10 Best Restaurants in Japan

Acclaimed executive chef and owner Okuda Masayuki prepares Italian dishes that are totally original and reflect the region. The cuisine upholds the commitment to the freshest ingredients, including the produce, fish, and meat, with a focus on local products. A set menu is offered at four different price levels and varies seasonally with the aim of enlivening the natural flavors and aromas of Shonai. The dishes need few condiments, creating perfectly combined, delicate flavors that are more important than heavy sauces or big portions. The success of Chef Okuda's style is evident in the other endeavors, including area food tours and restaurants in Tokyo and other parts of the country. Keep in mind that the restaurant has a sporadic schedule (especially in winter), so make reservations.

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.

This stately building just outside the gates of Zenko-ji combines a bar, lounge, café, and fantastic Italian restaurant. The rather formal modern dining room offers prix-fixe or à la carte options featuring high-quality local ingredients, while the bar and lounge serve up light meals in elegant surroundings and the café is a little more relaxed. There is no formal dress code, but the restaurant is something you'll feel like dressing smartly for.

For a half-century, crispy thin-crust pizza and tasty pasta dishes have been the mainstays at this tiny Italian restaurant in the Shian-bashi entertainment quarter east of Chinatown. From the Shian-bashi tram stop, head two blocks north into the arcade and one block west. It's on the corner.

The menu at this casual spot consists mainly of gourment thin-crust pizzas, homemade cheeses, steaks, and a good selection of wine available by the glass or bottle. There are also course menus with the option for unlimited drinks. Located in the Shimint building just across the road from the Peace Park, it offers a weekday lunch special that includes "all-you-can-eat fresh cheese and bread," useful if you wish to gorge on burrata, mozzarella, and mascarpone. 

Pizzas, salads, and drinks are served in this beautiful, traditional Okinawan house. The garden has stunning panoramic views out over the Motobu Peninsula toward Sesoko Island and Ocean Expo Park. Try the fresh acerola juice for a tart cranberry-like refreshment. There is no public transport here, so if you don't have a rental car, take a taxi from central Motobu. Lunch can be extremely busy, and you can't make reservations. In the winter months, stop here for an early dinner and watch the sunset (last order is at 6:30 pm).

Swing open the door to Pizza Salvatore Cuomo and you'll catch a rich aroma wafting from the wood-burning oven—the centerpiece of this homey, spacious restaurant. As with Cuomo's other branches around town, the chefs here adhere to traditional Neapolitan methods, while updating recipes with dough infused with spinach, herbs, and even squid ink. Lunch courses are filling, affordable (around ¥1,000), and quick. Though seating space is ample, expect a full house on weekdays. For dinner classic antipasto dishes such as Caprese make for an authentic Italian meal. Branches are found throughout the city.

The huge darkened beams and white plastered walls of the former farmhouse this Italian restaurant occupies create a sophisticated rustic atmosphere, known as wabi, the Japanese love. A kimono merchant moved the structure here from Nara a generation ago. The set menu changes with the season and sometimes the month, but from simpler pasta courses to more elaborate meat and fish dishes, the food is always fresh, flavorful, and skillfully presented.

Sitting on the terrace beside the Wadakura Moat, savor a glass of carefully selected wine from the impressive cellar, and choose from a modest selection of fresh, flavorful pasta dishes or one of the set three- to five-course menus. At dinner, the atmosphere turns intimate with candlelight and ultra-attentive service. Reservations are recommended.

The interior of this cozy, inviting, casual restaurant feels like an Italian country home, one with candles on the tables and an open kitchen. On the menu are Neopolitan-style wood fired pizzas, pastas, fondue, and other dishes that include—you guessed it—cheese. The set-course menus are reasonable, filling, and recommended.