Self-Guided Food Tour of Japan

Routes and Itinerary

This guide offers two main paths - From North to South and East to West. There are no wrong answers, but travelers already embarking on the Golden Route will find East to West friendly to their travel plans. Adventurous spirits wanting a deep dive into the cultural and historical landscape that shaped Japan’s food will appreciate the novelty of traveling North to South. Both patterns allot for about two days of sight seeing in each location.

Japan’s Perfect Food Tour: West to East

This guide turns notions on their head, inviting you to experience the throbbing heart of Japanese cuisine before expanding your horizons in Tokyo’s gourmet mecca. 

Osaka

Osaka, on top of being one of Japan’s largest cities with great access to the rest of Japan via its airport and seaports, is known as the nation’s kitchen. Osaka is well known for its wheat-based cuisine, which include okonomiyaki, panko-fried kushiage skewers, and takoyaki, among others. 

 Osaka serves fantastic fried and comfort food topped in Japanese sauce (a Worcestershire-inspired sauce adapted for okonomiyaki, tonkatsu, and more), and is also a rare area of Japan where street food stalls, called yattai, can still be enjoyed. It’s a great place to simply slide into an izakaya seat or stroll past some stalls and order something interesting. 

Osaka also has its fair share of fine dining. Like Tokyo, it’s a hub attracting chefs and ingredients from around the country – and the world. The high energy streets of Dotonbori contrast great Osaka castle, just like its rowdy yattai contrast the excellence found in Michelin recognized venues. Kitchens like Ayamuya create a balance of both sides, as they serve yakitori that is both affordable and elegant. Osaka also has its own excellent sushi culture, as embodied by venues like Sushi Roku.

Kyoto

Kyoto, along with being the seat of national culture and power for so long, is reportedly the place where ryotei originated. The establishment of Japan’s first “fine dining” culture dates back to the 1500s with the establishment of a Geisha-led Kagai district near the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. Ryotei were the first classical establishments serving Japanese food and have a long history of ceremonial professionalism that helped develop modern kaiseki and kappo culture.

Thanks to this long history, Kyoto is the best place to reach deep into the essence of Japanese dining with seasonal kaiseki meals. Restaurants like Tsujifusa envelop diners in Japanese aesthetics with tatami and washi paper, priming the eyes and palate for a very traditional meal.

Diners will learn the importance of owan and shirumono, hassun and otsukuri, and many more specifics that dictate the flow and flavor of kaiseki. Outside of these refined dining venues, Kyoto’s food culture is embodied by tofu and pickled products and by casual obanzai. 

Kyoto is also the place to experience Uji grown matcha, the world’s most celebrated green tea powder, and traditional wagashi. Tea ceremony and kaiseki have been linked for hundreds of years, so Kyoto is an ideal spot to try both.

Kobe

Kobe has experienced foreign influence as a port town for hundreds of years. It is the hub of Hyogo, a large prefecture with a strong agricultural and fishing industry. To feel the impact of foreign trade, it only takes a stroll around Kobe’s city center – where the architecture feels distinctly Western and retro kissaten and coffee culture are still prevalent. 

A few streets over, the city’s famous Chinatown exhibits another side of Japan’s culinary history. Dumplings steamed street-side and local restaurants overflow with scents and sounds.

Kobe’s foreign connections continue to its most famous product, Kobe beef. Until the meiji era, meat, including beef, consumption was effectively outlawed. It was only the influence of Western culture that allowed Japan’s wagyu (literally, Japanese beef) industry to thrive.

Kobe beef cattle are Tajima black cattle raised with exacting standards applied to size, weight and marbling. In fact, some local farmers prefer to avoid the stringent breed standards, giving them more freedom to raise cattle that suit their restaurant customers and personal preferences. Kobe’s Sannomiya area is replete with restaurants of every caliber serving certified Kobe beef, so visitors will have their pick of the lot.

Tokyo

Tokyo concentrates excellent food from around the country in a single, sprawling city. Because of that, this piece of advice is a local best kept secret: If you’re touring the country…Use your Time in Tokyo to explore beyond traditional Japanese dishes! 

Tokyo is the best city to experience the influence of French, Italian, and foreign gastronomy on Japan’s food scene. Tokyo restaurants such as Lature even go a step further as Michelin Green Star holders to proudly exhibit Japan’s local dedication to the future of food.

That said, Edo (the old name of Tokyo) was instrumental in developing Japanese comfort food. Tokyo is absolutely the place to eat soba, sushi, and tempura – foods that have been enjoyed in this region for hundreds of years. When dining out became an everyday occurrence, the people of Edo flocked to these then fast foods for quick fuel. Now, these once humble dishes have been elevated and celebrated worldwide.

There are too many excellent sushi counters in town to highlight just one, representative edo-mae sushi recommendation, but Tempura Asanuma, traces its thick-battered style back to old Tokyo and honors Edo tradition with its unique course. For soba, look to the excellency of Soba Osame, in Mejiro.

Japan’s Perfect Food Tour: North to South

For travelers who hear the words, “golden route” and shrivel a little, consider the Kitamaebune. The term is used for both ships and their route that facilitated trade between the Southern and Northern tips of the Japanese archipelago. Following this path, travelers will see a side of Japan that is all but watered down, and will challenge notions of Japanese cuisine in all the best ways.

Sapporo

While Hokkaido may be synonymous with winter sports for many visitors, local people know Hokkaido as the land of beer, potatoes and milk. If that description doesn’t sound particularly “Japanese”, you may be surprised by the unique local dishes that characterize Northern Japan. Exploring the delicious products of Hokkaido is the first step to fostering a deep appreciation for Japan’s no-effort-spared agriculture. Ice cream, french fries, venison, and even local cheese and wine are excellent balance points to understand just why the quality of Japanese food is lauded as some of the best in the world. Though the flavors might be familiar, the difference in Japan’s careful approach to food can be identified immediately.

Hokkaido, especially Sapporo, is home to an array of fine dining restaurants that make the most of local products from the sea and land. The city also offers food-themed activities and once in a lifetime experiences, that range from comfort food to new gastronomic explorations. Gin tastings made from local botanicals, breathtaking views with field-to-table meals at boutique bed and breakfasts, and casual meals including extremely rare seafood aren’t hard to come by.

Kanazawa

Kanazawa is on the sea of Japan, where cold waters encourage a healthy layer of insulation and migratory fish are plentiful. Toyama bay and the jutting Noto peninsula are particularly notable for their seafood. Noto is a fine production region for salt, wine, and livestock. It is also world renowned for its artisan crafts, such as Wajima lacquerware. Many Noto products are available in Kanazawa.

 In fall and winter, wild-caught yellowtail rivals premium maguro with its succulent sashimi. Spring ushers in firefly squid season, both beautiful and delicious. Omicho market is a sight-seeing spectacle where fresh seafood can be purchased and eaten on the spot, wet-market style. It’s also where travelers will find Oryori Kifune, a well-known Japanese restaurant in Kanazawa.

Kanazawa’s long artisan and merchant history has afforded the city an impressive tea culture, in spite of its lack of tea production. In the Higashichaya district or Kenrokuen, visitors can enjoy traditional tea ceremonies on par with the mastery of Kyoto and Himeji. Local wagashi featuring sweet potatoes and flakes of gold leaf root Kanazawa sado (tea ceremony) in the local culture.

Gunma

After enjoying a wide range of seafood from the North, foray into central Japan for a bit of context. Gunma is one of just a few landlocked prefectures, which has led the local people to develop a different way of eating than its seafaring neighbors.

Gunma offers a look at the other side of Japan’s culinary history – one defined by subtle human intervention and reliance on the bounteous mountains. The prefecture has a wide range of meat and fresh vegetable products, and is home to the tonkatsu kaido, a long road with a high concentration of tonkatsu stores. More adventurous eaters will find that Gunma offers delicacies like koi (for eating, not ornament) and wild game, as well as the perplexing magic of local konjac. 

Since Gunma is also famous for its onsen, this is a good opportunity to relax and digest in a warm bath. Kusatsu onsen and Inaho onsen are famous for their appearances in film and television, but they are also good places to appreciate steamed onsen manju and ryokan kaiseki, the opulent, ceremonial dinner services served at traditional inns.

Shimane (Izumo)

Shimane is known as the birthplace of sake. Here, Japan’s most significant spirit has been brewed since the Yayoi period. The Izumo region is mentioned by name in ancient legends as a place where gods gather to brew sake and feast. Okuizumo is also renowned for its metalworking, producing some of the most sought after chef’s knives and metal tools in the country. 

Sake brewery tours and pilgrimages to Izumo Shrine are just a small part of Shimane’s culinary landscape. Many ancient foodways are still alive and well here, such as local buckwheat soba and hakozushi, a pressed box sushi that resembles chirashizushi. Hakozushi can be made with vegetarian ingredients and represents some of the earliest forms of sushi, where rice (or rice and fish) was pressed and fermented rather than being served fresh.

Shimane’s rich spiritual tradition and protection of lost culinary culture make it a satisfying destination for food lovers who want to peek behind the curtain of Japan’s culinary history without fighting crowds in other regions.

Fukuoka

Finally, finish in Fukuoka city, where the warm-water fish of Southern Japan make their way onto plates at hard to book restaurants like Sushi Karashima. Fukuoka is as of yet a secret food hub. Its wide variety of comfort foods rival Osaka and the premium sushi and gastronomic venues are on par with many great kitchens in Tokyo.

Ramen lovers will be enthralled by the expansive range of Hakata ramen, with its white pork bone soup and thin noodles. Nishimura levels up the experience with a fine dining inspired ramen course. On the other hand, local udon is a strong competitor for the best Fukuoka noodle dish.

Of the local comfort foods, horumon (beef offal, especially intestine) is a surprisingly delicious specialty. With all the unctuousness of bacon or pork belly, horumon pleases diners with its springy texture and no gamey or barnyard odor. It’s a testament to premium farming techniques and world-class meat cleanliness and quality. Fukuoka’s local charm and delicious food make it a worthwhile stop to tie up a journey across Japan.

Honorable Mentions

A few regions that are also worth exploring for food lovers looking to immerse themselves in Japanese cuisine are the Shinshuu region (Nagano), Nagoya, and Wakayama. Like Gunma, Nagano prefecture relies on agriculture and forestry for its local cuisine, and also has its own food-road, themed around yakiniku barbeque instead of tonkatsu. Nagoya is known for delectable B-kyuu gourmet, a friendly nickname for the party-friendly chicken wings and fried, saucy wonders that grace local tables. It’s also a hub for cafes. Wakayama, in Southern Japan, is notable for its abundant fruit production, including peaches, citrus, and more.