Restaurants in Japan
Traditional Japanese restaurant
Style of Japanese restaurant
Specialized restaurants
High-class Japanese restaurant
Various types of Japanese restaurant
Family restaurant
Fast food restaurant
Ramen shop
Standing-up-eating soba, udon
Kaiten-zushi (Conveyor belt sushi)
Izakaya (Japanese-style pub)
Restaurants for a tiny group of people in Japan
For vegetarian & vegan
For Muslims
Traditional Japanese restaurant
Style of traditional Japanese restaurants
The appearance of most Japanese food restaurants is Japanese style in order to differentiate it from Western and Chinese food restaurants.
Most Japanese restaurants hang Noren in front of the entrance.
Noren is a short curtain with a few vertical slits, and it is the sign of opening the restaurant.
Some restaurants hang Aka-chochin (Red paper lantern) at their entrances.
The name of the main food of the restaurant is written big on the lantern.
It's a common sight at Izakaya (Japanese style pub).
Noren in front of entrance
Aka-chochins of Izakaya along a street
Many Japanese restaurants are not so wide.
So the tables and the seats in the restaurants may be a little small and narrow for foreign people.
There are many restaurants with the counter seats.
There is the kitchen right in front of the counter seats, and the cooks work before the guests.
Sushi bar, ramen shop, small Izakaya, etc. have the style of the restaurant.
And there are also the restaurants with Japanese-style tatami room.
When you sit on tatami, you must get your shoes off and sit straight with your legs folded under you.
If you have no experience to sit so, you may feel painful.
Counter seats and tatami rooms
Counter seats in ramen shop
Specialized restaurants of Japanese dish
Generally, a Japanese restaurant serves specific dishes.
The followings are the main categories.
- Sushi
- Tonkatsu (Japanese deep-fried pork cutlet)
- Tenpura (Deep-fried seafood & vegetables)
- Ramen
- Soba, Udon (Japanese noodles)
- Yakiniku (Barbecue meat)
- Dishes of specific ingredient (Eel, Crab, Pufferfish)
Each restaurant specializes in the dishes of the category.
Of course, some related dishes are also provided in the menu.
Customers go to the restaurant to eat the dish.
Sushi bar
Broiled eel dish in Unagi restaurant
High-class restaurants of Japanese dish
There are high-end Japanese restaurants.
The restaurant features an elegant interior with traditional Japanese-style private rooms.
They are usually located in the dining sections of large commercial buildings or inside luxury hotels.
The prestigious restaurant welcomes guests in a building that resembles a traditional Japanese inn, located in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood.
The main menu at this type of restaurant is Kaiseki.
Kaiseki is a full-course dinner of Japanese dish.
It begins with appetizer, and sashimi and various cooked Japanese dished are served.
Kaiseki dinner is not so casual.
The guests should enjoy the art of Japanese dishes by the chefs while drinking alcohol.
Some restaurants specialize in specific fine dining.
Sukiyaki, Shabu-shabu are the dish using high-quality Japanese beef.
Crab dish is also popular, but tasty crab is expensive.
Kaiseki dish
Japanese room in high-class restaurant
Family restaurant
Family restaurant is a Japanese-English word.
Japanese people often shorten the word, so it is calles as "famiresu".
Most family restaurants are in the city and the suburbs.
And they have spacious and bright rooms.
In the literature, it is the restaurant for family.
It has the menu of dishes without reference to age or sex.
The prices are reasonable.
Japanese, Western and Chinese popular dishes are listed in the menu, and all of them are Japanese people's favorite dishes.
Basically, a restaurant staff takes your order, and the dishes are carried to you.
Most restaurants are chain stores, and there are the restaurants throughout Japan.
Some restaurants serve mainly western dishes and some serve mainly Japanese dishes.
Most restaurants have the menu for children, and drinks and sweets are also served.
There are many chains in Japan.
- Mainly western dishes and some Japanese dishes : Gusto, Jonathan's, Denny's, Coco's, Royal Host, Joyfull, BigBoy, Famil
- Mainly Japanese dishes : Yumean, Aiya, Hanaya-Yohei, Sato
- Mainly Japanese noodle dishes : Nakau, Sagami
- Mainly Chinese dishes : Bamiyan, Ringerhut
- Mainly Italian dishes : Saizeriya, Jolly-Pasta
- Mainly hamburger stake dishes : Bikkuri Donkey
A family restaurant
Inside of a family restaurant
Fast food restaurant
Gyudon restaurant in Tokyo
In Japan there are many fast food restaurants from U.S. like "Kentucky Fried Chicken", "McDonald's", "Burger King", "Mister Donut", "SUBWAY" and so on.
In addition, there are some fast food restaurants of hamburger born in Japan.
Those are "MOS Burger", "ZETTERIA", "Dom Dom", "First Kitchen" and so on.
Of course, there are some fast food restaurants of Japanese dishes.
The following is a list of its chain stores.
- Gyudon : Yoshinoya, Matsuya, Sukiya
- Tendon : Tenya
- Curry rice : Coco-Ichiban-ya
- Udon noodle or donburi dishes : Hanamaru-udon, Marugame-Seimen
- Ramen : Kourakuen, Rairaitei, Yamaokaya, Marugen, Ippudo, Ichiran etc.
Basically, only one main dish is served.
Every place has a different ordering system.
You can order either by talking to our staff or by using the touch screen at your table.
And you pay after the meal.
Ticket vending machine in a busy restaurant
Some restaurants require you to buy a meal ticket at a vending machine before ordering.
The meal ticket itself serves as your order to the chef.
Most restaurans without waitstaff use this system.
It is necessary to keep cash on hand when entering this kind of restaurant.
Ramen shop
Ramen of Ichiran
Ramen is also a fast food, and it has become a Japanese dish that is also popular among foreigners.
As mentioned above, there are ramen restaurants that operate as nationwide chains.
But, there are far more individual ramen shops.
There are not many large stores, and popular ones often have lines of customers waiting outside.
Each owner serves their own specialty noodles and soup, and the menu is quite simple.
While there are famous ramen chains, other independent shops also compete fiercely over taste.
At most shops, you buy a ticket from a vending machine to order.
Standing-up-eating soba, udon
Cheap and tasty standing-up-eating soba (The topping on above photo is a kakiage tenpura)
There are standing-up-eating soba, udon stands around or in the main railway station.
And, they are around the waiting room in bus terminal and boarding place of ship.
The guest buys the tickers from the vending machine and shows them to the chef.
Soba or udon noodle is quickly served.
Most diners eat it fast to get on the next train, bus or ship.
Of course, most shops have no seat, so you must eat standing up.
This is the real fast food.
It is opened from early morning to late night.
For busy workers and travellers, it is a convenient restaurant.
Kaiten-zushi (Conveyor belt sushi)
Conveyor belt sushi
Kaiten-zushi is the sushi restaurant where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt.
In a sense, this is also a fast food restaurant.
When you get a seat, you can eat your favorite sushi soon.
Most of kaiten-zushi restaurants are chain stores.
Many chains of kaiten-zushi are in Japan. (The following major restaurants have English websites.)
By the way, the system of sushi plates rotating on a conveyor belt is disappearing.
This is because hygiene protocols were reassessed triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nowadays, the mainstream system is to order sushi plates via a touchscreen or your own smartphone, which are then delivered directly to you on a lane.
Izakaya (Japanese-style pub)
There are many pubs and bars in Japan.
Especially, casual Japanese-style pub is izakaya.
At the entrance of most izakayas, red Japanese lanterns are hung.
If you search izakaya, that is the sign.
Izakaya is the place to drink.
As soon as you take a seat, a waiter or waitress serves a small dish to you without your order.
The dish is called "Otooshi" in Japanese, and it is a special appetizer.
It is cheap, but it is included in the price in most cases.
It is like a fee for a table reservation, and is a traditional business custom of izakaya only in Japan.
You must order any drink first.
Main drinks are beer, sake, shochu (Japanese distilled beverage), etc.
But you can choose soft drinks such as juice, oolong tea, etc.
The drinks are brought to you soon.
And you order the favorite food.
The menu has the lineup of popular Japanese cuisines such as sashimi, broiled fish, yakitori (grilled chicken), fried dishes, salad, etc.
Some izakayas serve sushi.
In local areas, you may try to eat the foods in the local area.
If you want to eat various Japanese dish cheaply, it is good idea to go to Izakaya.
Inside of an Izakaya
Drinking in Izakaya
For vegetarian & vegan
There are not many vegetarians and vegans in Japan.
The historical absence of a meat-eating culture is the reason why traditional Japanese cuisine focuses on a well-balanced diet of fish and vegetables.
Therefore, there are very few vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Japan.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan, please check the information in the below websites.
For Muslims
In recent years, the number of people from Muslim-majority countries coming to work in Japan has been increasing.
Because of this, Japanese people have gradually come to understand Muslim customs and dietary habits.
The number of Japanese Muslims is virtually zero.
Therefore, very few restaurants have halal food on their menus for Muslims.
But, there are quite a few halal restaurants for Muslims, mainly in major cities.
So, if you are a Muslim and visit Japan, please check the below websites.