Japanese in Gion

Senmonten

• ★ 4.8
• Japanese
• ¥

Order 30-piece gyoza order with a draft beer

A Gion counter on Hanamikoji that sells one item: pan-fried gyoza orders, paired with cold Asahi. Wood-finished room, cash only. Priced at ¥.

Gion Sasaki

• ★ 4.8
• 3 MICHELIN stars
• ¥¥¥¥

Hiroshi Sasaki runs a teacher-and-apprentice kitchen on Komatsu-cho. Counter seats deliver a 12-course kaiseki with a freer hand than the old ryotei.

Gion Nishikawa

• ★ 4.7
• 2 MICHELIN stars
• ¥¥¥¥

Masayoshi Nishikawa earned a star a year after opening at 33 in Kyoto. A quiet sukiya counter on a Yasaka Shrine alley with two stars for over a decade.

Tempura Endo Yasaka

• ★ 4.5
• Tempura
• ¥¥¥¥

Tempura in a converted teahouse near Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto, an ochaya from the early 1900s. Sweetcorn tempura opens each course in early summer.

Hassun

• ★ 4.4
• 1 MICHELIN star
• ¥¥¥¥

Named for the central kaiseki course, Hassun runs a quiet ryotei in Gion, Kyoto, a block south of Hanamikoji. One Michelin star, intimate counter only.

Kyoyamato

• ★ 4.3
• ¥¥¥¥

A Meiji-era kaiseki house on the Kodaiji grounds, established in Kyoto by the third-generation Yamato proprietor in 1949 and rooted in an 1877 Osaka original.

Issen Yoshoku

• ★ 4.1
• Japanese
• ¥

Order Issen yoshoku, the single menu item

A 1925 Gion counter selling one dish only in Kyoto: issen yoshoku, a pancake of batter, green onion, meat scraps and Worcestershire sauce. Kitsch decor.