Otaru
Come here for excellent sushi sets and kaisen-don (bowls of rice topped with sashimi) featuring Hokkaidō specialities such as sake (salmon), ikura (salmon…
Must-see restaurants in Japan
Brown Rice by Neal's Yard Remedies
Harajuku & Aoyama
Yes, this is Neal's Yard Remedies, as in the British health and beauty company, but for some reason they decided to open a restaurant, just one, here in…
Hiroshima
If you want to get off the tourist circuit and eat with local workers, this shokudō (small budget restaurant) serves authentic and excellent-value dishes,…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Specialising in produce from Hokkaidō and Kanagawa, this farm-to-table operation is one of the star restaurant players within Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, with a…
Ginza & Tsukiji
We know you didn't come to Tokyo to eat Greek food but hear us out: this Sydney import nails dishes like grilled octopus and fennel salad, taramasalata,…
Downtown Kyoto
Nishiki Warai is a great place to try okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) in casual surroundings. Non-smokers might find it a bit smoky at times, but it’s a…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Specialising in fish roe, this sparkling clean stall has a few counter seats and also does takeaway rice bowls and noodle dishes covered with generous…
Naoshima
You're here for art, so why not eat in a gallery-like space with polished timber, designer furniture, a faux-grass picnic area and even an in-house zine…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This cosy kitchen has bar seating, rows of ornate shōchū (liquor) jugs lining the wall and hundreds of freshly prepared skewers splayed in front of the…
Kyūshū
Tsutaya has been making gorgeous tea-ceremony sweets since 1502, as a supplier to Hirado's ruling Matsuura clan. Nowadays it reproduces those historic…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Australian chef Bill Granger has had a big hit with his restaurant chain in Japan – unsurprising given how inviting and spacious a place this is. The menu…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This French-owned cafe, hidden on a cobblestone lane in Kagurazaka, is credited with starting the Japanese rage for crêpes back in 1996 when it opened…
Kansai
This tiny counter restaurant is inside the Funaya-no-sato michi-no-eki (road station) and looks utterly unremarkable, but locals swear that its kaisen-don…
Asakusa & Sumida River
When you just want something simple, filling and delicious: choose a soup (say, mushroom miso soup or a chunky pork soup with root vegetables) and an…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Digital-art supremos teamLab provide the mesmerising visual effects at this restaurant specialising in premium grade Saga beef. There are only eight seats…
Northern Higashiyama
This place, popular with Kyoto University students, dishes up creative variations on chicken, fish and meat. The menu is in Japanese only and if you’re at…
Kansai
Akafuku has been making its signature style of mochi (pounded-rice cakes), coated in sweet adzuki-bean paste, for over three centuries. There are several…
Nagano Region
Fujiki-an has been making fresh soba in the north of Nagano Prefecture since 1827, but you wouldn't know it by the clean, contemporary lines of this…
Karafuneya Coffee Sanjō Honten
Downtown Kyoto
This coffee and dessert cafe is smack in the middle of Kyoto's main shopping district. In a country famous for its plastic food models, Karafuneya takes…
Kyoto Station & South Kyoto
Head to the basement floor of the Kyoto Tower building for a range of food stalls to feast on. There's everything from a Mexican taco stand and ramen to…
Tokyo
Nemuro is a fishing port in the far east of Hokkaidō (Japan's northern island), and visiting the original kaiten-zushi (conveyor-belt sushi restaurant)…
Okinawa & the Southwest Islands
Kume-jima's most famous soba shop is open for lunch only and is worth the trip. Serving handmade noodles out of his own home, the hospitable Nakasone-san…
Yaeyama Islands
This little Ishigaki city izakaya is a friendly refuge true to its name, which means 'the shade of the forest'. Local treats are sliced steak of Ishigaki…
Western Honshū
In the Bios Arcade across from the station, this local chain serves up the tasty Kurashiki udon speciality – called bukkake udon (from bukkakeru, meaning…
Asakusa & Sumida River
If you're keen to try chanko-nabe – the hearty, protein-rich stew that fattens up sumo wrestlers – Tomoegata is a great place to do it. The daily lunch…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Sometarō is a fun and funky place to try okonomiyaki (savoury Japanese-style pancakes filled with meat, seafood and vegetables that you cook yourself)…
Beppu
This friendly shop has been serving simple fugu (pufferfish) since 1958. Sit on hori-kotatsu seating and sample sashimi, karaage (fried fugu) and hirezake…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This tiny shop in Ikebukuro's Chinatown deals in Shanghai street food, namely shēngjiān (pan-fried pork buns; called yaki-shōronpo in Japan). Warning:…
Hakone
This friendly sushi shop is known for its aji-don (horse mackerel over rice). If you know how to fold an origami crane, ask to try their special challenge…
Kyūshū
Just off the samurai street, Taki-An is a lovely restaurant in another traditional house where you can sit on tatami and admire the garden over hot or…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Botan has been making a single, perfect dish in the same traditional wooden house since the 1890s. Sit cross-legged on rattan mats as chicken sukiyaki …
Himeji
A local sake brewery runs this casual spot specialising in oden (stew comprising fishcakes, tofu, vegetables and eggs simmered in kelp-flavoured broth),…
Western Honshū
This attractive free-standing beer hall is not quite what its name promises; as its opening hours suggest, it's more of a restaurant than a drinking…
Arashiyama & Sagano
For a tasty bowl of soba noodles and a million-dollar view over the Arashiyama mountains and the Togetsu-kyō bridge, head to this extremely popular eatery…
Western Honshū
If you can speak some Japanese, you might indulge in a heartwarming conversation with the friendly owner of this cosy Chinese joint, who spent a year…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
Megutama calls itself a 'photo books diner' – because its walls are lined with literally thousands of photo books. Diners are free to flip through them …
Yaeyama Islands
In Kubura, this cosy izakaya is a local favourite. Though the menu is in Japanese only, we recommend the kajiki (locally caught swordfish) sashimi and the…
Nagoya
Atmosphere seeps from this ambitious izakaya (pub-restaurant), which transformed a decrepit building into an airy urban oasis. French-influenced dishes…
Downtown Kyoto
This elegant restaurant on a scenic stretch of Kiyamachi-dōri is an excellent place to try kaiseki. The modest but fully satisfying food is beautifully…
Aomori Prefecture
In a town that knows how to handle a bivalve, Osanai has a stellar reputation among locals for its simple and cheap hotate (scallops). The menu includes…
