30 editor picks across Japan.
30 restaurants worth the trip across Japan, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Japan guides.
Sapporo's only three-star Michelin sushi room. Chef Masaaki Miyakawa works Hokkaido seafood across two seatings at a seven-seat Maruyama counter.
OrderThe full omakase course; chef chooses the season's best Hokkaido catch.
TipReservations open the first day of each month for the month two months out; book through Tableall or call 011-215-0120. Closed Wednesdays.
Zaiyu Hasegawa's Den in Tokyo is the modern kaiseki room that put playful home cooking on Asia's 50 Best, ranked No. 1 in 2022 and No. 22 in 2025.
OrderThe DFC fried chicken parcel and whatever donabe rice closes the menu.
TipClosed Sundays.
Daigo Sakai runs the most-decorated edomae sushi counter in Fukuoka. Three Michelin stars in the 2019 Kyushu special edition, after holding one star in 2014.
OrderWhatever Sakai-san shapes on the night, with the aged tuna midway through.
TipReserve through Pocket Concierge two to three months ahead. Cancellations are charged.
One of Osaka's three three-Michelin-starred restaurants: kaiseki in a wooden sukiya house in Senriyama, built on Naniwa vegetables and Awaji produce.
OrderSeasonal kaiseki course
Two-Michelin-starred French restaurant by Chef Yusuke Takada, using Japanese ingredients from Osaka's farms and Seto Inland Sea coastal waters.
OrderChef's tasting menu, Japanese beef course
Yoshihiro Narisawa's Aoyama room runs innovative satoyama cuisine. Two Michelin stars plus a Green Star, Japanese foraging through European technique.
OrderThe bread of the forest course, served with bark-scented butter.
TipClosed Mondays and Sundays. Lunch is the easier seating; reserve six weeks ahead through TableAll.
Hiroyasu Kawate's Florilege moved to Azabudai Hills in 2023 with a communal counter and a vegetable-forward French tasting menu. Two Michelin stars in Tokyo.
OrderThe signature beef-and-dairy course that takes you through the life of one cow.
TipClosed Mondays and Tuesday lunch. Online booking opens exactly one month ahead at 10:00 JST.
Tomoya Kawada's Sazenka in Minami-Azabu was Japan's first three-star Chinese restaurant, awarded 2020. Chinese technique meets kaiseki rhythm.
OrderThe full tasting; the smoked duck and house-made hand-pulled noodles are the through-line.
TipClosed Sundays and irregular Mondays. Booking via byFood opens 60 days ahead for international guests.
Ginza Shinohara in Tokyo's Kanda is Tetsuya Shinohara's three-Michelin-star kaiseki room. Counter-only, dramatic platings on lacquered shogi-board stands.
OrderThe full omakase kaiseki; hairy crab and shaved wagyu are the showstoppers when in season.
TipClosed Sundays. Reserve via Tableall 90 days ahead; the menu is presented as a single seasonal arc.
Yuzuru Takebayashi's Akasaka kaiseki counter in Fukuoka has run since 1993 and held a Michelin star in the 2014 and 2019 Kyushu special editions.
OrderThe seasonal multi-course kaiseki built around whatever the Genkai Sea morning catch delivered.
TipAkasaka Station is eight minutes on foot. Counter and two private rooms; reserve a week ahead minimum.
Toriden simmers a home-bred chicken six to seven hours with water and salt; the collagen breaks down into a creamy yellow mizutaki that defines Hakata.
OrderThe TENJIN course at 6,600 yen per person: appetisers, goma saba, mizutaki, zosui, dessert.
TipReservations essential, especially weekends. The Yakuin branch is quieter; same kitchen.
Mako grills Kuro Satsuma chicken from Kagoshima, raised 120 days. Listed in Tabelog Yakitori Top 100 in 2024. Eight counter seats, charcoal smoke.
OrderOmakase yakitori course with the Kuro Satsuma flight.
TipReserve four to six weeks ahead through TableCheck. Closed Sundays. No walk-ins.
Hakata Issou opened in 2012 and built its reputation on the tonkotsu cappuccino, a foam-headed pork-bone broth distinct from the Hakata ramen norm.
OrderTonkotsu ramen with kaedama noodle refill and a half-cooked aji tama egg.
TipOpen 11:00-24:00 seven days. Arrive before noon or after 21:00 to avoid the longest waits.
Mitchan Sohonten in Hiroshima layers cabbage, pork and crisped soba on the teppan at its Hatchobori flagship, the shop whose founder set the postwar template.
OrderSoba niku-tama, the layered pork, cabbage and noodle okonomiyaki
TipThe counter seats fill before 12:00 on weekends, so arrive at opening or plan a late lunch after 14:00 instead.
Kakibune Kanawa moors on the Motoyasu river in Hiroshima and serves oysters from the family's own rafts, raw downstairs and in courses above.
OrderThe oyster course, built around raft-grown Seto Inland Sea oysters
TipThe kaki-zukushi course on the Seto boat runs 9,000 yen and is worth booking ahead; raw, fried and grilled plates are ordered a la carte at both services.
A 10-seat modern Japanese counter from chef Jacob Kear (ex-Noma) and Stuart Brioza. Open-fire technique meets Kyoto produce in a 12-course menu.
OrderChef's omakase with open-fire grilled vegetables and seafood
TipReservations open online on the 1st of each month for two months out.
A Michelin-starred Kitashinchi omakase counter; Chef Sato sources Seto Inland Sea fish direct from fishermen to a 14-seat pale-wood counter.
OrderOmakase course
A Michelin-starred ten-seat counter in Nishihommachi; chef-owner Akinari Fujita trained in Normandy, Basque Country, and Lyon before returning to Osaka.
OrderChef's omakase menu
Chef Akira Saito's Ezomae-style sushi counter at the south edge of Susukino, working only Hokkaido catch into Kiwami and Miyabi omakase courses since 2000.
OrderThe Kiwami evening omakase, 8 to 9 plates plus nigiri progression.
TipCounter only; reservations essential. The Miyabi course is the slightly shorter option for first-time visitors.
The miso-ramen counter consistently ranked top of Sapporo Tabelog at 3.96. Saimi blends three white misos with a clear pork-bone base; queue early.
OrderMiso ramen with extra ginger ground tableside.
TipThree-minute walk from Misono subway station; queue from 11:00 weekdays, 10:30 weekends. Closed Mondays.
Toshihiro Wada's Bird Land in Tokyo Ginza grills Ibaraki shamo over binchotan, the basement that invented elevated yakitori. One Michelin star.
OrderThe omakase course closing with the oyakodon rice and silken liver pate as the opener.
TipClosed Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. Reservation by phone only, six weeks out.
Ginza Okuda in Tokyo's Ginza is Toru Okuda's two-Michelin-star kaiseki room. The seasonal seven-course menu changes monthly, paired with regional sake.
OrderThe full omakase course; the charcoal-grilled hamo in summer is the seasonal pull.
TipClosed Sundays. Reserve via Pocket Concierge 60 days ahead; English staff handle the booking flow.
Yakiniku Jumbo Shirokane in Tokyo is the wagyu yakiniku counter that the city's chefs eat at on days off. Hand-cut Chateaubriand sukiyaki is the signature.
OrderChateaubriand sukiyaki and the marbled sirloin; finish with cold reimen noodles.
TipPhone reservation only, 30 days ahead. The Hongo and Hanare branches share the same kitchen team.
Yakitori Omino in Tokyo's Meguro is the one-Michelin-star yakitori counter where Akihiro Omino grills jidori chicken over binchotan in a hidden basement.
OrderThe 14-skewer omakase; the tsukune meatball with quail yolk is the signature.
TipClosed Sundays. Reserve through Pocket Concierge two months ahead; dinner only.
Ginza Yoshihiro in Tokyo's Pola Ginza tower is the two-Michelin-star tempura counter where Yoshihiro Murata fries each piece to order on white-flame charcoal.
OrderOmakase tempura course with anago and maitake; lunch is half the dinner spend.
TipClosed Sundays. Reserve via Tableall 60 days ahead; lunch seating opens earlier.
Yoroniku Omotesando in Tokyo is the cult basement yakiniku counter on Minami-Aoyama, the room that built Tokyo's modern wagyu-tasting genre. Booking-only.
OrderThe omakase course with tongue plate, sirloin and Chateaubriand; finish with reimen.
TipReserve via Pocket Concierge 60 days ahead. The dinner course is the same omakase format every day.
Tempura Uchitsu in Tokyo's Minami-Azabu is Daisuke Uchitsu's two-Michelin-star tempura counter, all sesame-oil frying, eight seats and seasonal omakase only.
OrderThe full omakase tempura course; ten to twelve pieces and a tendon rice closer.
TipClosed Sundays. Phone reservation in Japanese only; Pocket Concierge handles English bookings.
Yamanaka invented miso motsunabe in 1984 and codified the Hakata offal hotpot. The Akasaka branch is the easiest of three to reach in central Fukuoka.
OrderMiso motsunabe for two, finished with the champon noodle round.
TipReserve a day ahead for dinner. Closes between 14:30 and 17:00 for the afternoon break.
Mizutaki built from the Hanamidori chicken brand, raised on seaweed and herb feed in northern Kyushu and simmered six hours into a milky-white broth.
OrderMizutaki course with the zosui rice-porridge close. Add the yakitori starter platter.
TipLunch weekends and holidays only. Dinner 17:00-23:00 weekdays; reserve a day ahead.
Torikami opened in Daimyo Garden City from Tokyo Torishiki lineage. Strong-heat close-flame yakitori across 21 dishes, three minutes from Tenjin.
OrderThe 21-piece omakase course; the chef sets the pace and pairs sake if you ask.
TipCounter only, two seatings per night. Reserve ahead through TableCheck.
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