Australian chefs share top Japanese dining spots and historic restaurants

Japan is home to some of the best restaurants in the world, but finding them is another matter. Many are hidden on upper floors or basements, others have no website or social media presence, or have only been written about in Japanese. It helps to have a good recommendation, so we asked Australian chefs, cooks and food writers for their favourite places to dine out in Japan. Here’s what they said.

Favourite restaurant: Yakitori Kibitaki, Osaka

It’s the combination of excellent yakitori, sake and genuine hospitality that makes Kibitaki a place I always return to when I’m in Osaka. Yakitori is made with Fukushima chicken, grilled over high-heat Kishu Binchotan [premium white charcoal]. My favourite is the seseri, or chicken neck. It has a beautiful texture — slightly chewy, rich and very juicy, seasoned with salt and pepper or their house tare sauce.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Favourite bar: Sake Potan, Osaka

The owner of Sake Potan has great knowledge of sake, and he speaks English, which makes the experience very welcoming for international guests. I love sitting at the bar, talking with him about different regions, producers and brewing styles. They give you a map of Japan, and with every glass of sake you try, they mark the region it comes from. They also serve really good bar snacks, so it’s very easy to settle in and spend a few hours here.

Favourite restaurant: Fukudaya, Nagasaki

When I visit my hometown of Nagasaki, I go to a 200-year-old eel restaurant called Fukudaya that I’ve been going to since I was a child. They specialise in eel, and you can order it in many different grades and sizes, and steamed or grilled. It’s simple, familiar flavours that remind me why Japanese food is so special.

Favourite food experience: Kappabashi Street, Tokyo

I spend hours exploring stores filled with beautiful pottery, cookware and unique ingredients. I’m always discovering something new, whether it’s a plate, a technique or a product that inspires me.

Favourite restaurant: Sezanne, Tokyo

When I was in Japan, I had the most amazing meal at Sezanne by Daniel Calvert. I really hope that if I get the chance to return, I can visit his soon-to-open Chez Calvert as it will no doubt be as precise and beautiful as Sezanne.

Favourite food experience: Toyama

A food experience I had that was like no other was when I travelled to Toyama in the north of Japan to go to the fish markets and tour the town. We had the opportunity to dine in a restaurant that only served goat, then another that focused on soba, another on sashimi, then we took a tour of an incredible ceramicist’s studio, and finally a tour of one of the largest sake collections in Japan. For a relatively small town it was incredible to see the range of talents and quality.

Recommended restaurant: Marui Sushi, Ginza, Tokyo

It’s a handy spot to know about for a lovely, affordable sushi meal. They serve delicious chirashizushi bowls [sushi and sashimi in one large bowl, on top of rice], or if you’re after something more, nigiri sets that come with chawanmushi [savoury custard], miso soup, dessert and tea. They have two small rooms over two floors, and upstairs there is also one table in a tatami room (remember to take off your shoes) and great lunch deals.

Favourite food experience: kissaten

Kissaten are coffee houses that are firmly set in a time warp, set to Japan’s retro Showa era (the 1920s-1980s). The food is simple, nostalgic and almost always yoshoku – Japanese takes on Western dishes. My favourite things to order are extra thick-cut shokupan toast with eggs, or butter and jam, egg sandwiches or “pudding”, a creme caramel topped with a flourish of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, but some will offer more substantial meals like omuraisu (omelette rice) and Japanese curry.

Favourite restaurant: Unagi Hashimoto, Tokyo

I’m very picky about eel as I care about how they are farmed and treated. Hashimoto is my hero restaurant and the only place I go for eel in Japan. It’s twice cooked, steamed first, then grilled on charcoal on gentle heat. Order the eel jyu (grilled eel on rice), it’s golden brown, beautifully caramelised and melts in your mouth.

Favourite restaurant: Yakitori Toriyoshi, Nakameguro, Tokyo

Our favourite yakitori in Tokyo. We often go a few times in the same trip and some of the seasonal offerings would have changed, which I just love. There are the mainstays of course - bonjiri (the meat at the tail end of the chicken) and tsukune (meatballs), just to name a few- but I always love the vegetables too. Last trip, the baby corn was so beautiful, grilled over the binchotan and served with a little butter.

Favourite cafe: Higashiya, Tokyo

Higashiya is a tea house and maker of traditional Japanese wagashi (confectionery) – some packaged, like Monaka (mochi rice wafers filled with sweet bean paste), which make for the best gifts and souvenirs, and some freshly made (think hyper-seasonal mochi and sweets), which can be enjoyed with tea at their flagship in Ginza and in Marunouchi, or taken away to eat. I also love the Aoyama outpost, Higashiya Man, which specialises in freshly steamed manju. One summer I had the best ice-cream monaka from there too.

Favourite restaurants: Den, Ukiyo, and Meiizan Kimiya

Den in Tokyo gets better with each visit, somehow owners Zaiyu san and Emi san seem to be even more fun and friendly each time. I also really loved Toky’s Ukiyo, a small venue doing wonderfully creative food and drink. One restaurant I can never forget about is Meiizan Kimiya in Kagoshima. It’s a10-seat omakase run by two brothers, one a sushi chef, the other a specialist in all things Nihon ryori. Matched with an excellent drinks list.

Favourite bar: PM Sounds, Kyoto

Like most vinyl bars in Japan, the atmosphere at this bar is more reverence than exuberance. The experience is built around a pair of JBL Project K2 S9500, some astonishing speakers from the late ’80s, even if they do look like a pair of refrigerators.

Favourite restaurant: Lauburu, Tokyo

Lauburu serves French and Basque-inspired cuisine. The chef’s handmade pork dishes are the ones I order. I love their couscous and cassoulet. It’s relaxed, wholesome and fine quality at the same time, with warm service by the chef’s wife. They seem to have many French customers who live in Tokyo. It’s the kind of restaurant I want to have in my neighbourhood.

Favourite cafe: Saryou Chiyonoen, Fukuoka

Run by a family of organic green tea growers, this tea cafe is in an old building by a river in the little village of Yame, Fukuoka. It’s located in a forest away from the main area, so you need a car and a map (the roads are very narrow!). I love the quiet, calming space and their delicious sencha. In winter, I enjoy their zenzai (sticky rice balls in a warm sweet red bean soup). They sometimes run tea ceremony sessions and collaborations with local artists. They have a shop where you can buy tea and tea sets.

Favourite bar: Bar Le Verre, Akita

Established in Ginza, Tokyo in 1997, Bar Le Verre relocated to Kawabata, Akita (where I am from) in 2009. This is a bar for grown-ups. They can create cocktails using seasonal local fruits as well as standard cocktails. Mandarin was in season when I visited, so I had a gin cocktail made with fresh mandarin. You can request the kind of cocktail you want by describing ingredients or flavours, and they’ll create it.

​Favourite restaurant: Yakitori Torihei Sohonten, Osaka

They specialise in traditional Osaka-style yakitori, where the skewers are grilled over charcoal and seasoned with a rich, deeply flavoured tare sauce that has been replenished and maintained for decades. Combined with their skilful grilling techniques, the balance between the smoky aroma, tender chicken and savoury sauce is simply unmatched. It holds a very special place in my heart as a nostalgic restaurant where my family and I used to eat together often when I was a child. It’s an authentic, timeless dining experience that embodies both personal memories and the heart of Osaka’s food culture.

Favourite food experience: Road-tripping through rural Japan

My favourite memory is a one-week road trip through Kyushu, where I travelled by car to explore native ingredients and regional food cultures. During that journey, I had unforgettable encounters with exceptional ureshino tea in Saga, and remarkable local free-range chicken (jidori) in Ukiha, Fukuoka. Uncovering how local communities preserve their unique culinary heritage deeply inspires my own cooking.

Favourite restaurant: Sushi Akira, Tokyo

What stands out to me here is how much attention is paid to temperature. Compared with many other omakase restaurants, there is a very deliberate approach to serving each ingredient at the temperature that brings out its best texture and flavour. I also really like the way the chef treats the skin of the fish. Rather than removing it, he often tries to preserve and highlight its character. There are many pieces where charcoal, gentle searing, or smoky aromas are used to bring out the flavour and texture of the skin. That combination of temperature, texture and smokiness gives the sushi a very distinctive personality.

Favourite food experience: Early morning fish markets in Tokyo (Tsukiji Market or Toyosu Market)

One of my favourite food experiences is visiting the fish markets early in the morning. I love seeing what is in season, speaking with suppliers and looking at the quality of the fish. I’ll usually have a simple seafood or sushi breakfast afterwards. For me, eating something very fresh and simply prepared at the market is one of the best ways to experience Japanese food culture.

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.