🥈 My favourite restaurants in Japan on #myrevisitlist

From grilled eels to wagyu beef burgers, Japan’s got some top-notch restaurants. Here’s a list of my favourite restaurants, all ranked 🥈(=worth a small detour) on #myrevisitlist.

*This page assumes 100JPY≈A$1.00

酢重 Suju (Tokyo)

Located in Shin-Maru Bldg next to Tokyo Station, Suju is my favourite place to eat cooked fish. The miso black cod is so so delicious and consistent every time! The miso salmon is great too. Make it a meal with their rice and tonjiru soup set. It’ll set you back about A$40 (assuming A$1≈100JPY) plus sake.

ひつまぶし 名古屋 備長 Hitsumabushi Nagoya Bincho (Tokyo/Nagoya)

This is the only unagi place I eat at now. Their eels are grilled on coal instead without steaming, making them soft but crunchy and aromatic. I usually order the Hitsumabushi from Tokyo Solamachi, but they originated in Nagoya. It’ll set you back about A$40 for this delicious experience.

熟かつ亭 Juku-katsu Tei (Tokyo)

Kamata is a district in Tokyo known for great food. This Tonkatsu place is located inside the station building of Kamata Station. This is my favourite tonkatsu place; Yamato pork is aged and the sesame seeds that you ground to mix into the sauce makes this tonkatsu a treat. I usually order the Hire-Katsu set. Surprisingly, it only sets me back about A$15.

肉の頂 Niku no Itadaki (Tokyo)

This Yakiniku BBQ place in an alleyway near Kamata Station has a amazing beef and dipping sauce that goes so well with them. The raw Yukke was also tasty in its soy based sauce, and the daikon kimchi and salad was great too. (Maybe avoid the Kalbi and Harami cuts though as they were surprisingly chewy.) Even after ordering extravagant beef that was A$10 per slice, we were only set back about A$50pp.

北京 Peking (Kanagawa)

Peking is a family owned Chinese restaurant known to locals for great Tan Tan Men noodles and Gyoza dumplings. Despite most dishes being under A$10, everything they cook is amazing actually, including their Chahan fried rice, Ebi-Chili, and Ginger Pork; the soup that comes with the meal sets of these three dishes are so so tasty too! They operate three stores, but my regular is the one in Miyazakidai, Kanagawa. (We went so often they gave us a staff t-shirt!) You will most likely line up in a short queue, but it moves quickly.

しゃぶしゃぶつかだ Shabu Shabu Tsukada (Tokyo)

The premium beef cuts and the regular pork belly slices are lovely. So are the vegetables. But the soup! Oh my gosh the soup is so tasty, and it gets better as you shabu shabu along and the flavours of the meat and vegetables sets in.

There are many nice shabu shabu places, but this place in convenient Shibuya gets a place on #myrevisitlist because of the soup; at other shabu shabu places they don’t propose you drink the soup but this place gives you a mug to savour it. The premium lunch course set us back about A$40 each.

気まぐれ厨房「ごっつ」 青物横丁店 Gottsu (Tokyo)

Gottsu is a Japanese style pub in the Shinagawa Seaside area. I first went there on a teams drink, and kept going back because the food is so good. My favourite is their special Tsukune and Shaki-shaki Salad.

La Table (Tokyo)

I think I’ve seen the exterior this fancy restaurant appear in some of my manga. Inside a chateau-looking building in Ebisu, Tokyo, is a two-star Michelin French restaurant. Unlike all the other places on this list, this place is pricey and the degustation menu will set you back a couple hundred dollars – but it was definitely tasty, not just fancy.

モリタ屋 Moritaya (Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo)

Moritaya has a history of offering beef for 150 years. I’ve been to their Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo restaurants – they’re conveniently always next to the main stations. I think the Osaka one tasted the best, while the Tokyo one appeared to be A$20 more expensive. We usually have their Sukiyaki course that sets us back about A$60~80.

The Kyoto style of Sukiyaki involves grilling the food first so its much tastier than its Tokyo counterpart. If you’re there in spring, get the course with bamboo shoots and thank me later. (Note: their “red meat” has nicer flavour than their fatty meat in my opinion and is conveniently cheaper.)

Dragon Burger (Kyoto)

My favourite burger place in Arashiyama Kyoto closed down, so I’m so glad I found this one. Created by London’s burger competition winner, Dragon Burger serves amazing wagyu burgers with a Japanese twist. My go-to is the yuzu burger, but don’t forget the savoury shoestring fries and craft ginger drink. Somewhat pricey for Japan at ~A$25 for a burger meal, but very tasty!

Tossa de coracao (Osaka)

In a more quiet street one minute from Yotsubashi Station, Osaka, is this restaurant that offers creative Japanese and Western cuisine using Tosa’s (Kochi prefecture) seasonal ingredients.

Make sure you order their signature “Straw-grilled bonito” and watch them cook it with straw and fire – they told me it can only be made with super fresh fish stocked that day, and it’s delicious! Their ragu pasta was something to write home about too.

ハゲ天 Hageten (Multiple locations)

Hageten is a tempura diner chain where the tempura chef comes to serve tempura pieces (almost one at a time) as they are freshly fried. Their Chawanmushi is also lovely so order a meal set with that included – and try the tempura with salt only! Prices are very reasonable, with a lunch set at about A$10 and filling course meals at A$18.

五穀 Gokoku (Multiple locations)

At Gokoku, they cook your rice in a mini rice pot per serve, and it tastes amazing. There are a lot of meal sets to choose from around the A$12 mark. After discovering how tasty rice could be cooked if you don’t use an electric rice cooker, I bought my rice pot to cook on my gas stove at home.