Tokyo Food Guide: Must-Try Restaurants vs. Overrated Spots
Japan is known for amazing food and truly it is hard to go wrong anywhere you eat in Japan. That’s why I want to share with you the popular places/foods to try that are actually worth it because there WILL be waits for almost all of these places. We spent a lot of time waiting in line for some meals that really aren’t that worth it.
Must Try
Starting off strong with one of my most favorite meals in Japan was Wagyu Ichinoya Asakusa. Known for their wagyu bowls that are practically raw and you enjoy the meal three different ways. You start off just trying to the meat itself with the rice. Next, you mix the raw egg in, try it that way. And finally, you try the meat in the soup. Everyway is amazing. The wagyu was top notch, I could have had multiple bowls of this. This is the best place to eat for a traditional Japanese experience, amazing wagyu, quick service, and the line wasn’t too bad (but we went around 4pm). 9.7/10 recommend!
Sushi! Japan is known for sushi so this is something you HAVE to try! My husband and I love sushi and honestly we ate a lot of it in Japan. To be honest, most of it tasted pretty much the same. All the fish is fresh and usually prepared the same way. Except for uni, which is sea urchin, we had this at one restaurant in Kyoto and I wanted to throw up, and then I was brave enough to try it again at a very popular, family owned restaurant again in Kyoto and it was good. I would definitely recommend going to Tsukiji Tama Sushi Sasashigure which is actually located in a mall in Shibuya. The sushi is fresh, delicious, plus there’s no line! 8.5/10 recommend!
Tsukiji Fish Market, this place had a lot of 50/50 recommendations, a lot of people feel like it’s overrated and expensive. We went to the market around 10:30am, you’ll definitely want to come before noon, this is the time some people start running out of food and closing up. It’s busy here and expensive but I did have some of the best tasting tuna sushi and beef wagyu sticks that literally melted in my mouth. For these two foods I certainly think it’s worth coming to the fish market. 8/10 recommend!
The best ramen I have ever had was at Udon Shin. I had heard of a guy literally missing his flight to eat at this place so I really had some high expectations, however I didn’t think it’s worth missing your flight over lol. I am not a huge ramen person but I love a good homemade thick noodle and they definitely served here. The meal it’s self was delicious. This place does not take reservations, you walk up, get a ticket and put your name down, and usually the wait is about 2 hours. The best thing though is that you are able to leave so you don’t have to wait in line for 2 hours, if that was the case I would not think it’s worth it.
After we put our name in we walked over to Shinjuku to have a few beers and walk around. Shinjuku is the night life of Tokyo, definitely a place worth checking out and a good place to walk to while waiting to get in line at Udon. After we got our text to come back and get in line, we waited for about 20 minutes before actually getting seated, this place is very very small. Because we didn’t actually have to stand in line that long and the ramen was the best I’ve ever had, I’d give this place a 9/10 recommendation.
Overrated Spots/Foods
I’m not going to say that anything we had was necessarily bad in Japan, mainly just not worth all the hype it gets or not worth waiting so long for.
One thing that I think is overrated are the strawberries, some people were getting a box of strawberries for like $50! Don’t fall into this tourist trap.
Micasadeco Cafe, they have the famous Japanese fluffy pancakes, they were good but nothing amazing, not really worth waiting in a 30-45 minute line outside..
Kobe beef at Tsukiji fish market, I tried kobe beef a few times throughout our trip and it didn’t live up to the hype from other people. The one we had at Tsukiji was on rice, served like sushi, and actually it was served the same way when we had it in Kyoto. It’s good but a little overrated in my opinion.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with anything you eat in Japan but you may be disappointed for how long you wait for food. Don’t fall into tourist traps, use local recommendations, and don’t waste your time waiting in lines.