serves the freshest fish from the Seto Nai-kai—fugu, or puffer fish, oysters, and eel, to name but a few. If you prefer your fish cooked, try the rockfish grilled with soy sauce. English menus (and Japanese-style rooms with horikotatsu pits to hang your legs in) are available.

Hiroshima is known for its oysters, and Kanawa, on a barge moored on the Motoyasu-gawa, gets its oysters from a particularly salty area of the Inland Sea. It's believed that these waters impart the firm flesh and sweet, robust taste that loyal customers love to splurge on. It's not cheap, but the oysters are worth every yen. An English menu makes it all easy, and dining is on tatami mats or at tables, with relaxing river views. The place is an easy stroll from Peace Memorial Park.

Soba, thin buckwheat noodles often served chilled in summer and hot in winter, are available everywhere, even convenience stores. The family-run Matsuya serves authentic soba in a rustic atmosphere. A simple soba meal can be quite inexpensive, or, for a bit more, get noodles topped with tempura or other goodies.

The ever-popular Kanda Yabu Soba, located in a recently built but traditional building that replaced the original 130-year-old restaurant after a fire in 2013, is one of the oldest and best places to sit down and savor freshly made soba—be that on tatami or at one of the tables. Soba, thin noodles made from buckwheat flour and quickly dipped into a hot broth or cold dipping sauce, are the lighter cousin of udon.

There are two branches of Kani Honke, one in Susukino, and the other in front of Sapporo Station. In business for more than 50 years, these crab-eating havens serves raw, steamed, boiled, and baked crustaceans—the waitress will tell you whether the ke-gani (hairy crab), taraba-gani (king crab), or zuwai-kani (snow crab) is in season. Wood beams, tatami mats, and traditional decorations provide an authentic setting for the feast. Look for the building with crabs all over it and a couple of giant white signs on the roof. There's also an English menu.

The appeal of Ajioka's seasonal specialties like fugu (puffer fish) and suppon (Japanese turtle) lies as much in the unique texture and experience as in the subtle, nondescript taste. Licensed chefs prepare these in every way imaginable—raw, fried, stewed—using the fresh catch flown in straight from Shimonoseki, a prime fugu-fishing region. Try the house specialty of suppon (Japanese turtle) and fugu nabe, fugu sashimi, or fugu no arayaki (grilled head and cheeks). Menus change by season and reservations must be made two days in advance to order fugu.

Chinese food can be hit-or-miss in Japan, but not at Kaseiro. This elegant restaurant, with red carpets and gold-toned walls, is the best of its kind in the city, serving authentic Beijing cuisine, including, of course, Peking duck and shark-fin soup. The consistently delicious dishes, combined with the fact that both the owner and chef are from Beijing, make this restaurant a well-known favorite among locals and travelers alike.

The tiled bar and wooden tables are as inviting as the staff of this family-friendly restaurant a few blocks north of Karuizawa Station. The menu is centered on rotisserie chicken, served alongside healthy salads and other dishes using local, seasonal produce. To go with that is a solid selection of wines and local craft beers, as well as soft drinks such as honey and yuzu soda.

Here’s proof that an intimate sushi experience doesn’t have to be overly formal. Nor does it have to be expensive. Grab a seat at the counter of this laidback joint in the lively Harmonica Yokocho and enjoy an affordable sushi set prepared in front of you. There are pictures on the menu to help with ordering, but the eight-piece omakase set and 12-piece set of the day are both good options. If you only wanted a super quick bite while bar hopping, there's a three-piece set too. You could pair it with sake or something from the small wine list.

For a quick lunch, you can grab reasonably priced set meals just a few minutes north of the station. Imagine a combination of Japanese and Western ingredients in a kind of modern home-cooking. The restaurant's location on the 8th floor makes it a bit hard to find but gives you an amazing view over a busy Shinjuku thoroughfare. There's a picture menu before the elevator, so you can decide before you even go in.

Standing on the border of Ueno and Yanaka, just a short walk to the west from the National Museum, this historic café is a popular stop for lunch or a light snack. A century old, the café has been stylishly renovated and serves homemade sandwiches, curries, cakes, and kaki gori, a traditional treat of flavored shaved ice. The first floor has a bar and dark wood tables, while the second is an airy Japanese style tatami room with low tables. Although Kayaba is usually not too crowded in the morning, expect to line up if you arrive at lunchtime.

Kazariya has been serving tea and aburi mochi—charcoal-grilled and skewered rice-flour cakes dipped in sweet miso sauce—for centuries. You can enjoy the treats under the eaves of 17th-century houses as you watch visitors proceeding to and from the Imamiya Shrine. Kazariya is just outside the shrine's eastern gate, northwest of Daitoku-ji.

Imported spices and very fresh vegetables are the secrets to this second-floor Indian restaurant's success. Dishes may not be as spicy as you would expect, but the spinach, lamb, and chickpea curries—also the tandoori chicken—are deeply flavorful. The house special chicken Kerala curry is the most popular dish. The evening set courses are reasonably priced, though lunch is better value. The furnishings are on the tatty side.

This ordinary-looking 10-stools-at-the-plastic-counter joint in Susukino has had lines of faithful slurpers outside since the year 2000 (a lifetime for a ramen shop) and is still chopping, boiling, and serving its succinct seven-item ramen menu. Order from the vending machine at the door then wait on the bench or stand around the corner; once seated wait for the cook to hand down a steaming bowl topped generously with vegetables from the raised and hidden kitchen.

If you want to keep your clothes clean, don't avoid slurping, just accept the paper bib they offer.

Tasty, healthful, and authentic dishes from the region are Kikufuji's specialty. Excellent local varieties of sake are available. They can provide you with a menu with pictures, but it does not include everything, so you could also look around at other tables to see what you might fancy.

As the seasons change, so do the menu options at this kaiseki ryori–focused showplace in the Kanazawa Tokyu Hotel. In spring your meal may include hotaru-ika (firefly squid) and iidako (baby octopus) no larger than your thumbnail, in fall expect matsutake mushrooms to make an appearance. Dinner courses can be very expensive, though the the cheapest menus are much more reasonable. The prices are similar at the far more atmospheric main branch-cum-traditional inn by the Sai-gawa River (the Tokyu surroundings are smart, yet a little sterile), although getting a reservation there is far harder.

This greasy spoon has been serving some of the island's best fare since 1958; locals know it simply as Mutsumi. Everything is twice as big and three times as filling as it looks, with soup and rice included.

Tempura and tofu hot pots cooked at the table are staples at this attractive two-story restaurant along the tree-lined Philosopher's Path. Try the Kisaki nabe, which includes pork, chicken, beef, chrysanthemum leaf, shiitake mushrooms, and spinach. Though like the nabe some dishes include meat, this is essentially a tofu house whose cuisine is centered on fresh vegetables, including plenty of pickles and seaweed. The hospitable, English-speaking owner, Emiko, will cater to special requests.

The specialty here is shabu-shabu: thin slices of beef cooked in boiling water at your table and dipped in sauce. Kisoji, which has been serving the dish for more than 60 years, elevates the experience, with all the tasteful appointments of a traditional ryotei—private dining rooms with tatami seating (at a 10% surcharge), elegant little rock gardens, and alcoves with flower arrangements. The easiest way to order is to opt for a course, which range from ¥5,000 to ¥10,000. There are branches in Ginza, Shimbashi, Shinjuku, Ueno, and elsewhere as well.

Come here for shabu-shabu—thinly sliced beef and vegetables that you boil in broth in the center of your table and then dip into various sauces before eating. The set courses aren't cheap, but the quality makes this restaurant worth a splurge. There are a dozen other branches around Nagoya, including one in Sakae.

Authentic and delicious Korean food in the heart of Kyoto. While the presentation and surroundings won't win any prizes, the basic no-frills vibe fits well with the general punchiness of the flavors. Wonderfully varied menu, and the friendly owners make everyone feel welcome.

This restaurant offers the best of Kumamoto specialties in a maze of private and semiprivate Japanese-style rooms. There's an English-language menu with helpful photos, and staff can give recommendations for dishes.

You'll find good Mexican fare alongside Japanese favorites at this second-floor establishment on Kitahama Alley. The friendly owner will happily take a break from playing jazz records, mixing fancy cocktails, and pouring beer and seasonal sake to supply delightfully quirky travel advice.

You'll be happy to find this lively little izakaya, a Kurashiki favorite for more than 20 years. Cool music and loud laughter can be heard from here when everything else on the street is locked up tight. Unwind to an eclectic mix of traditional white stucco, black wooden beams, bright lights, and jazz. Though the staff don't speak English, an English menu is available. Scores of tasty snacks, such as grilled meats or cheese and salami plates are paired with low-priced beer and sake. It's tucked along the east side of the covered Ebisu-dori shopping arcade halfway between the station and Kanryu-ji. Last orders are at 10 pm.

A traditional Japanese structure houses this restaurant known for its excellent Western-style beef stew along with homemade cheesecake, pastas and local wines. Half the seats are on tatami mats and half are at tables, but all look out on a peaceful patch of greenery.