Ranking
An editorial ranking of restaurants, cafés and bars: grades from A+ to F, price range, and the Tabelog score where one exists.
Places ranked: 2,446
Kagawa · Izakaya
A wildly popular spot in Takamatsu's Kajiyamachi district, famous for one thing: *honetsukidori*, a boldly spiced, whole roasted bone-in chicken. It's a local specialty that draws long queues for its intense flavour and the ritual of dipping rice…
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Tokyo · Fine Dining
A pork-focused restaurant in Shinjuku's Kabukicho district, offering shabu-shabu and tonkatsu with named pork breeds. It's a destination for diners keen to taste and compare the distinct flavours of high-quality Japanese pork.
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Kyoto · Coffee Shop
A classic Kyoto kissaten (coffee house) in the Shimogyo ward, known for its hearty 'Rich Morning' breakfast sets and a signature handmade rum pudding. It's a popular spot for an early, traditional Japanese breakfast.
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Shizuoka · Izakaya
The restaurant of Ajiro himono maker Fujima, in Atami's Nagisacho (Sushichu Building, 1st floor), where his hand-salted, sun-dried fish is grilled to order. Known for mackerel and albacore toro sets.
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Nagano · Casual Dining
Yama Botan (山ぼたん) is a lunch-only tonkatsu restaurant in Okaya, Nagano, on the 2nd floor of a lakeside dining complex. It serves thick, pale-crusted Iwachu pork cutlets, and some seats look out over Lake Suwa.
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Hokkaido · Casual Dining
The 1954 original of Sapporo's most famous jingisukan chain, serving charcoal-grilled mutton on dome-shaped pans in the Susukino district. Expect long queues for its intense, old-school atmosphere.
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Kyoto · Steakhouse
Experience classic Kansai-style sukiyaki in a 19th-century house in Kyoto's Kiyamachi district. Staff prepare high-grade wagyu tableside, with seasonal dining available on a terrace over the Kamo River.
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Osaka · Casual Dining
A tiny, cash-only specialist in Osaka's Abeno ward dedicated to Southeast Asian chicken rice. It draws long queues for its fragrant jasmine rice, perfectly steamed chicken, and very low prices.
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Shizuoka · Casual Dining
Men Sobo LEO (麺創房LEO) is a lunch-only ramen shop in Higashikogawa, Yaizu, in Shizuoka Prefecture. Noodles are made in-house from domestic wheat, and people travel for its soft, stretchy cold reikoumen.
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Nara · Casual Dining
A respected name in Japanese-style Western food (yōshoku), this countryside restaurant in Tenri, Nara, serves refined classics. It's known for its impressive whole fried shrimp and generous market salads.
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Tokyo · Casual Dining
An award-winning izakaya in Roppongi serving an unusually light, oil-free style of okonomiyaki. Praised for its creative menu and friendly staff, it's a modern take on a Japanese classic, just seconds from Roppongi Station.
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Nara · Casual Dining
A celebrated ramen shop in Tenri, Nara, known for its exceptional house-made noodles. Visitors come for the signature *konbu-sui tsukemen*, which showcases the glossy, chewy noodles, and for the generous portions.
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Hokkaido · Coffee Shop
A popular gyoza spot in a renovated house in Zenibako, Otaru, known for its signature jumbo dumplings. Visitors come for the huge, juicy gyoza with a distinctively chewy skin and the hearty, affordable set meals.
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Okinawa · Izakaya
Specialising in pineapple-fed Agu pork shabu-shabu, this restaurant in Onna, Okinawa, offers a refined taste of the island's prized meat. It's known for its unique crystal pot cooking method that enhances the pork's natural sweetness.
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Osaka · Casual Dining
A famous takoyaki stand in Osaka's Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, known for its signature Negi-mayo style: molten takoyaki buried under a mountain of green onions and mayonnaise. Expect a queue for these classic street food snacks.
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