Tokyo Travel Guide
Eating Tokyo
The world's greatest food city decoded — what to eat, where locals actually eat it, how to order at a ticket machine or a counter, and how to eat superbly at every budget, from convenience stores to omakase.
Tokyo has more great restaurants than any city on earth, and the remarkable thing is how much of its best food is cheap. A bowl of ramen at a counter, a set lunch at a tempura shop, a few skewers of yakitori under the railway tracks, or a convenience-store egg sandwich can be as memorable as a tasting menu. The secret is to eat like a local: specialist restaurants that do one thing brilliantly, set lunches that cost a fraction of dinner, and a willingness to queue for the places with a line of office workers outside.
Sushi. For the classic Tokyo experience, eat sushi at a counter, where the chef hands you each piece as it is made. At the high end, omakase counters serve a chef's selection of Edomae sushi for a considerable price and require reservations, often through hotel concierges or booking apps. For excellent sushi at reasonable prices, go for lunch, when many counters offer set menus, or to Tsukiji Outer Market for a sushi breakfast. Conveyor-belt sushi chains are cheap, fun and often surprisingly good, with tablets for ordering in English. Etiquette: it is fine to eat nigiri with your fingers, dip the fish side lightly into soy sauce, and eat each piece in one bite.
Ramen. Tokyo has thousands of ramen shops, and styles vary — rich pork-bone tonkotsu, clear soy-sauce shoyu, miso, and the dipping-noodle tsukemen. Many shops have a ticket machine at the door: insert cash, press the button for your choice (often the top-left is the signature bowl), and hand the ticket to the staff. Slurping is normal and encouraged. Lines at famous shops can be long; neighborhood shops are often just as good. Tokyo Station's Ramen Street brings several well-known shops together underground.
Yakitori and izakaya. In the evening, Tokyo's office workers head to izakaya, the Japanese pub, for drinks and small plates, and to yakitori counters for skewers of chicken grilled over charcoal. The most atmospheric places are the alleys: Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku, the arches under the tracks in Yurakucho and Shimbashi, and Nonbei Yokocho in Shibuya. Order skewers by type — thigh with leek, meatballs, skin, liver — with salt or sauce, and a cold beer or highball. Expect a small seating charge and a snack at many izakaya.
Tempura, tonkatsu, soba and eel. Specialist restaurants are a Tokyo strength. Tempura counters fry each piece in front of you; tonkatsu shops serve breaded pork cutlets with shredded cabbage and miso soup; soba shops serve buckwheat noodles hot or cold; and unagi restaurants grill eel over charcoal and serve it on rice. Asakusa is especially good for these older traditions.
Depachika and convenience stores. The basement food halls of department stores — depachika — are a Tokyo wonder, with counters selling exquisite bento boxes, sushi, pastries, wagashi sweets and gift-wrapped fruit. Ginza's department stores are a great place to start. At the other end of the scale, convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson sell genuinely good food: onigiri rice balls, egg sandwiches, fried chicken, noodles and coffee. A konbini breakfast is a Tokyo rite.
Markets. Tsukiji Outer Market is the essential food market, with grilled seafood, tamagoyaki on a stick, sushi breakfasts, and kitchen knives and tableware to take home; visit in the morning and avoid Sundays, holidays and most Wednesdays. Toyosu Market hosts the tuna auction and restaurant floors with breakfast sushi. Ameyoko in Ueno is a lively street market with snacks and cheap eats.
Sweets and cafes. Try taiyaki fish-shaped cakes, ningyo-yaki sponge cakes at Nakamise in Asakusa, matcha desserts, fluffy Japanese pancakes and seasonal fruit parfaits. Tokyo's coffee scene is excellent, from old-style kissaten serving siphon coffee to third-wave roasters.
How to order and pay. Many restaurants have picture menus or plastic food displays in the window, and pointing is perfectly polite. Say sumimasen to get attention. Water and tea are usually free. Do not tip. In smaller places, pay at the register on the way out, often in cash. Some restaurants do not allow reservations and others accept only reservations, so check ahead for popular places. Smoking is banned inside most restaurants.
Eating well on a budget. Set lunches, called teishoku, are the great Tokyo bargain: a main dish with rice, miso soup and pickles for a modest price. Chains such as gyudon beef-bowl shops and curry houses are cheap, fast and reliable. Department-store food halls discount their bento in the evening. And a picnic from a depachika in a park is one of the best meals in the city, especially in cherry-blossom season.
Dietary needs. Vegetarian and vegan eating is possible but requires care, since dashi fish stock is used widely. Look for shojin ryori, the vegetarian Buddhist cuisine, and specialist vegan restaurants, and carry a card explaining your needs in Japanese. Halal options are growing, especially around Asakusa. For allergies, a translated card is essential.
Drinks. Tokyo's drinking culture is as rich as its food. Try sake at a specialist bar or izakaya, where staff will recommend styles from dry to fruity; Japanese whisky, now world-famous, in a classic hotel bar; and the ubiquitous highball, whisky and soda, which pairs perfectly with yakitori. Craft beer bars have spread across the city, and the tiny bars of Golden Gai and the cocktail bars of Ginza, where bartenders carve ice by hand, are destinations in themselves. Non-drinkers are well served by excellent green tea, specialty coffee and an endless range of soft drinks from vending machines.