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The local specialty in Nikko is a soybean-based concoction known as yuba (tofu skin); dozens of restaurants in Nikko serve it in a variety of dishes you might not have believed possible for so prosaic an ingredient. Other local favorites are soba (buckwheat) and udon (wheat-flour) noodles—both inexpensive, filling, and tasty options for lunch.
Three things about Kamakura make it a good place to dine. It's on the ocean (properly speaking, on Sagami Bay), which means that fresh seafood is everywhere; it's a major tourist stop; and it has long been a prestigious place to live among Japan's worldly and well-to-do (many successful writers, artists, and intellectuals call Kamakura home). On a day trip from Tokyo, you can feel confident picking a place for lunch almost at random.
Yokohama, as befits a city of more than 3 million people, lacks little in the way of food: from quick-fix lunch counters to elegant dining rooms, you'll find almost every imaginable cuisine. Your best bet is Chinatown—Japan's largest Chinese community—with more than 100 restaurants representing every regional style. If you fancy Italian, Indian, or even Scandinavian, this international port is still guaranteed to provide an eminently satisfying meal.
This stylish eatery serves Japanese-Italian fusion pasta that you enjoy while lounging on bedlike seats as a house DJ spins tunes. There's also a lengthy drinks menu (alcohol and soft drinks), if you want to settle in for a longer stay. It gets crowded here on the weekends, so come early to avoid a long wait.
Traditional kaiseki ryori and pretty bento boxes are served at this restaurant on Route 21, near the entrance to Jochi-ji Temple. While the full kaiseki courses can get expensive, the lunchtime kaiseki taster sets are a very affordable way to try this refined culinary style. Most seating is at tables, but private tatami mat rooms are also available.
The wooden tables, antiques, and patches of raised tatami flooring give Nantai a very rustic feel. Try the Nikko specialty, yuba (tofu skin), which comes with the nabe (hot pot) for dinner. It's the quintessential winter family meal. The seafood here is fresh, and both the trout and salmon are recommended. Each meal comes with rice; pickles; side dishes like soy-stewed vegetables, tempura, or udon; and dessert.
Charcoal-broiled unagi (eel) is an acquired taste, but there's no better place in Nikko to acquire it than at this small, unpretentious place with only five plain-wood tables. Service can be lukewarm, but Sawamoto is reliable for a light lunch or very early dinner of unagi served on a bed of rice in an elegant lacquered box. Eel is considered a stamina builder: just right for the weary visitor on a hot summer day.
The hallmarks of this restaurant—in business since 1973—are ishiyaki steak, which is grilled on a hot stone, and shabu-shabu—thin slices of beef cooked in boiling water at your table and dipped in one of several sauces (sesame, vinegar, or soy). Fresh vegetables, noodles, and tofu are also dipped into the seasoned broth for a filling yet healthful meal.
The area of Motomachi is known as the wealthy, posh part of Yokohama, so restaurants here tend to be exclusive and expensive, with service and quality justifying the price. This restaurant in an old-style Japanese house—complete with a Japanese garden and five private tatami rooms—serves dinners that are more akin to a banquet, with dishes that (depending on the season) could include traditional Japanese delicacies such as sashimi, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken in white sauce; deep-fried burdock; or broiled sea bream.
