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The Best Places to Eat in Japan

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  1. Address
    1-8-16 Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0041, Japan · Osaka
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 6 PM–8:30 PM

    Reserve
    TableCheck
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram


  2. Address
    2-12-35 Kitaaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 107-0061, Japan · Tokyo
    Hours

    Closes soon, 1:30 PM, in 6 min

    Wednesday Noon–1:30 PM, 6 PM–9 PM

    Reserve
    Make a reservation
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  3. A counter kaiseki restaurant where the chef draws the first dashi right in front of you, which does more for anticipation than any menu description could. The kitchen and dining room are the same small space, so you watch every step from the charcoal grill's smoky moment to the quiet precision of a wanmono. The chef cooks everything himself and keeps the conversation easy, which gives the meal a personal, unhurried feeling rare at this level.


  4. Rank 371. Siamo noi

    Italian




  5. Rank 371. Yd’or

    French




  6. A U-shaped limestone counter, white lab coats, and bowties might suggest a pharmaceutical trial, but this is a coffee shop where the specialty is flights, one bean expressed as a pour over, espresso, latte, and mocktail in sequence. The spacious warehouse setting is sleek and unhurried, and the staff are warmer than the outfits imply. Evenings bring spiked coffee cocktails if the science-class atmosphere has you feeling experimental.




  7. Rank 414. JIBUNDOKI

    Teppanyaki

    The okonomiyaki here arrives bouncy inside and lacquered-crisp outside, built on a base of pork and chicken broth that most spots skip entirely. This is a teppan restaurant where the savory pancake is the headline, but the grill goes further: shiitake with foie gras butter, Awaji beef, and kushiyaki skewers that sneak in tteokbokki and prosciutto with cheese. The Michelin Bib Gourmand keeps it honest about the price point, which is to say, very honest.


  8. A katsuobushi shaver sits at the center of the counter, and everything follows from that. This small set-menu restaurant in Shibuya's basement level is built entirely around bonito, from the grilled fish to shaved flakes over rice to the miso soup drawn from bonito broth. The chef handles the shaver the way a craftsperson handles a good tool, with care and a clear point of view. A Michelin Bib Gourmand.


  9. Standing sushi bar tucked onto the second floor of Azabujuban, where you order one piece at a time and nobody minds if you linger over the rice. The kitchen leans into the pairing of rice vinegar and fatty fish, and the logic holds bite after bite. Digital menus and billing keep things moving. It's a Michelin Bib Gourmand take on Edo street-stall culture, which is a more elegant sentence than it has any right to be.


    Address
    2F, 2-8-7 Azabujuban, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan · Tokyo
    Hours

    Open now, until 2:30 PM

    Wednesday 11 AM–2:30 PM, 5 PM–11 PM

    Online
    Website
  10. Tonkatsu is Japan's great comfort food, but this tiny counter in Asahi-ku treats it with the seriousness of a French kitchen. The chef trained in patisserie and applies that precision to the batter, sources rarefied pork breeds for their marbling, and blends oils with the care of someone who has opinions about oil. The result is a cutlet that's pink in the middle, juicy, and quietly surprising. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand.


  11. Ten counter seats, a 20-piece omakase, and a reservation that requires more patience than most people have. This is the Ginza sushi counter that Barack Obama called a revelation and that convinced Joël Robuchon that sushi belongs in the same conversation as any classical art form. Each piece arrives individually prepared, whatever the sea offered that morning. The room is small and quiet enough that you can hear yourself think, which is probably the point.


    Address
    4-2-15 Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan · Chuo Ward
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5:30 PM–8:30 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  12. Rank 418. HAMASAKU

    Japanese

    The awards


  13. Rank 418. Honkogetsu

    Japanese

    The counter on the ground floor is cut from a single plank of hinoki wood that has been around for six centuries, which sets the tone before a single dish arrives. Honkogetsu is a kaiseki restaurant on the cobblestone lane leading to Hozenji Yokocho, housed in a sukiya tea-room building with hanging scrolls, ikebana arrangements, and tatami rooms above. Many small, exquisite courses in succession; nothing is rushed.


  14. Rank 418. Iida

    Japanese

    The awards


  15. Rank 418. Kurogi

    Japanese

    The awards


    Address
    1-7-10 Shibakoen, Minato Ward, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan · Minato Ward
    Hours

    Open now, until 2:30 PM

    Wednesday Noon–2:30 PM, 5 PM–11:30 PM

    Online
    Website
  16. The awards


  17. The awards


  18. Rank 418. Makimura

    Japanese

    The awards


  19. Rank 418. Naruse

    Japanese

    An eight-seat tempura bar set on the grounds of a former temple, with a garden framed in a wide window doing quiet, steady work on the mood. The chef makes his sourcing run to Suruga Bay each morning, which means whatever lands in the fryer was swimming very recently. Shizuoka Prefecture supplies the rest. A focused, unhurried meal where the counter seats and the open kitchen keep the distance between cook and diner to almost nothing.


    Address
    12 Maruyamacho, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka 420-0861, Japan · Shizuoka City
    Hours

    Open now, until midnight

    Wednesday 12:30 PM–Midnight

  20. Nine seats at a pale wood counter, served one by one, with reservations that require a concierge and a fair amount of optimism. This is an intimate omakase sushi bar in Nihonbashi where chef Takaaki Sugita, who has been behind a counter since his school days, turns out nigiri with the kind of quiet precision that makes the whole room go still. You are not here to browse a menu.


    Address
    1-33-6 Nihombashi Kakigaracho, Chuo Ward, Tokyo 103-0014, Japan · Chuo Ward
    Hours

    Open now, until 2:30 PM

    Wednesday Noon–2:30 PM, 5:30 PM–11 PM

  21. The awards


    Address
    93-2 Iwase Omachi, Toyama City, Toyama 931-8356, Japan · Toyama City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3 PM, 6 PM–10 PM

    Online
    Website
  22. The awards


  23. The awards


  24. The awards


  25. A seven-seat cypress counter in Ginza where the chef reportedly goes to sea to check where the fish is caught before deciding what ends up in the omakase. That level of obsession reads plainly in the room, which is stripped of almost all decoration, as if anything extra would distract from the point. The course order shifts with the season rather than running on a fixed script, so returning guests rarely eat the same meal twice.


  26. The awards


  27. The awards


  28. The awards


  29. Kabosu-salted sushi instead of soy sauce is the opening move here, and it signals that Tenzushi Kyomachi-ten is not playing the game you expect. This is a fine dining sushi restaurant rooted in Kyushu style rather than the Tokyo tradition most people know, and the kitchen leans into that difference with something close to relish. An old-school institution that has been around forever, and a Discovery listing from The 50.


    Address
    3-11-9 Kyomachi, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka 802-0002, Japan · Kitakyushu City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3:30 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3:30 PM, 5:30 PM–9 PM

  30. Rank 418. TSUSHIMI

    French

    The awards


  31. A casual Southeast Asian restaurant in Shibuya where the menu arrives flagged, literally, with the national colors of each dish's origin country. The kitchen draws on hawker traditions across Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, then quietly swaps in Japanese ingredients. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is about right for a room that feels less like a restaurant and more like wandering a night market with a very good sense of direction.


    Address
    2-6-6 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 150-0002, Japan
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Wednesday 5:30 PM–11 PM

    Reserve
    Make a reservation
    Online
    Website
  32. The name comes from a Kenji Miyazawa poem about living for others, unbowed by hardship, and the chef means it. This omakase-only Japanese counter in Nishitemma trained its chef in the izakaya tradition, so an impressive sake list from across Japan anchors the whole thing, with dishes built to pair with it. Fermented seasonings run through the food; the mood stays unfussy and bar-adjacent. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand.



  33. Address
    559-1 Torocho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto 600-8401, Japan · Kyoto
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Wednesday 5:30 PM–11 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  34. Rank 441. Ramen Break Beats

    Japanese Noodle Shop

    The chef used to be a DJ, and the name isn't just branding: the break-beats philosophy shapes the playlist and, apparently, the pacing of a bowl. This Meguro ramen shop holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the draw is a soy-sauce broth that runs clear and clean in a way that makes you wonder what everyone else is doing with theirs. Compact, focused, the kind of counter you leave slightly amazed that lunch cost so little.


    Address
    4-21-19 Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 153-0063, Japan · Tokyo
    Hours

    Open now, until 3:15 PM

    Wednesday 11 AM–3:15 PM

    Reserve
    TableCheck
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  35. Rank 442. ALTER EGO

    Italian



  36. Address
    12 Shibatsukinukecho, Nara, Nara, Nara 630-8385, Japan · Nara
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday 6 PM–Midnight

    Online
    Instagram
  37. The dried daikon strips simmered in clam stock here are a dish the chef tracked down through old Edo literature, not a family recipe. This stylish Tokyo restaurant specializes in the cuisine of old Edo, a tradition distinct enough from kaiseki that most visitors haven't tasted it before. Shiba shrimp, named for the inlet where they were once caught, arrive in soup as fishcake, and the bonito broth is made without kombu, the way it always was.


    Address
    2-22-23 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 105-0014, Japan
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3 PM, 5:30 PM–Midnight

    Reserve
    Make a reservation
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  38. Rank 442. Gen

    Japanese Noodle Shop

    A soba shop tucked inside a sake brewery, where the water used to brew rice wine also goes into the noodles. The neighborhood name translates loosely to "pure water town," which tells you most of what you need to know. The chef hand-grinds buckwheat in a stone mortar and makes the noodles entirely from buckwheat flour. Order the mizusoba, noodles dipped in cold water alone, which is apparently how farmers tested a harvest and how you'll understand the point of all that grinding.


    Address
    23-2 Fukuchiincho, Nara, Nara, Nara 630-8381, Japan · Nara
    Hours

    Closes soon, 1:30 PM, in 6 min

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–1:30 PM, 6 PM–9 PM

    Online
    Website
  39. Handmade pasta learned in the kitchens of Piedmont is the anchor at this Italian restaurant in Chuo-ku, where the chef folds Japanese seasonal produce into a northern Italian framework. The name nods to Ristorante Il Centro in Piedmont, where the training happened, and that debt shows in the way farm ingredients get treated with almost personal reverence. The cooking sits somewhere between two regional traditions without feeling confused about which one it is.


  40. Rank 442. Roku

    French

    A French counter restaurant where the counter seats exactly six, which is also what the name means, so the math is settled before you sit down. The chef cooks close enough to touch, ferments with koji and miso, and builds dishes around edible wild plants his mother forages in Nagano. His father makes the wooden trays by hand. Dessert belongs to the proprietress. It is an intimate, family-threaded place that feels less like a restaurant than someone's very skilled living room.


  41. Rank 442. unique

    French


    Address
    3-12-3 Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo 153-0063, Japan
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday 6 PM–10:30 PM

    Online
    Website
  42. Each cup arrives with a color-coded card explaining the bean's origin and flavor notes, which is either charmingly educational or a gentle reminder that you are in a serious coffee shop. LiLo is a small-batch roaster pushing brighter, lighter blends into an Osaka scene that has long favored dark roasts. The storefront is tight and not designed for lingering, but the staff makes specialists and newcomers feel equally welcome.


  43. The awards


  44. Rank 450. Yamazato Tokyo

    Kappo Japanese

    The awards


  45. Rank 452. RiVi

    Japanese

    A prix fixe restaurant in Nishi-ku where the menu has no fixed dishes because the chef keeps rewriting it, drawing on Italian and French training, pastry work, and a deep attachment to Osaka. The first half of the meal is essentially a love letter to the city; the second half ends with seasonal mixed rice, served in a bowl you hold in your hands. Handmade ceramics carry the food. Genre-less is the point, not the problem.


  46. Rank 452. Tamawarai

    Japanese Noodle Shop

    The chef mills his own buckwheat, some of it grown in his own garden, to coax out an aroma that pre-ground flour can't touch. This quiet soba shop in Jingumae serves coarse-ground seiro with a wild, earthy depth that makes the usual lunch-counter bowl feel like a different food entirely. Evenings shift to a prix fixe format with small courses built around buckwheat in forms well beyond the noodle.


  47. The awards


  48. The awards


  49. The awards


  50. The awards


  51. Rank 454. a.ligne

    French

    The awards


  52. Rank 454. aca

    Portuguese

    Reservations run through a lottery here, which tells you most of what you need to know before you even sit down. This is an intimate counter-only omakase restaurant in Nihombashi serving Portuguese cuisine, where the chef threads the restrained rhythm of omakase through bold Iberian flavors across a 13-course progression. It moved from Kyoto and landed in Tokyo to the same quiet frenzy of demand. Bring patience for the reservation system and a loose evening.


  53. The awards


  54. The awards


    Address
    64 Honjo, Yurihonjo City, Akita 015-0809, Japan · Yurihonjo City
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday Noon–1 PM, 6 PM–8 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  55. Rank 454. AGRISCAPE

    French

    The awards


    Address
    177 Kobetsusawa, Sapporo City, Hokkaido 063-0011, Japan · Sapporo City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3:30 PM

    Wednesday 12:10 PM–3:30 PM, 5:40 PM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  56. Rank 454. Aji Arai

    Japanese

    The awards


  57. Rank 454. Ajidokoro

    Japanese

    The awards


  58. The awards


    Address
    22 Daikumachi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa 920-0982, Japan · Kanazawa City
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5 PM–9:30 PM

    Online
    Website
  59. The awards


    Address
    1-3 Kioichou, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo 102-0094, Japan · Chiyoda Ward
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5 PM–10 PM

    Online
    Website
  60. The awards


    Address
    6-3-13 Akasaka, Minato Ward, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan · Minato Ward
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Wednesday 5:30 PM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  61. Rank 454. aki nagao

    French

    The awards


    Address
    3 Chuuoukuminami, Sapporo City, Hokkaido 060-0063, Japan · Sapporo City
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Wednesday 5:30 PM–7:30 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  62. The awards


  63. The awards


    Address
    10907 Kin, Kin Town, Okinawa 904-1201, Japan · Kin Town
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–3 PM, 6 PM–10 PM

    Online
    Website
  64. Rank 454. Amegen

    Japanese

    The awards


    Address
    1058-2 Hamatamamachi Gotanda, Karatsu City, Saga 849-5102, Japan · Karatsu City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3:30 PM

    Wednesday 11 AM–3:30 PM, 5 PM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  65. Rank 454. Amiral

    French

    The awards


    Address
    5-10-17 Nishichuo, Kure City, Hiroshima 737-0811, Japan · Kure City
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–1 PM, 6 PM–8 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  66. Rank 454. anchoa

    Spanish

    The awards


  67. The awards


    Address
    1-9-15 Shin-yashiki, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto 862-0975, Japan · Kumamoto City
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday 11:30 AM–1 PM, 6 PM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  68. Rank 454. Ao

    Japanese

    The awards


  69. The awards


  70. Rank 454. aru

    French

    The awards


    Address
    2-28 Hirokouji, Toyohashi City, Aichi 440-0881, Japan · Toyohashi City
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday Noon–2 PM, 6:30 PM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  71. Rank 454. Arutokoro

    Japanese

    The awards


    Address
    732 Kagami, Karatsu City, Saga 847-0022, Japan · Karatsu City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday 11 AM–3 PM, 5 PM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  72. Rank 454. Asuke

    Sushi

    The awards


  73. The awards


  74. The awards


    Address
    1-5-5 Azabujuban, Minato Ward, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan · Minato Ward
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Wednesday 5:30 PM–8 PM

    Online
    Website
  75. Rank 454. Bini

    Italian

    The awards


  76. The awards


    Address
    20-24 Hommachi, Ise City, Mie 516-0074, Japan · Ise City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3 PM, 5:30 PM–9:30 PM

    Online
    Website
  77. Rank 454. Bon.nu

    French

    The awards


    Address
    4-22-17 Yoyogi, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo 151-0053, Japan · Shibuya Ward
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 6 PM

    Wednesday Noon–1 PM, 6 PM–8:30 PM

    Online
    Website
  78. Rank 454. Cá sento

    Portuguese


  79. Rank 454. ca'enne

    Italian

    The awards


    Address
    10222-25 Toyohirajitougaku, Chino City, Nagano 391-0213, Japan · Chino City
    Hours

    Closes soon, 2 PM, in 36 min

    Wednesday Noon–2 PM, 6 PM–10 PM

    Online
    Website
  80. The awards


  81. The awards


  82. The awards


  83. The awards


  84. The awards


    Address
    4-8-9 Nishikogawa, Yaizu City, Shizuoka 425-0036, Japan · Yaizu City
    Hours

    Open now, until midnight

    Wednesday Noon–Midnight

    Online
    Instagram
  85. The awards


  86. Rank 454. common

    Japanese

    The awards


  87. Rank 454. Convivio

    Italian

    The awards


  88. Rank 454. CRAFTALE

    French

    The awards


  89. Rank 454. credo

    French

    The awards


    Address
    5-21-11 Iida, Yamagata City, Yamagata 990-2332, Japan · Yamagata City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3 PM, 6 PM–11 PM

    Online
    Instagram
  90. The awards


  91. Rank 454. Dogo Kaishū

    Japanese

    The awards


  92. The awards


    Address
    5-13-5 Kanagusuku, Naha City, Okinawa 901-0155, Japan · Naha City
    Hours

    Open now, until 3 PM

    Wednesday Noon–3 PM, 6:30 PM–11 PM

    Online
    Instagram
  93. The awards


    Address
    2-4-10 Annoyamachi, Toyama City, Toyama 930-0087, Japan · Toyama City
    Hours

    Open now, until 2:30 PM

    Wednesday Noon–2:30 PM, 6 PM–10 PM

    Online
    Website

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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      Four fifths of the score is the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin Key outweighs a listicle. The last fifth is where it is: the ranked places to eat and things to do around it, and how safe the country is. When you sort by what's nearby, distance from you changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. The places are 60% of it: the best of what's within reach, weighed by distance. The setting is the other 40%: how life goes in that country (how people rate their own lives, how long and how well they live, how safe they are) and what it's like right there (the air, and the weather). If the score looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.

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