2025 Tabelog Bronze Restaurants: The Complete 454-Venue List

A French restaurant in Wajima, Ishikawa, L'Atelier de NOTO holds a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 with a score of 4.05, placing it among the prefecture's recognized dining addresses. The kitchen works within a French framework while drawing from Noto Peninsula ingredients, operating tight lunch and dinner sittings daily. Its Wajima address makes it a counterpoint to Kanazawa's denser restaurant concentration.

Isshinzushi Koyo has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2019 through 2026, with a score of 4.34 and repeated selection for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. Located a ten-minute walk from Miyazaki Station, the 40-seat restaurant operates across lunch and dinner with a 12-seat counter, private rooms, and dinner pricing that runs JPY 30,000 to JPY 39,999 per person.

Araki in Nara's Gakuenkita district holds a Michelin Plate and an Opinionated About Dining Top 25 Asia ranking (2023), placing it among the prefecture's most closely watched sushi counters. The format is omakase, the seating intimate, and the service window narrow — evenings only, Tuesday through Saturday, with two seatings per night.

Kappo Muroi occupies an eight-seat counter in Nishiazabu, where a deliberately sashimi-free course alternates cold and hot preparations with temperature and aroma as the organising principles. Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.22 and a 2024 Michelin star, it sits in the tier of small-counter Japanese restaurants where the precision of the whole service team matters as much as the cooking.

Akama Chaya Asago in Fukuoka's Shirogane district has held a place on the Tabelog Soba 100 continuously since 2018, earning Tabelog Bronze in both 2025 and 2026. The eight-seat counter operates a dual format: daytime à la carte and an omakase course from 17:00. Cash only, closed Tuesdays, and the omakase books ahead by phone.

Usukifugu Yamadaya in Nishiazabu, Tokyo presents kaiseki-style fugu (pufferfish) cuisine focused on naturally caught tiger fugu from the Bungo Channel. Must-try dishes include Fugusashi (paper-thin fugu sashimi), Fugu Karaage (crisply fried pufferfish), and the grilled white roe. The restaurant pairs courses with hirezake and regional sakes under Chef Yoshio Kusakabe’s direction. A Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 recipient with a 4.18 score and Travelers’ Choice recognition, Usukifugu Yamadaya delivers carefully prepared textures, clean ocean umami, and intimate chef counter service that makes each meal both instructive and unforgettable.

A Nagoya institution operating since 1970, Kitchen Ribbon has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2019 through 2026 and a score of 4.06, placing it among Japan's most consistently decorated steak and teppanyaki houses. Specialising in Kuroge Wagyu and Matsusaka beef, it draws a loyal dinner crowd to its Showa Ward address, with dinner running around JPY 30,000–39,999 per person.

A Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant in Minamisenba, Ñ translates the modern prix fixe format through a chef who trained in Madrid and San Sebastián during the post-elBulli decade. Refined tapas, arroz with regional Spanish character, and plancha-grilled items sit alongside a Google rating of 4.9 across more than 6,000 reviews — an unusual alignment of critical recognition and popular approval in Osaka's competitive dining scene.

A Japanese cuisine counter in Sanda, Hyogo, Konishiya has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2019 through 2026 and earned selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Opened in June 1973, the ten-seat counter operates evenings only, with a programme built around seasonal fish and a sake list curated with particular seriousness. Dinner averages JPY 20,000–29,999.

A Roppongi French restaurant that has held consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards since 2017 and appeared on La Liste's global rankings, EdiTion Koji Shimomura operates from a 28-seat dining room inside Roppongi T-Cube. The menu is built around a deliberate architecture of lightness — minimal butter and cream, seasonal Japanese vegetables, and a plant-based vegan course alongside the main offering — priced from JPY 15,000 at lunch and JPY 30,000 at dinner.

Shofukuro Honten brings kaiseki to a quieter register in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture — ranked #228 on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Japan list for 2025 and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.88. Chef Hidetaro Nakamura's kitchen operates within the multi-course seasonal tradition that defines Japan's most serious dining, placing this address in a peer set that extends well beyond its provincial setting.

Opened in July 2019 in the residential Suginami ward, Narikura has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2021 through 2026 and three selections to the Tabelog Tonkatsu 100, alongside a Michelin Bib Gourmand and the top ranking in Opinionated About Dining's Casual Japan list for 2023 and 2025. Fourteen seats, reservation-only, and priced at around ¥6,000–¥8,000 per head.

A Michelin-starred tempura counter in Ningyocho, Chuo Ward, where the frying technique is engineered through the science of desiccation and the Maillard reaction rather than convention. Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.11 and a dinner price of JPY 20,000–29,999. Reservations open on the first of each month for the following three months, via the OMAKASE platform.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in Kokurakita Ward, Nikaku holds a score of 4.0 on the platform and draws a steady local and visiting crowd to its sushi counter in Kitakyushu's Adachi district. Open six days a week for both lunch and dinner service, it sits within a city increasingly recognised for serious seafood dining, where proximity to Kyushu's coastal supply chains gives sushi here a distinct material advantage over inland alternatives.

Hitotsu is a 10-seat counter sushi restaurant in Miyazaki City, operating since January 2022 and holding Tabelog Bronze Awards consecutively from 2023 through 2026, alongside selection in the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per person, with two seatings nightly and a particular focus on Kyushu-sourced fish. Reservations are accepted online and by phone.

Tucked into Sapporo's Miyanomori residential quarter, Le Musee IDEA operates from a 12-seat second-floor dining room where French technique meets Hokkaido produce with unusual intensity. Chef Makoto Ishii has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2024 through 2026 and two selections for the Tabelog French EAST Top 100. Reservation-only, with dinner priced in the JPY 40,000–49,999 range and a 10% service charge.

Yamanomi (Ishiusuhiki Soba Kobo Yama no Mi) is a seasonal soba specialist in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, operating from late April to mid-November with lunch service only. It has held Tabelog Bronze status in 2022, 2025, and 2026, carries a score of 4.13, and has appeared in the Tabelog Soba East Top 100 every year from 2017 through 2025. Lunch runs JPY 2,000–2,999.

A 13-seat counter restaurant in Kumamoto's Shimotori district, STEAK HOUSE Baron has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2022 through 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Steak and Teppanyaki West Top 100 for four consecutive years. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 per person, placing it at the upper end of Kumamoto's serious dining tier. Reservations are accepted; the space is counter-only, non-smoking, and closed Sundays.

Yamasei is Matsumoto's most decorated unagi specialist, holding Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026 and a place on the Tabelog Unagi 100 list. The 13-seat room in the Ote district pairs traditional eel cookery with a wine program given unusual attention for the category. Dinner runs by reservation only through Table Check.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in the rural Tamba-Sasayama district of Hyogo, Roan Matsuda Sasayama has held a place on Tabelog's Soba 100 list every year since 2017. Set in a converted house with tatami rooms, it serves soba and seasonal Japanese courses at lunch from JPY 6,000 and dinner from JPY 10,000. Reservations are required and must be made at least one day in advance.

A wood-fired Italian restaurant in the forests above Chino, ca'enne holds a Tabelog score of 4.22 and consecutive Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026, alongside two Tabelog Italian EAST 100 selections. With just eight seats and a reservation-only policy, it operates at the smaller, more disciplined end of Japan's rural fine-dining circuit, pairing Italian technique with Yatsugatake mountain produce.

A seven-seat counter in Ginza's Chuo City, Kawamura has held a place on the Tabelog Award honour roll every year since 2017, rising to Silver in 2026 with a score of 4.38. Dinner runs from JPY 100,000 per person, access is by referral only, and the format is counter-only steak, making it one of the most deliberately restricted dining experiences in the city.

Wagyu Lab K is a ten-seat counter in Hiroshima's Nishi Ward dedicated to Hiroshima's Sakakiyama beef, served in a reservation-only course format attended by a grill master. Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.19 and three consecutive years on the Tabelog Yakiniku WEST 100 list, it prices dinners between JPY 10,000 and JPY 14,999.

A six-seat counter on Hakata Island along the Shimanami Kaido, Nijikichi pairs a working fisherman's catch from the Seto Inland Sea with counter-level omakase technique. Tabelog Silver in 2026 (score 4.45) and dinner pricing between JPY 30,000 and JPY 39,999 place it firmly in Japan's regional premium tier. Reservations are by advance booking only via Instagram or OMAKASE.

A nine-seat counter in Higashiyama's Sanjo-Shirakawa district, Higashiyama Tsukasa holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2024–2026) and a Michelin Plate alongside placement in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 for 2023 and 2025. Chef Tsukasa Miyashita works across the boundaries of Japanese cuisine, folding Southeast Asian technique and global reference into seasonal Japanese ingredients. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person before the 10% service charge.

A Tabelog Bronze Award holder in Shirokane with a score of 4.26, La Clairière occupies a quieter tier of Tokyo's French dining scene, away from the Michelin-starred clusters of Ginza and Roppongi. The kitchen works within a French framework, with lunch and dinner services structured around fixed start times — a format that signals commitment to the tasting sequence rather than à la carte flexibility.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Akasaka, Kizaki has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and repeated selection for the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100, placing it firmly in the city's mid-to-upper sushi tier. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999; lunch offers meaningful access at JPY 15,000–19,999. Reservation-only, with strict punctuality requirements and a no-fragrance policy.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Nishikamata, Ota City, Hatsunezushi holds a Tabelog score of 4.26 and consecutive Silver and Bronze Tabelog Awards dating to 2017, alongside three selections for the Sushi Tokyo Tabelog 100. Chef Katsu Nakaji runs the fifth-generation course at dinner prices of roughly JPY 8,000–14,999, placing it in the mid-upper tier of Tokyo sushi — serious recognition at a fraction of the city-centre premium.

A house restaurant in Sanagochi village, Tokushima, Toraya Kochuan has earned Tabelog Silver and Bronze recognition every year since 2017, along with three selections to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100. The kitchen works with a pronounced emphasis on fish sourced from the surrounding region. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999; lunch from JPY 10,000–14,999, with private tatami rooms available for two or four guests.

A two-Michelin-star kaiseki counter in Jingumae, Shibuya, Higuchi has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year since 2017 and appeared in Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Japan list three consecutive times. The 14-seat room, with a six-seat counter and horigotatsu private dining, runs dinner-only across five evenings a week. Dinner averages JPY 40,000–49,999, with a particular focus on fish and curated sake and shochu pairings.

Kitcho Arashiyama holds a position at the uppermost tier of Kyoto kaiseki, with a Tabelog score of 3.89, consecutive Bronze Awards from 2020 through 2026, and 98 points on La Liste 2026. Spread across seven private tatami rooms in the Arashiyama district, the restaurant operates on reservations only, with per-person spend running from JPY 60,000 to JPY 79,999 before a 20% service charge.

A Michelin-starred sushi counter in Osaka's Sonezaki Shinchi district, Sushi Murakami Jiro operates at the ¥¥¥¥ tier where technical precision and seasonal Japanese ingredients set the standard. Holding a 2024 Michelin star, it draws a clientele that expects serious craft at counter level. Google reviewers rate it 4.3 across 52 entries, a score that reflects consistent execution rather than viral novelty.

A six-seat maison-style French restaurant set in the satoyama hills south of Fukuoka, Maison Lafite has held Tabelog Bronze continuously since 2020 and earned a 4.20 score in 2026. Reservations run to year's end, with cancellations released via Pocket Concierge. Dinner and lunch both price at JPY 30,000–39,999, placing it at the upper tier of Fukuoka's modern French scene.

Keiraku Yakiniku Pome is a 14-seat yakiniku counter in Higashishinsaibashi, Osaka, that has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026 alongside four straight years on the Tabelog Yakiniku WEST 100 list. Operating on an almost exclusively course-meal format, dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per person. Cash only, no private rooms, and reservations are close to essential.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in Kobe's Chuo Ward, Fuxing brings Chinese cuisine to Shimoyamatedori with an evening-only format and a score of 3.94 on Japan's most competitive restaurant review platform. Open seven days a week from 17:30, last orders at 22:00, it sits in a neighbourhood better known for kaiseki and Kobe beef, making it a distinct reference point for the city's wider dining range.

Sumibi Yaki Yuji has held a place on the Tabelog Yakiniku Tokyo 100 list every year since 2018, with a Tabelog score of 4.19 and consecutive Bronze Awards through 2026. The dinner spend runs JPY 6,000–7,999 per head, positioning it well below Tokyo's omakase tier while drawing the same level of repeat recognition. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 16:00, reservations require a minimum of two people and must be booked by phone after 15:00.

A 12-seat French-innovative counter in Motoazabu that has held Tabelog Gold or Silver recognition every year from 2017 to 2022, with Bronze maintained through 2026. Priced at JPY 40,000–49,999 per head before wine, with review averages tracking higher, it occupies the serious upper tier of Tokyo's non-Japanese fine dining scene. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 18:00, with a second seating at 20:45.

Hashimotoya is a 16-seat curry and soup curry specialist in Osaka's Minamisenba district, operating only four days a week at lunch and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award for both 2025 and 2026 with a score of 4.07. Service runs until the pot empties, which on most days means the room fills fast. Lunch averages between JPY 1,000 and JPY 1,999, placing it among the most accessible award-recognised spots in the city.

Onarimon Haru has held a place in Tabelog's Japanese Cuisine Tokyo Top 100 every selection cycle since 2021, earning Bronze awards in 2022, 2025, and 2026. The 17-seat room in Shibadaimon — split between a seven-seat counter, a table private room, and a sunken kotatsu space — operates at a dinner price point of JPY 40,000–49,999. Reservations are required for all sittings, with a minimum party size of two.

A Tabelog Bronze Award holder in Edogawa's Shinozaki neighbourhood, Jambo Shinozaki Honten is a yakiniku specialist that draws a loyal local following to Tokyo's eastern fringe. With a 4.4 Google rating across more than 500 reviews and weekday dinner service running until 22:30 last orders, it represents the kind of neighbourhood meat restaurant that quietly accumulates a serious reputation far from the central dining circuit.

Rantei Vivian (らんてい～びびあん) is a reservation-only kappo restaurant in Koriyama, Fukushima, holding eight consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2019 through 2026 and three selections to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST Top 100. The seasonal omakase course draws on Fukushima's agricultural and marine produce, served across private rooms and counter seating for a maximum of 20 guests.

An eight-seat counter kaiseki in Gion's Minamigawa district, Gion Owatari holds a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards through 2026, with a 4.08 score. Chef Mahito Owatari runs a kappo-style format where entertainment is as deliberate as technique — lobster, matsutake, crab, and fugu appear in season, with rice finished in a traditional clay okudo-san hearth.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026, Marushin in Koriyama sits inside Japan's Tabelog 100 for Japanese cuisine EAST and holds a score of 3.98 on over 400 reviews. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999; lunch is dramatically more accessible at JPY 1,000–1,999. The kitchen's stated commitment is ingredient provenance: 'The Star is the Producer.'

Opened in October 2022 on the second floor of a Sannomiya building, entre nous has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025 and 2026) and a 4.28 score from Japan's most-used restaurant platform, placing it among Kobe's most closely watched French tables. Chef Hideki Takayama frames the menu around Japanese terroir expressed through French technique, across a 22-seat room split between a 16-seat counter and private dining.

A one-Michelin-starred French restaurant operating since 2012 inside a century-old Kyoto machiya, MOTOÏ applies French and Chinese technique to Kyoto seasonal produce under chef Motoi Maeda. The 32-seat dining room opens onto a courtyard, and prix fixe menus reflect local festival calendars. Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2018 through 2026, with a reviewer score of 4.09.

Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, Tanryu is a 12-seat Japanese cuisine restaurant in Himeji, Hyogo, with a documented focus on local produce, seasonal fish, and a sake programme serious enough to warrant an on-site sommelier. Dinner and lunch both price at JPY 30,000–39,999, with a 10% service charge applied across all sittings. Reservations should be made by phone the day before at the latest.

Umi occupies a discreet ground-floor counter in Minami-Aoyama, earning consecutive Opinionated About Dining top-250 rankings in both 2024 and 2025 alongside a Tabelog Bronze Award. Chef Koichi Taira runs a tightly scheduled service across two sittings per evening, placing Umi firmly within Tokyo's mid-to-upper omakase tier where sourcing discipline and seasonal restraint carry the argument.

A Michelin-starred yakitori counter in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Ryoriya Maekawa runs on eight seats, two sittings, and a reservation-only policy that reflects the seriousness of its format. Awarded Tabelog Bronze in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.29 and consecutive selection to the Tabelog Yakitori 100, it sits in the upper tier of Kansai's counter dining scene — playful in spirit, precise in technique.

A ten-seat yakitori counter in Minami Aoyama's basement tier, Minami Aoyama Nanachome has held Tabelog Bronze every year from 2020 through 2026 and appeared in the Tabelog Yakitori 100 continuously since 2018. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per person, with reservations opening on the 1st of each month for two months ahead via the OMAKASE platform only.

A seven-seat counter in Motoazabu operating at the intersection of Chinese technique and creative kaiseki pacing, Tsushima holds a Tabelog score of 4.13 and Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999, reservations are mandatory, and same-day cancellations incur a full charge. It has been selected for Tabelog Chinese TOKYO Top 100 in both 2023 and 2024.

A suppon specialist operating from the rural Ajimu district of Oita Prefecture since 1920, Ryotei Yamasa Ryokan has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026 and a place on the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 list. The kitchen centres on soft-shell turtle, a historically prized ingredient in Japanese cuisine, served in tatami private rooms across two daily sittings.

A six-seat French counter in Toyohashi, Aichi, aru has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and two selections for Tabelog French EAST 100, with a Tabelog score of 4.17. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, lunch JPY 15,000–19,999. The kitchen centres on seasonal produce from the Higashi-Mikawa region, paired with a wine list that leans toward Japanese labels.

Sushisho Saito has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026, placing it among Tokyo's most consistently recognised omakase counters. The 11-seat Akasaka room operates a format of alternating snacks and nigiri that sits within the neo-standard Edomae tradition. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999, and private room configurations are available for groups of up to 20.

TAKAYAMA sits on the second floor of Good Nature Station near Kyoto Kawaramachi, placing Italian technique in a 12-seat counter format that reads more like a Japanese omakase than a European restaurant. A 4.02 Tabelog score, back-to-back Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026, selection for the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine 100, and a Michelin star collectively place it among Kyoto's most decorated non-kaiseki tables.

Setsugekka Tanaka Satoru has held a place in the Tabelog Yakiniku EAST 100 every year since 2022 and collected the Tabelog Bronze Award for three consecutive years through 2026. Positioned on the 11th floor of GEMS Sakae in central Nagoya, the 56-seat restaurant pairs premium wagyu with a wine program taken seriously enough to draw business-dining regulars. Private rooms accommodate parties of two to eight.

A four-seat Italian enoteca operating out of a residential house in Hakodate's Tomiokacho district, Enoteca La Ricolma has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Italian EAST 100 list for both 2023 and 2025. Dinner runs on an omakase-only format, with an evening spend that reviewers place closer to JPY 20,000–29,999. Reservations are required and accepted by appointment only.

Iwanaga holds a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.96, placing it among the more closely watched dinner tables in Miyazaki City. Operating six evenings a week from a first-floor address on Tachibanadorihigashi, the restaurant draws attention in a prefecture better known for agricultural produce than urban fine dining. Booking ahead is advisable given the limited evening window.

Amaki occupies the 18th floor of the Nagoya Kanko Hotel in Naka Ward, operating as an 11-seat counter sushi restaurant with a Tabelog score of 4.20 and consecutive Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 and the kitchen's emphasis on locally sourced fish places it firmly within Nagoya's emerging premium sushi tier. Reservations are required.

Casa del cibo has held Tabelog Bronze every year from 2022 through 2026, making it the most consistently recognised Italian restaurant in the Hachinohe area. Its 12-seat format, built around Aomori-sourced seafood and a wine-focused list, sits at JPY 15,000–19,999 for dinner. Advance reservations are required, and availability at this scale fills quickly.

Sushi Ino holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze awards (2025 and 2026) and repeated selection to the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 list, making it the most decorated sushi counter in Matsuyama. The ten-seat counter on the third floor of a Nibancho building serves Edo-style nigiri built on Ehime's local fish. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch, reservation-only, comes in at JPY 10,000–14,999.

Kanjo occupies a seven-seat counter on the third floor of a Roppongi building with no exterior signage, serving a reservation-only course built around soba and duck. Awarded Tabelog Bronze in both 2025 and 2026 and selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100 in both 2023 and 2025, it holds a score of 4.29 and prices at JPY 30,000–39,999 per person at dinner.

A reservation-only kaiseki counter in Hiroshima's Naka Ward, Eizan holds a Tabelog score of 4.31 and consecutive Bronze Awards for 2025 and 2026, placing it among western Japan's top 100 Japanese cuisine restaurants. Twelve seats, a fish-focused menu, and evenings that run Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday make advance planning essential for anyone passing through the city.

Bekk sits in Kitakyushu's Tanga district, a 12-seat Italian counter that has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026 alongside selection in the Tabelog Italian WEST 100. The kitchen works with a seasonal Kyushu ingredient framework expressed through Italian technique, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999. Reservation-only format and a strict cancellation policy signal the seriousness of its kitchen commitments.

A seven-seat counter in Nagoya's Shinsakae district, Yoshii has held continuous Tabelog Award recognition since 2017 and earned Tabelog's Japanese Cuisine 100 selection in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Dinner runs from JPY 15,000 to JPY 19,999 on the listed rate, though reviewer-reported spending typically lands higher. Reservations are by arrangement only, with new bookings currently closed.

A Tabelog Bronze Award-winning French restaurant in rural Ibaraki, Sessonan sits at Tabelog 3.95 with 105 Google reviews averaging 4.3 — numbers that signal something serious is happening well outside Japan's metropolitan dining circuit. The address alone, a quiet corner of Hitachiomiya, sets expectations: this is French cooking shaped by its agricultural surroundings, not by proximity to Michelin inspectors.

A six-seat house restaurant in Morioka's Saien district, Ristorante SHIKAZAWA operates at the intersection of Italian technique and Sanriku coastal produce. Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a 4.14 score and placement in the Tabelog Italian EAST Top 100, it runs entirely on advance reservations and accepts a maximum of two groups per day — making access as deliberate as the cooking itself.

A six-seat Italian counter in Takamatsu, Ryobo has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026, alongside three consecutive selections for Tabelog Italian WEST Top 100. Operating on reservation-only evenings from Tuesday through Saturday, the restaurant holds a Tabelog score of 4.33 and prices dinner in the JPY 15,000–19,999 range, with a sommelier on hand and a wine program that takes clear precedence over the room's modest scale.

Open since August 2016 in a basement off Aoyama-dori, LATURE has held a Michelin star and earned consecutive Tabelog Silver and Bronze awards for a style of French cooking built around ingredients that chef Takuto Murota hunts, grows, and processes himself. The 20-seat room in Shibuya serves a game-forward seasonal menu where nothing edible is wasted — a philosophy that has made its venison blood macarons one of the most discussed dishes in Tokyo's French dining circuit.

Opened in October 2016 in Setagaya's Chitose-Funabashi neighbourhood, Kalpasi holds a Tabelog score of 3.88 and has appeared on the Tabelog Curry Tokyo 100 list every cycle since 2018. The format is a single weekly one-course curry, served across two sessions of 11 seats each, with reservations released every Friday at 10 PM via LINE. Dinner averages JPY 4,000–4,999.

SEN distills Kyoto’s grace into a quietly dazzling, season-led experience where culinary intuition meets refined hospitality. In an intimate room that nods to Gion’s rituals—including a charming Naginata Boko float replica during festival season—the chef composes deceptively simple plates that imprint themselves on the memory. With an instinctive ability to “read the room,” he tailors ingredients and techniques to your conversation and mood, then closes the evening with nostalgic comforts—silken chazuke, gleaming mackerel sushi, or a soulful ramen—elevated to a serene finale. This is Kyoto dining at its most nuanced: elegant, personal, and effortlessly unforgettable.

Maruyasu operates in a narrow and demanding category: premium fugu in a residential pocket of Nishinomiya's Koshien district, drawing a loyal, largely local following. Tabelog Bronze recognition from 2022 through 2026, with a Silver in 2021 and a score of 4.21, places it among the most consistently rated fugu specialists outside Osaka. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 per person; reservations are required.

A Michelin two-star kaiseki counter in the heart of Gion, Gion Matayoshi has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards every year from 2017 through 2026, alongside repeated selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine West 100. Chef Kazuto Matayoshi works within a tea-kaiseki discipline rooted in ryokan hospitality tradition, with a 24-seat room divided between an eight-seat counter and private tatami rooms. Dinner courses run from JPY 36,000 to JPY 38,000 depending on seating.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner with a score of 4.06, Hassun is a second-generation kappo counter in Gion operating with 18 seats and a menu grounded in inherited Kyoto recipes. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, lunch JPY 10,000–14,999. Reservations are available online until the day before, though the counter's standing in the Tabelog 100 for Japanese cuisine West makes early planning advisable.

Open since April 2016, Sincère occupies a basement space in Sendagaya and has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2018 through 2026, plus a Michelin star in 2024 and an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #215 in Japan. Chef Shinsuke Ishii shapes the menu around underutilised fish species and producer relationships, with dinner running ¥20,000–¥29,999 across 18 seats.

An eight-seat counter in Tatebayashi, Gunma, Obana has held Tabelog Award recognition every year since 2019, reaching Silver in 2026 with a score of 4.46. The format is reservation-only, accessible to new guests through Pocket Concierge, with two dinner seatings on weekdays and weekend lunch service. Courses run from JPY 27,500 to JPY 43,000 depending on ingredient availability.

Wayoshusai Hide holds a Tabelog Bronze Award (2026) and has appeared on the Tabelog Izakaya WEST 100 list every year since 2021, placing it among Osaka's most consistently recognised izakaya. Operating reservation-only from Shinsaibashi, it focuses on fish-driven cooking paired with a carefully selected sake list. Dinner averages JPY 10,000–14,999, making it a credible middle tier between neighbourhood taverns and the city's kaiseki circuit.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2020 through 2026, Amegen sits in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, drawing on Edo-period techniques to prepare tsugani, river fish, and wild vegetables served on local Karatsu ware. Ranked among the top 350 restaurants in Japan by Opinionated About Dining, it occupies a quiet but firmly established place in Kyushu's serious dining circuit.

Oryori Mitsuyasu operates on a single-booking-per-day format in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward, a structure that places it among the city's most deliberately intimate kaiseki-adjacent tables. A Michelin star (2024) and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026 confirm its standing in the serious tier of Kyoto Japanese cuisine, with dinner running JPY 30,000–39,999. Only cash is accepted, and reservations are required.

An eight-seat yakitori counter in Shinjuku's Arakicho district, OHKUSA has held Tabelog Silver recognition in four of the past six years and earned consecutive Yakitori 100 listings since 2021. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999, reservations open exactly one week ahead by phone, and the counter accepts a maximum of two guests per booking. Cash only; no photography permitted inside.

Kaikatei has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2017 and earned selection in the Tabelog Chinese EAST Top 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2024, placing it among the most consistently recognised Chinese restaurants in central Japan. With 24 seats in Gifu City and a dinner price point of JPY 10,000–14,999, it operates at a tier where wok technique and kitchen precision carry the full weight of the experience.

Mumyo in Chino, Nagano has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2023 through 2026 and carries a 4.28 score, placing it among the most consistently recognised Japanese cuisine restaurants in eastern Japan. The six-seat format operates on reservation only, with meals priced between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. For serious dining away from Japan's major cities, it makes a compelling case.

A Tabelog Bronze Award holder in Fukuoka's Haruyoshi district, Tamura operates nightly from 17:00 to midnight across a cuisine classified as Asian, ethnic, and curry-influenced. With a Tabelog score of 3.96 and 133 Google reviews averaging 4.2, it occupies a specific niche in Fukuoka's after-dark dining scene, drawing a committed local following in one of Japan's most food-serious cities.

Established in 1870, Muromachi Wakuden occupies a Kyoto machiya townhouse in Nakagyo Ward, holding a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026. The 50-seat room splits between a 15-seat counter and four private rooms, with kaiseki menus anchored to earthen charcoal braziers and seasonal produce from Kyotango. Lunch offers the more accessible entry point; dinner pushes toward the full ceremonial register.

Tempura Mokkosu holds a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 and a Tabelog score of 4.34, placing it among Japan's most closely watched tempura counters outside the major cities. The seven-seat counter in Takasaki's Nakaoruimachi district operates on a reservation-only basis, with dinner priced from JPY 20,000. Oil discipline is the defining technical commitment: every piece is fried in 100% Taihaku sesame oil.

La Blanche has held a Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively since 2017 and carries a score of 3.90 on Japan's most-read restaurant platform. The 18-seat dining room on the second floor of Aoyama Ponyhime, a short walk from Omotesando Station, has served classic French cuisine in Minami Aoyama for over 30 years. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch offers a more accessible entry at JPY 10,000–14,999.

A tea kaiseki counter in Kita-Aoyama's basement tier, Tagetsu has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2019 through 2026, plus three selections to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100. Chef Hideo Mochizuki's approach is rooted in cha-kaiseki discipline, with dinner running JPY 40,000–49,999 and a notably accessible lunch at JPY 10,000–14,999. Nineteen seats and a reservation-only policy keep the room controlled and quiet.

Kozakana Ryori Tomisuke holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for both 2025 and 2026, plus selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100, placing it among the most recognised small-format seafood counters in western Japan. The 15-seat, counter-only room in Hiroshima's Naka Ward opens evenings only, Monday through Saturday, with dinner averaging JPY 10,000–14,999.

Yanagiya in Mizunami, Gifu prefecture, is one of Japan's most consistently decorated regional restaurants, holding Tabelog Silver and ranking as high as #19 on Opinionated About Dining's Japan list. Built around an irori hearth and the seasonal rhythms of central Japan, it serves wild game in autumn and river fish in summer to guests willing to make the journey out of the city.

Twelve years into operation in Kizugawa, at the southern edge of Kyoto Prefecture, ristorante NAKAMOTO holds a Tabelog score of 4.03 and consecutive Bronze Award recognition from 2022 through 2026. The ten-seat dining room combines Italian and French technique with the produce logic of its semi-rural location, operating at dinner prices between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. Tabelog has listed it among the top 100 Italian restaurants in western Japan three times.

USHIGORO S. GINZA sits on the sixth floor of the GINZA777 ADC Building, operating as the premium tier of the Ushigoro group's yakiniku portfolio. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2019 through 2026, and ranked inside Japan's top 220 restaurants by Opinionated About Dining, it occupies a price bracket (JPY 20,000–29,999 per head) that places it firmly among Ginza's serious dining addresses. All 11 private rooms accommodate groups of four to twelve.

BAMBOU in Ichikawa, Chiba, specializes in refined tonkatsu and fried classics served with seasonal sides. Notable dishes include the Rosu Katsu Set with house-panko, Katsu Sando with soft milk bread, and Seasonal Vegetable Katsu featuring crisp, tempura-style batter. The kitchen emphasizes precise frying, daily-made panko, and balanced sauces that highlight meat texture and natural sweetness. A Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 recipient with a 3.94 score, BAMBOU pairs straightforward service with clean plating and rice-steamed accompaniments. Expect the satisfying crunch of perfectly fried cutlets, warm miso aroma, and shredded cabbage dressed in citrusy vinaigrette—an approachable yet elevated tonkatsu experience for lunches and early dinners.

Tamawarai has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2017 and appears consistently in the Tabelog Soba 100 list, making it one of the most decorated soba counters in Tokyo's Jingumae neighbourhood. The 14-seat house restaurant operates four days a week, with dinner available by reservation only and a prix fixe format that extends well beyond the noodle itself. Lunch prices run JPY 2,000–2,999; dinner reaches JPY 10,000–14,999.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, Tsunechan operates out of Sakai Ward with a counter-only format and a focus on premium wagyu cuts including Chateaubriand and black tongue. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per head. Consecutive appearances in the Tabelog Yakiniku WEST 100 from 2022 through 2025 confirm its standing in western Japan's serious yakiniku tier.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner tucked into the fourth floor of a Kagurazaka building, Guchokuni operates a 12-seat Japanese cuisine counter under Chef Masato Otsuka. The name translates as 'in simple honesty', and the kitchen holds to that principle across seasonally driven soups, crab preparations, and dashi-forward cooking. Review scores averaging JPY 40,000–49,000 per head place it firmly in Tokyo's upper-tier kaiseki bracket.

A Tabelog Award fixture since 2020 and consistently named among Tokyo's top 100 Japanese restaurants, Tsunokamizaka Koshiba operates from a 12-seat second-floor room in Shinjuku's Arakicho quarter. The menu follows a Kansai-rooted architecture — kombu-enriched dashi, pressed sushi, grilled courses, rice dishes — with a pronounced focus on fish and nihonshu pairings. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person, by reservation only.

Open since August 1971, KAHALA in Osaka's Kitashinchi district holds two Michelin stars and consecutive Tabelog Awards across nearly a decade, with chef Yoshifumi Mori building an innovative Japanese creative menu around rigorously sourced domestic ingredients and a declared focus on fish. The eight-seat counter operates dinner-only in two seatings, with reservations opening three months ahead and average per-person spend in the JPY 50,000–59,999 range.

Ryori Kawaguchi operates from a six-seat counter in Gion Minamigawa, running a single dinner service nightly by invitation only. A Tabelog Award Silver winner in 2026 with a score of 4.35, it occupies the quieter, fish-focused tier of Kyoto's counter dining scene, where the sourcing logic drives the menu rather than a prescribed kaiseki format. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999; cash only.

Mizai occupies a corner of Maruyama Park in Higashiyama, where chef Hitoshi Ishihara frames each dinner around the wabi spirit of the tea ceremony. The 15-seat counter holds a Michelin three-star rating, a Tabelog score of 4.25, and consistent placement in both Opinionated About Dining and La Liste's Japan rankings. Dinner is priced from ¥65,000 before tax and service, with reservations by booking only.

Hakkoku is a Ginza omakase counter from chef Hiroyuki Sato, ranked as high as #87 in Opinionated About Dining's Japan list and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award and Pearl recognition as of 2025. The counter operates across lunch and dinner sessions from Tuesday through Saturday, placing it within Ginza's competitive tier of destination sushi addresses where training lineage and critical standing carry significant weight.

Sushi Oga operates from an eight-seat counter in Sakai, Osaka, earning Tabelog Silver recognition from 2019 through 2022 before transitioning to Bronze, alongside repeated selection for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999, with two evening sittings and reservation-only access. The counter draws serious sushi diners from across the Kansai region.

A six-seat counter in Tokyo Midtown Yaesu, Chiba Takaoka has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition three consecutive years (2024–2026) and a place on the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 list for 2025. Under chef Masakazu Hiraki, the evening-only format sits in the JPY 30,000–39,999 tier — squarely within Tokyo's upper-bracket sushi counter tier, where access depends as much on timing as intent.

Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme in Kanazawa presents contemporary French cuisine with strong Ishikawa influence. Expect a Seasonal Tasting Menu, an Ishikawa seafood course featuring local fish and shellfish, and a Kaga vegetable plate highlighting heirloom produce. Chef Makoto Doi emphasizes precise technique and market-fresh ingredients, served at an intimate counter for direct chef interaction. The restaurant earned the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and holds a 4.1 score, offering a high-end, sensory dining rhythm where clean flavors, subtle acidity, and meticulous plating create memorable courses. Reserve early via Savor Japan or phone to secure the limited counter seating for lunch or dinner.

Setsugekka Ginza sits on the ninth floor of GICROS GINZA GEMS, bringing a focused yakiniku program to one of Tokyo's most competitive dining corridors. The restaurant holds a Tabelog Bronze Award for 2025 with a score of 3.9, placing it among the recognized tier of meat-focused addresses in the city. Service runs Tuesday through Saturday, evenings only, from 17:00 to 23:00.

A seven-seat counter in Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Kawada carries the lineage of the respected Isetsu tradition and has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 through 2026, alongside three consecutive selections for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100. Dinner runs approximately three hours at JPY 40,000–49,999 per person. Reservation only, with strict personal attendance required.

Attached to the Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery in Kashima, Souan Nabeshima is a six-seat counter restaurant that earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026 and two selections for Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 and operates Wednesday through Sunday evenings only, making advance reservations a practical necessity for anyone travelling to Saga's Ariake coast.

A seven-seat counter in Dojima, Osaka, Ohata has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and appears in Tabelog's Sushi WEST 100 list for 2021, 2022, and 2025. The kitchen works within a Kansai-Edomae hybrid framework, using three distinct types of shari — red, white, and rosé — to vary the rice component across a reservation-only omakase course. Dinner runs in two seatings each evening.

A Tabelog Bronze Award holder in Sakaide with a score of 3.88 and over 2,700 Google reviews, Gamou is one of Kagawa's most consistently recognised udon shops. Open four mornings a week until 2pm, it draws the kind of repeat local traffic that defines serious Sanuki udon culture. For those tracing the prefecture's noodle traditions beyond the tourist circuit, it belongs on the itinerary.

Ryori Komatsu holds a Tabelog Bronze Award (2025 and 2026) and repeated selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100, placing it among Kanazawa's most consistently recognised Japanese cuisine counters. Operating as a reservation-only house restaurant near Nomachi, it serves dinner exclusively at a counter, with a dinner budget of JPY 15,000–19,999 per the listed price and JPY 30,000–39,999 based on actual reviewer spending.

Yakitori Mizuki occupies the second floor of a building in Gifu's Kandamachi district, where Shiga Omi chicken grilled over Kishu binchotan charcoal has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2022 through 2026 and seven successive selections to the Tabelog Yakitori Top 100. An à la carte format lets guests order at their own pace, with counter seating, tatami, and private rooms for parties up to twenty.

Sushi Ito holds a Tabelog score of 3.98 and has won the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2022 through 2026, placing it consistently among the top sushi counters in eastern Japan. The seven-seat counter in central Iwaki operates by reservation only, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999. For serious sushi outside the Tokyo corridor, it is a reference-point address.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in Osaka's Kita Ward, La Kanro runs an omakase format under chef Junichi Nakamine, blending French technique with a fish-forward sourcing philosophy and a deliberate restraint on oil and salt. Sixteen seats across a six-seat counter and two private rooms, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999. Awarded a Michelin Plate in 2025 and ranked #277 in Opinionated About Dining's Japan list in 2024.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, GapricE operates from a ten-seat room in Nagoya's Ikeshita neighbourhood, where Italian technique meets Japanese seasonal produce. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 on reservation only, with the counter seating four and a table accommodating six. It holds a place on the Tabelog Italian EAST 100 in both 2023 and 2025, confirming its position among the region's most closely watched Italian tables.

A live-crab specialist on the third floor of a Ginza 7-chome building, Ginza Kitafuku has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards every year from 2019 through 2026 and holds a score of 3.88 on Japan's most competitive dining platform. The 16-seat, reservation-only format across three private rooms places it firmly in Ginza's upper-tier specialty dining tier, with dinner running JPY 60,000–79,999 per person.

Sushi Zai occupies the fifth floor of a quiet Hiroo building and operates within a tier of Tokyo sushi counters that treat comprehensiveness as a design principle rather than an afterthought. Ranked #412 in Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Japan list and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.92, it draws a returning clientele drawn by the format's ambition and the neighbourhood's relative remove from the Ginza circuit.

Sushi Shota holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for both 2025 and 2026, alongside selection for Tabelog Sushi EAST 100, making it one of Sapporo's most credentialed omakase counters. The eight-seat basement counter in Chuo Ward runs reservation-only sittings through the OMAKASE platform, with dinner pricing in the JPY 30,000–49,999 range. Chef Masato Oda works within the Edomae tradition, extended here with kaiseki-influenced courses drawing on Hokkaido's seafood supply.

A Michelin-starred Cantonese counter in Nishi-Shinbashi, Koshikiryori Koki holds a Tabelog score of 4.17 and consecutive Bronze Awards for 2025 and 2026. Seventeen seats, a fish-focused kitchen, and a sommelier-led drinks program place it among Tokyo's most precise small-format Chinese restaurants. Dinner runs from JPY 20,000 to JPY 29,999; reservations are essential and strictly enforced.

Oryori Terasawa has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2019 through 2026 and appears three times on the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST 100 list. The eight-seat house restaurant in Kitakami, Iwate, operates on a reservation-only basis, with dinner courses priced between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. Private rooms accommodate groups of two to eight, and the kitchen draws on Iwate's regional produce for kaiseki-style Japanese cuisine.

Senpachi is a small sushi counter in Fukuoka's Chuo Ward, operating just two evenings a week across two seatings per night. Its Tabelog Bronze Award and a score of 3.93 place it within Fukuoka's recognised sushi tier, where format discipline and limited capacity define the dining proposition as much as the fish itself.

A six-seat Italian course restaurant in Tsukuba's Matsushiro district, La Stalla has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition three consecutive years (2024–2026) and a score of 3.98, placing it among the top Italian tables in Eastern Japan. The fixed course runs ¥16,000 before tax, dinner-only from 7 PM Wednesday through Sunday, reservation required. The format is intimate, the sourcing intentional, and the peer set is far beyond Ibaraki's borders.

A six-seat kaiseki counter in Ashiya, Hyogo, Ninomae earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026 and holds a 4.12 score on Japan's most-used dining review platform. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999; weekend lunch offers a lower entry point at JPY 15,000–19,999. Reservations are handled exclusively through the omakase booking platform — no phone bookings accepted.

A Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in Kyoto's Higashiyama district, Kyo Seika has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year since 2017 and ranks among Japan's top 350 restaurants on Opinionated About Dining. Chef Shizuo Miyamoto draws on classical Chinese literature for recipe inspiration, working within a 16-seat room where counter positions face directly into the kitchen. Dinner runs ¥20,000–¥29,999 with a 10% service charge; open Wednesday through Sunday from 18:00.

A 14-seat innovative restaurant in Komatsu, Ishikawa, SHÓKUDŌ YArn has held consecutive Tabelog Awards since 2017 and ranks among Japan's top 200 restaurants on Opinionated About Dining (2025). Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 with a 10% service charge. Reservations are essential and solo diners are generally not accommodated.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, cépages brings serious French technique to central Maebashi inside a 16-seat room that splits between a six-seat counter and private table configurations. The kitchen takes a particular interest in fish sourcing, while the sommelier program signals a wine list treated as carefully as the food. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person; lunch is available at roughly half that figure.

Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara has held a place in Tokyo's Tabelog Yakiniku 100 every year since 2018 and earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2019 through 2026. Operating from the ninth floor of GEMS Ichigaya in Chiyoda, the 38-seat restaurant runs a two-session format with dinner averaging JPY 30,000–39,999. Opinionated About Dining has ranked it among Japan's top 32 restaurants for three consecutive years.

On Kouri Island off Okinawa's northern coast, 6 (Six) runs a 16-seat French-innovative course program with consistent Tabelog recognition — Bronze Award in both 2025 and 2026, a score of 4.01, and selection for the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine Top 100 in 2025. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 by listed price, though reviewer averages track considerably higher. Reservations are accepted exclusively through OMAKASE.

Kawaki has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2020 through 2026, with a Silver in 2019, and ranks among the top 200 restaurants in Japan on Opinionated About Dining. Set in Mikuni-cho, Fukui's fishing town on the Sea of Japan, it operates as a reservation-only crab and seafood house with lunch and dinner services priced between JPY 60,000 and JPY 79,999 per person.

KAI in Izumi, Kagoshima offers wood-fired Italian cuisine shaped by local game and seasonal produce. Notable dishes include the Monthly Tasting Menu (chef’s selection), a wood-fired game course and a seasonal vegetable tasting that highlight Izumi ingredients. Chef Kai Oya applies Italian technique with live-fire cooking for charred edges, smoky aromatics and pure, bright flavors. The restaurant earned the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and maintains a 4.2 rating, creating a refined yet approachable dining experience. Open for lunch and dinner, KAI places guests in a warm, natural setting where each course is timed to reveal texture, smoke and seasonal clarity.

Alarde has held Tabelog Bronze recognition in 2021, 2025, and 2026, and appears in the Tabelog Spanish Cuisine Top 100 for 2024, positioning it as one of Osaka's most consistently rated Spanish restaurants. The 14-seat room in Nishi Ward focuses on Spanish Basque cooking, with wagyu cooked over charcoal, firewood, and grapevines as the centrepiece. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 and the kitchen operates on reservations only.

A two-Michelin-star Spanish restaurant on the fourth floor of Ginza's Kojun Building, ZURRIOLA has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026 and earned a La Liste score of 82 points in 2025. Chef Seiichi Honda works a 29-seat room across counter, table, and private configurations, building seasonal menus that find structural parallels between Basque technique and Japanese ingredient culture.

Sumibi kappo Ifuki occupies a discreet address in Gion's Minamigawa, where Chef Norio Yamamoto has spent over a decade building a case for charcoal-grilled kappo as a serious alternative to classic kaiseki. Carrying two Michelin stars since at least 2024, a Tabelog score of 3.98, and consistent placement in the Opinionated About Dining Japan top 100, the 20-seat restaurant frames fire not as technique but as the structural logic of the meal.

Opened in November 2024 in Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Isoda earned a Tabelog Silver Award and a 4.38 score within its first year, placing it among Tokyo's top-ranked Japanese cuisine restaurants. Reservations require advance booking through the OMAKASE platform. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 per person, with service Monday through Saturday from the early evening.

Open since May 2001, Sushi Dokoro Tada operates from an eight-seat counter in Kitashinchi, Osaka's most concentrated block of serious dining. Tabelog Silver in 2021 and consistently Bronze since, with a 3.88 score and inclusion in the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100 three times, it operates on referral only — no walk-ins, no website, and a photography ban in place since 2009.

Sushi Daimon sits in Uozu, a small port city on Toyama Bay whose waters supply some of Japan's most prized seafood. A Tabelog Bronze winner every year from 2017 through 2026, and selected for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100 in 2021, 2022, and 2025, it applies Edo-style sushi technique to ingredients the rest of Japan has to ship in: white shrimp, nodoguro, and amadai drawn from the bay it overlooks.

Opened in November 2019 in Shirokanedai, ShinoiS applies Japanese ingredient discipline to a Chinese prix fixe format, earning a Michelin star, consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards through 2026, and a position in Tabelog's Chinese Tokyo Top 100. Chef Hiroyuki Saito's 11-seat counter runs a regional Chinese repertoire refined through time in Hong Kong and Shanghai, with dinner averaging JPY 60,000–79,999 per person.

On the 12th floor of Wakayama's Big Ai building, Hotel de Yoshino has held consecutive Tabelog Silver and Bronze awards since 2017 and earned a place on Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings through 2024–2025. Chef Junya Teshima pursues a classically rooted French menu that draws on Wakayama's Kii Peninsula produce, priced at JPY 15,000–19,999 for dinner — making it the prefecture's most decorated Western table.

A 15-seat French restaurant in Kyoto's Nakagyo ward, Ryoriya Stephan Pantel has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year since 2017 and earned Tabelog French WEST 100 selection in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The format is dinner-only, with a single nightly seating at 18:00 and a wine program given notable attention. It operates at the intersection of classical French discipline and Kyoto's seasonal ingredient culture.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Kitakyushu's Kokura district, Tsubasa holds a Tabelog score of 4.06, four Tabelog Bronze Awards (2019, 2020, 2025, 2026), and three consecutive Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 selections. Priced at JPY 20,000–29,999 for both lunch and dinner, it operates on a reservation-only basis through Pocket Concierge and sits among Kyushu's most consistently recognised nigiri counters.

Sharikimon Onozawa holds a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in a ten-seat counter format inside Shinjuku's Arakicho neighbourhood. Chef Makoto Onozawa works within kaiseki tradition while introducing structural departures — the meal closes with soba and curry rather than the customary rice course. Dinner runs ¥30,000–¥39,999 with a 10% service charge, and the room is available for full private hire.

Doyama holds a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.75, placing it among the more formally recognised Japanese cuisine tables in Nagasaki. Located in the Kajiyamachi district, the restaurant operates on a flexible schedule arranged by prior contact, signalling the kind of intimate, appointment-driven format that defines serious regional dining in Japan. For visitors to Kyushu's most historically layered port city, it represents a considered stop on any serious dining itinerary.

Sumibi Yakiniku Kyu has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2022 through 2026 and has appeared in Tabelog's Yakiniku EAST Top 100 every year since 2020, placing it consistently among eastern Japan's most recognised charcoal-grill restaurants. Opened in August 2019 in Akita's central Nakadori district, a five-minute walk from Akita Station, it operates 32 seats across table and counter positions with a drink list that leans into local sake.

Grill Ukai occupies a refined position in the Marunouchi dining corridor, bringing serious yakitori technique to a setting that rewards patience and precision. Chef Takashi Imai leads a counter experience that sits within the premium tier of Tokyo's grilled-chicken tradition. Recognized by Tabelog and Opinionated About Dining, the kitchen draws visitors who treat the meal as a structured ritual rather than a casual stop.

Opened in November 2021 in Minamiaoyama, Miyasaka holds a Michelin star and a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 — a trajectory from Bronze through three consecutive years to Silver that reflects steady critical recognition. Chef Nobuhisa Miyasaka structures the kaiseki sequence around chakaiseki tradition, with the 14-seat dining room and private rooms keeping the format deliberately intimate. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999, with review-based averages suggesting JPY 60,000–79,999 all-in.

Forty minutes south of Fukuoka city, in the rice-farming municipality of Yame, NONOKA RESTAURANT has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026, plus selection for the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine Top 100. Chef Takashi Hara works within a French-creative framework with a particular focus on vegetables, drawing diners well beyond the prefecture for lunch and dinner seatings that require advance reservation.

Makino in Tokyo's Taito Ward holds a Tabelog Bronze Award (2025, score 3.84) and an OAD Highly Recommended listing, placing it among the credible mid-tier tempura counters operating in the Kanto tradition. Running evenings only from 5 to 10 pm under chef Toshiyuki Suzuki, it draws a local following in Matsugaya — a neighbourhood removed from the central-Tokyo tempura circuit but worth the detour for that reason.

Open since February 2008 in Gion's Kitagawa district, Sangencha carries tea ceremony traditions rooted in a long-established Shiga restaurant into a 26-seat house setting on the Kamo River side of Higashiyama. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, and selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025, it sits in the mid-to-upper tier of Kyoto's non-kaiseki Japanese dining scene, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999.

Oryori Miyamoto has held consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards since 2017 and earned two Michelin stars as of 2024, operating from an eight-seat counter in Higashitenma, Osaka's quieter northern residential quarter. The format is reservation-only, dinner only, with seatings starting at 18:00 or 19:00. Seasonal tableware and the honkotsuki tradition place it inside a small tier of Osaka kappo that prioritises classical discipline over contemporary spectacle.

A Shinsaibashi kaiseki counter where the physical space is as deliberate as the cooking. Chef Yoshichika Masuda, holder of a Michelin star and ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top 200 restaurants in Japan, works an intimate room in Osaka's Chuo Ward. The hassun course, with its balance of land and sea ingredients, draws particular attention from regulars and critics alike.

A six-seat counter in Nishitenma, AUBE holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 alongside consecutive selection in the Tabelog Chinese WEST Top 100, operating a reservation-only dinner format priced at JPY 40,000–49,999 per person. Its stated approach — sourcing directly from producers each season to apply Chinese technique to premium Japanese ingredients — places it at the more precise end of Osaka's high-end Chinese dining tier.

Sushi Dokoro Arima is a seven-seat counter in Sapporo's Chuo Ward, earning consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026 and selection for the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 in 2021, 2022, and 2025. Under chef Chiharu Takaoka, the focus is squarely on Hokkaido's cold-water seafood. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999, with evenings only, Tuesday through Saturday.

Torisawa is a yakitori counter in Kameido, Koto City, where Chef Akira Nakazawa has built a following serious enough to earn consecutive Opinionated About Dining rankings — #236 in 2024, #255 in 2025 — alongside a Tabelog Bronze Award. The format is classic izakaya-adjacent: skewers, smoke, and a rhythm that rewards slow evenings rather than quick meals.

A reservation-only Italian restaurant occupying 14 seats in a converted house on Bakuromachi, Nobeoka, Cerca Trova has held consecutive Tabelog Awards since 2021, graduating to Silver in 2026 with a score of 4.25. Its sourcing philosophy connects Miyazaki's agricultural producers directly to a dinner-only format priced between JPY 15,000 and JPY 19,999, placing it firmly among western Japan's most closely watched Italian tables.

A kaiseki counter in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, Ankyu has climbed steadily through Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings — #186 in 2024, #171 in 2025 — while holding a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.9. Chef Hiromi Ueda operates within Kyoto's most concentrated tier of traditional Japanese dining, where the beverage programme and seasonal rhythm are as consequential as the food itself.

Koban Zushi Tanagura has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026, placing it among the most consistently recognised sushi counters in Fukushima Prefecture. Fifteen seats, private tatami rooms, and a programme centred on Edo-style technique and locally sourced fish make it the anchor dining address in Tanagura. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999; lunch from JPY 8,000.

A Michelin two-star kaiseki house in Higashiyama, Kodaiji Wakuden carries a Tabelog score of 4.12 and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026. Set in the temple district above Gion, the restaurant channels its Kyotango origins through six private rooms, a sunken-hearth irori, and a philosophy of rotating young chefs to keep the menu in motion. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999.

A Michelin-pedigreed French restaurant at Fukuoka's Bayside Place, Restaurant Sola has earned the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2022 through 2026 and a Tabelog score of 4.14. The kitchen works with Kyushu produce and shows a particular focus on fish, with dinner running JPY 15,000–19,999. Reservation-only, 30 seats, open most evenings from 18:00.

An eight-seat counter in Sendai's Taihaku Ward, Matsuishi has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and three straight appearances on Tabelog's Chinese EAST 100 list for its farm-to-table Chinese cuisine sourced from Miyagi and Yamagata producers. Courses run at dinner for JPY 10,000–14,999, with lunch available from JPY 6,000. Reservation-only, with counter seating and no service charge.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner and Michelin one-star holder in Ginza, Oniku Karyu operates as a evening-only counter and private-room restaurant built around a single conviction: that Wagyu beef can carry the same structural discipline as kaiseki. The 20-seat space runs a set course priced from ¥33,000 per person, applying Japanese cooking traditions from nigiri to shabu-shabu entirely through a beef-centred lens.

A Tabelog Award Bronze winner for eight consecutive years and a fixture in Tabelog's French Tokyo 100, Takumi in Nishiazabu operates a 12-seat French-meets-innovative room that has appeared in the Michelin Guide for eight consecutive years. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, lunch from JPY 10,000–14,999. A sommelier is on hand, private rooms seat up to four, and the restaurant can be reserved for private use by groups up to 20.

Kitagawa in Matsusaka offers a refined Contemporary Chinese omakase led by Chef Yoshihiro Kitagawa. Must-try items include the Matsusaka Wagyu Beef Course, a seasonal Spiny Lobster preparation, and a delicately simmered Abalone course. The restaurant emphasizes minimal seasoning and Nouvelle Chinois techniques that highlight Mie produce and coastal seafood. Housed in an 80-year-old Japanese residence with a traditional garden, Kitagawa accepts a single private group per day for an intimate ¥33,000 tasting menu. Recognized with Tabelog Bronze Award honors and a 4.32 score, each dish delivers focused, appetite-driven flavors and meticulous presentation.

Aoki in Osaka delivers kaiseki fine dining from an eight-seat counter in Kita-ku. Must-try dishes include the sashimi platter of Wakayama rockfish, Kagoshima tiger prawn and swordtip squid with homemade ponzu, and the charcoal-grilled black throat perch served with Okinawan spinach and tiny tomatoes. The kitchen offers a seasonal simmered course built on aged Rishiri kelp dashi and Makurazaki katsuobushi. Operated by a husband-and-wife team, Aoki pairs rigorous technique with simple, local ingredients, earning two Michelin stars and the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 (score 4.06). Expect carefully paced service, seasonal serving vessels, and a close, sensory omakase experience priced around JPY 15,000 per person.

Caravan has held a place on Tabelog's Steak and Teppanyaki 100 every year from 2021 through 2025, earning Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2022, 2025, and 2026 with a score of 4.11. The 30-seat restaurant in central Karatsu operates a counter alongside five semi-private rooms, with dinner averaging JPY 10,000 to JPY 14,999. Open Wednesday through Sunday, it sits five minutes on foot from JR Karatsu Station.

A Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, cenci sits at the intersection of Italian technique and Japanese fermentation traditions, drawing on domestic produce, sake lees, and kombu-based stocks to build a menu that earned Tabelog Bronze recognition from 2020 through 2026 and a place in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025. Dinner runs ¥20,000–¥29,999 per person; reservations open two months out.

SATO Briand Nigo is a yakiniku specialist in Asagaya, Suginami, holding consecutive Tabelog Bronze awards from 2020 through 2026 and consistent selection in the Tabelog Yakiniku Tokyo Top 100. Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with a 30-seat dining room, private rooms for up to eight, and an average dinner spend of JPY 15,000–19,999, it represents the course-format end of Tokyo's premium yakiniku tier.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, Remède nikaho operates from a converted house on the southern Akita coast, translating the seasonal produce of the Sea of Japan into a French course format. With just 16 seats, the restaurant has placed itself on Tabelog's French EAST 100 list, drawing serious diners to one of Japan's least-visited prefectures. Dinner runs ¥20,000–¥29,999; lunch from ¥10,000.

An eight-seat Edomae counter in Sapporo's Maruyama district, Sushisai Wakichi has held Tabelog recognition continuously since 2017 and earned selection to the Sushi EAST Tabelog 100 in 2021, 2022, and 2025. Chef Mitsuaki Tamura runs a reservation-only omakase at 36,000 yen all-in, with a Tabelog score of 4.28 placing it among Hokkaido's most consistently decorated sushi counters. Bookings open three months ahead via the restaurant's own website.

Opened in January 2024 in Nishiazabu, Suzutashiki is an eight-seat kaiseki counter under chef Hideto Tashiro that earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026 and a score of 4.24. The dinner-only format, built around wood-fired cooking and fermentation techniques, sits in the JPY 60,000–79,999 bracket and takes reservations through OMAKASE. A sommelier oversees a program that leans heavily on sake and wine.

Tabelog Bronze Award winner in 2025 and 2026, and a fixture on the Tabelog Unagi Top 100 since 2018, Matsuka sits in Matsumoto's city centre serving unagi the Kanto way: steamed before grilling, at around JPY 3,000–3,999 per head. The doors open at 11:30 and service runs until sold out, with queues forming from 10:30. Cash only, tatami seating, no reservations.

Yakiniku Seiryūen has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2021 through 2026 and featured in the Tabelog Yakiniku Tokyo Top 100 every year since 2020, placing it among the most consistently recognised Japanese BBQ addresses in the city. Located in Koto Ward near Kiyosumi Shirakawa, it operates by reservation only with private rooms available and a dinner spend of JPY 15,000 to JPY 19,999 per person.

Villa del nido is a ten-seat house restaurant in Kunimi Town, Unzen, serving an Italian-inflected menu rooted in the produce and character of the Shimabara Peninsula. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2022 through 2026, with a score of 4.37 and inclusion in Tabelog's Italian WEST 100 list, it operates by reservation only at lunch and dinner, drawing diners willing to travel well outside Nagasaki city for the meal.

A reservation-only French counter in Shimonoseki with eight seats, a Tabelog score of 4.13, and consecutive Bronze Award wins in 2025 and 2026. Priced at JPY 20,000–29,999 per person, it sits inside the Tabelog French WEST Top 100 and operates as one of western Japan's most recognised French tables outside the major metropolitan centres.

Opened in March 2018 in Chiyoda's Ichibancho district, Sushi Mizukami holds a Tabelog score of 4.27 and has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026, placing it among Tokyo's most consistently recognised omakase counters. The eight-seat counter runs two evening seatings and a weekend lunch service, with dinner averaging JPY 40,000–49,999. Reservations are accepted but competitive at this tier.

An eight-seat counter in Hitoyoshi that holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 alongside selection for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. Operating since July 2021, Sushi Mimuro sits at the serious end of Kumamoto prefecture's sushi scene, with dinner averaging JPY 10,000–14,999 and a reservation-only policy that reflects the counter's limited capacity and consistent demand.

giueme in Daisen, Akita serves Italian cuisine shaped by Akita’s rivers, forests and fields. Must-try plates include Piedmont-style stewed veal with mushrooms and red wine vinegar, handmade pasta with seasonal Akita vegetables, and a wild boar ragu that highlights local game. The kitchen, led by a chef trained in Italy, presents multi-course set menus at lunch and dinner that change with the season. Recognized with a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 4.19 score, giueme pairs precise technique with rustic ingredients. Expect warm, intimate dining rooms, clear flavors, and courses that emphasize texture, mineral broths, and clean, balanced sauces.

Jidoriya Onza in Otsu's Mano district has held the Tabelog Award Bronze every year since 2017 and earned a place on Tabelog's national Toriryori 100 list in 2025. The focus is singular: jidori chicken, treated from breeding to table as a single continuous philosophy. Reservations open by phone on the first Friday of each month for the following month only, making forward planning essential.

A 14-seat counter in Oshiage, Sumida, Yakitori Omino has held Tabelog Bronze consecutively since 2019 and earned a Michelin star in 2024. Chef Masayoshi Komino trained for six years at Torishiki, Tokyo's most decorated yakitori house, and the beverage programme runs to curated sake and wine with a sommelier on hand. Reservations open two months out and fill quickly.

A reservation-only kaiseki address in Nagoya's Nakamura Ward, Ohtani has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026, alongside three consecutive selections for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine East Top 100 list. Sixteen seats split between a counter and a horigotatsu tatami room frame a fish-focused menu built on seasonal Japanese ingredients. Dinner runs between JPY 10,000 and JPY 14,999.

Takajo Kotobuki is Asakusa's invitation-only toriryori counter, holding a Tabelog Silver Award in 2026 with a score of 4.38 and consistent recognition since 2017. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per head, reservations are essential, and no walk-ins or photography are permitted. It ranks among Japan's top fowl-focused restaurants and sits inside the Tabelog Toriryori 100 for 2025.

A two-Michelin-star kaiseki counter in Chuo's Shintomicho district, Kutan has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards and Top 100 recognition since 2021. Chef Kotaro Nakajima's modern classic approach sits in the upper tier of Tokyo's Japanese cuisine scene, with course pricing from ¥40,000 and a 13-seat format split between counter and private room. Reservation-only, Monday through Saturday evenings.

A three-Michelin-star kaiseki house in Suita's Senriyama district, Kashiwaya has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2018 through 2026 and earned 92 points from La Liste. The menu follows the traditional cycle of twenty-four seasons, with private rooms for parties from two to thirty and a sommelier on hand to guide sake and wine pairings.

A ten-seat kaiseki counter in Fukuoka's Yakuin district, Imoto has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2019 through 2026 and earned selection to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The fixed course runs JPY 40,000 per person at both lunch and dinner, with English menus, vegetarian alternatives, and reservations through Pocket Concierge or OMAKASE.

IL NODO is an Italian restaurant on the second floor of a building along Komachi in Kamakura, open Wednesday through Sunday from 18:00. It holds a Tabelog Bronze Award for 2025 with a score of 3.8, placing it among recognised dining addresses in Kanagawa Prefecture. The format is dinner-only, suited to those seeking an evening table away from the coastal tourist circuit.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year since 2017 and a repeat entry in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100, Nawaya operates from a converted house in Kyotango — roughly 2.5 hours north of Kyoto city — where Chef Yukinori Yoshioka runs an eight-seat L-shaped counter focused on fish cookery and daily-changing menus shaped by the Tango coast and surrounding farmland.

Six generations of culinary mastery define Nakamura Kyoto, where chef Motokazu Nakamura presents three-Michelin-starred kaiseki cuisine in intimate tatami rooms, honoring 200 years of family tradition through seasonal omakase menus that represent Japan's most authentic fine dining experience.

Opened in June 2018 in Ginza's B1F restaurant corridor, Ren Mishina has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively since 2022 and carries a Michelin star, placing it firmly among Tokyo's most recognised kaiseki counters. Chef Jun Mishina's ingredient-forward approach — seasonal fish, charcoal technique, and a deliberately spare aesthetic — runs through a 16-seat room split between counter and private dining. Dinner runs to around ¥50,000–¥59,999 per head.

A six-seat counter in Kawasaki's Mizonokuchi neighbourhood, Gatagataya has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and earned a place in the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine 100 for 2025. The format is chef's-choice course only, with fish-focused creative dishes built to accompany carefully aged, room-temperature nihonshu. Cash only, reservation required, and new bookings are currently paused.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, Ribatei sits in a back alley of Yokohama's Fukutomicho district and serves a fixed course of 12 to 13 yakitori dishes for around JPY 10,000 to JPY 14,999 per person. With 24 seats, phone-only reservations, and a Tabelog score of 4.04, it occupies a clearly defined position at the serious end of Yokohama's grilled chicken tradition.

Akasaka Eigetsu is a ten-seat kaiseki counter in Tokyo's Akasaka district, holding a Tabelog score of 4.08 and consecutive Bronze Awards from 2019 through 2026, plus three selections for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100. Under chef Hidenori Iwasaki, dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, with a noted emphasis on sake pairing and a room that Tabelog users classify as a hideout.

Niku Ryori Fukunaga holds five consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2022–2026) and a score of 4.29 on Japan's most-used restaurant review platform, making it the most decorated beef specialist in Shiga Prefecture. The kitchen's focus is Omi beef, one of Japan's three prestige wagyu designations, sourced directly from a single farm. Fourteen seats and reservation-only access place it firmly in the specialist tier.

Tokyo Nikushabuya Subin in Tokyo presents Modern Japanese yakiniku and nikushabu focused on premium beef. Must-try dishes include A5 Wagyu Nikushabu, Charcoal-Grilled Ribeye (Yakiniku style), and Seared Beef Tataki with Ponzu. The kitchen pairs precise quick-cook techniques with seasonal accompaniments, delivering silky fat, smoky char, and bright citrus finishes. Located in Ginza’s Chuo Ward (B1F), the restaurant earned the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and holds a 4.19 diner score. Expect an intimate, meat-forward dining rhythm that emphasizes texture and temperature—perfect for lunches or relaxed dinners. Reservations by phone at 050-5600-8887 are advised to secure peak-time seating.

An eight-seat Edomae sushi counter in Kagurazaka, Hato has held Tabelog Silver recognition since 2026 and a score of 4.42, placing it among Tokyo's most closely watched sushi addresses. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 with a 10% service charge, and the room operates Tuesday through Saturday by reservation only. Sake is the drink of choice here, selected with the same discipline applied to the fish.

A 12-seat yakitori counter in Osaka's Fukushima ward, Ishii has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026, alongside consecutive appearances on the Tabelog Yakitori 100 list since 2022. The format is course-based, the price sits at ¥15,000–¥19,999 per head at dinner, and the room operates at the register where grilled chicken becomes a considered, structured meal rather than casual drinking food.

A ten-seat kaiseki counter in Kitashinchi, Ono holds a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2021 through 2026, with a score of 4.25. Chef Kota Ono, the official Tourism Ambassador for Awaji's Food Culture, builds each omakase course around ingredients sourced from Awaji Island — seafood, wagyu, soy sauce, and salt — at dinner prices running JPY 30,000 to JPY 39,999 before service charge. Reservation-only; closed Sundays.

Tout La Joie occupies a quiet address in Nagoya's Naka Ward, where chef Isshin Sumoto works a French-inflected innovative menu that has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2023 through 2026 and a place on the Tabelog Innovative 100 list for 2025. With per-person spend in the JPY 30,000–39,999 range and a reservation-only format, it sits firmly in Nagoya's premium creative dining tier.

Inside a lantern-lit alley off Gion Shijo, Gion Endo has held a Tabelog Bronze Award continuously since 2017 and earned a place in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 for 2025. The 16-seat room splits between counter and table, with evening service running until 2am and a declared focus on fish that distinguishes it from the broader kaiseki field in Higashiyama.

La Cime has held two Michelin stars since at least 2024 and ranked 8th in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, placing Chef Yusuke Takada's French-Japanese tasting menus among the most recognised in western Japan. Set in Osaka's Hommachi business district, the 25-seat room runs reservation-only, dinner-focused service Monday through Saturday, with lunch on Saturdays only. Dinner runs approximately ¥40,000–¥50,000 per person before drinks.

A counter-only sushi restaurant on the second floor of a quiet Omiya building, Ishimaru has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in consecutive years (2024, 2025, 2026) and a place on the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 list. The eight-seat format, evening-focused hours, and a considered sake programme make it one of the more serious sushi addresses in the greater Saitama area, priced between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999 at dinner.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner since 2022 and a consistent entry in the Tabelog Chinese EAST Top 100, Manzan brings serious Sichuan cooking to the Makuhari Hongo district of Chiba. The ten-seat dining room operates on a reservation-only basis, with dinner averaging JPY 10,000–14,999 per person. It opens Thursday through Monday from 17:00, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

An eight-seat counter in a residential pocket of Sakai's Nishi Ward, Osamuchan (formally Nama Horumon Dokoro Osamu Chan) has held consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2019 through 2026, placing it among the most consistently recognised yakiniku and horumon specialists in western Japan. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per person, cash only, and reservations are restricted to regular customers.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year since 2019 and a three-time selection for Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100, Aji Arai brings Kyushu kappo cooking to Nakatsu, Oita, with a declared emphasis on fish sourcing and a format that runs from a late-afternoon counter sitting to a tatami room service after 19:00. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 by listed price, with review-based averages placing actual spend closer to JPY 20,000–29,999.

Tempura Kuruma sits in the rice fields outside Tatebayashi, Gunma, and earns its Tabelog Bronze Award and repeated selection to the Tabelog Tempura 100 by treating ingredient sourcing as the foundation of the craft. The 12-seat counter and private room run on a complete reservation system, with dinner priced between JPY 15,000 and JPY 19,999. It is one of the few tempura destinations in provincial Japan that draws diners specifically for the fish-forward sourcing programme.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner operating in Kitakyushu's Kurosaki district since 2006, Uotora sits within the serious end of Fukuoka's seafood izakaya tier. With a 4.04 Tabelog score, consecutive Tabelog 100 izakaya selections from 2021 through 2025, and dinner averaging JPY 8,000–9,999, it occupies a price point where the quality-to-cost ratio draws both locals and informed visitors.

Yakitori Kohane holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 and has appeared on the Tabelog Yakitori EAST 100 list three consecutive years, placing it among Japan's most recognised yakitori counters outside the major cities. The 10-seat omakase format centres on Amagi Shamo chicken, a heritage breed from Shizuoka's Amagi highlands. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 and requires advance booking through the OMAKASE platform.

A 12-seat French counter in Osaka's Nishi Ward, agnel d'or has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and earned a place on the Tabelog French WEST 100 list in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 (with actual spend averaging higher), and the kitchen applies French technique to Japanese seasonal produce, with house-made fermented preparations central to the menu's structure. Reopened with a refreshed interior in March 2024.

Kyoto's only Michelin one-star yakitori restaurant, Torisaki holds a Tabelog score of 4.25 and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2024 through 2026. The 19-seat counter in Nakagyo Ward operates reservation-only from 18:00, with dinner running JPY 15,000–19,999 plus a 12% service charge. A sake and shochu list pairs directly with the smoke-driven skewer progression.

A sushi counter in Tokyo's Toranomon district where the physical intimacy of close-quarters preparation defines the experience. Chef Kiyotaka Nakajo operates within a Yokohama-adjacent culinary tradition that prizes proximity and precision over spectacle. Recognised by Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Japan rankings (#518) and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.91, Omino Kamiyacho earns its place in a competitive field of Tokyo counter dining.

A six-seat Italian auberge on the Noto Peninsula, Villa della Pace holds a Tabelog Bronze Award (4.10, 2026) and consecutive Tabelog Italian WEST Top 100 selections. The kitchen works from a vegetable-first premise, drawing on Noto's coastline and the surrounding Ishikawa farmland, with fish and meat available as secondary elements. Dinner runs Tuesday evenings, by reservation only, at JPY 30,000–39,999 per person.

Bleston Court Yukawatan in Karuizawa offers contemporary French cuisine infused with Shinshu ingredients. Must-try dishes include the horse meat tart, a savory, finely textured tart; firefly squid appetizer with delicate jelly and seaweed notes; and a wild venison main, expertly seared and paired with local fungi. Located on the grounds of Hoshino Hotel Bleston Court, the restaurant highlights seasonal, foraged produce and organic local meats. Recognized with the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 4.13 score, the dining room delivers warm, candlelit outdoor tables and precise table service. Expect a refined tasting menu or à la carte choices, sommelier wine pairings, and an intimate atmosphere ideal for special evenings in Karuizawa.

Kinryuzan in Shirokane has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards every year from 2017 through 2026, plus a Tabelog Award Silver in 2018, placing it among Tokyo's most consistently recognised yakiniku counters. The 18-seat room operates on reservations only, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999. Tabelog's Yakiniku Tokyo 100 selection has included it every year since 2018.

Operating from a 16-seat counter in Roppongi since June 2021, YAKITORI Moe es applies French culinary technique to Japanese yakitori, producing an omakase format that has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026, consecutive Tabelog 100 selections from 2022 through 2025, and a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999 before the 10% service charge, with two seatings nightly from Monday through Saturday.

Sushiei has operated in Chiba's Kasuga district since 1967, earning a Tabelog Silver Award in 2026 and consecutive placement on the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 list. The 16-seat counter format — ten seats facing the chef, with private rooms alongside — prices dinners at JPY 30,000–39,999, positioning it among Chiba's serious omakase addresses rather than Tokyo's tourist circuit.

Chiso Nakamura holds a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 4.01, placing it among Fukuoka's recognised Japanese cuisine establishments in Hakata Ward. Operating on a selective schedule — Monday and Friday evenings only — the restaurant sits inside the dense fabric of Tsumashoji, a district where traditional dining formats have persisted alongside the city's commercial expansion. Google reviewers rate it 4.7 across 76 submissions.

A ten-seat kaiseki counter in Gion operating since 2012, Maeda 前田 holds a Tabelog score of 3.89 and has appeared in Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings every year from 2023 to 2025, reaching as high as #50. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999, with a programme that places particular emphasis on fish cookery and a carefully curated nihonshu selection. Photography is not permitted.

On Hakata Island in the Seto Inland Sea, Akakichi operates as a six-seat, reservation-only counter drawing serious sushi attention to one of Japan's most productive fishing waters. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in 2024, 2025, and 2026, with a score of 4.30 and consecutive selection for Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100, it prices at JPY 20,000–29,999 per person and books exclusively through the OMAKASE platform.

BOTANI:CURRY is a pop-up-style curry specialist in Osaka's Chuo Ward, operating one to two days a week from its Nishi-Honmachi address until sold out. The numbered ticket system and social-media-only scheduling have generated a following that consistently pushes its Tabelog score to 3.98, backed by a 2025 Bronze Award. It belongs to a distinct strand of Osaka dining where operational scarcity is itself the editorial statement.

A reservation-only Japanese cuisine and seafood restaurant in Tottori City, Mitsuki has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026, alongside consecutive selection for Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST '100 Best'. With a dinner budget of JPY 15,000–19,999 and private rooms available, it draws both business diners and those making a dedicated trip to the San'in coast for serious washoku.

Ishigaki Yoshida operates from the third floor of a building in Azabu-Juban, Tokyo, bringing a teppanyaki format to one of the city's most considered dining neighbourhoods. Chef Junichi Yoshida leads a counter-focused experience priced in the JPY 20,000–29,999 range, with Opinionated About Dining ranking the kitchen among Japan's top 300 restaurants in 2024 and 2025.

A 16-seat counter in Minami-Aoyama's basement level, Yakitori Kurosaki has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026, alongside selection for the Sushi Tokyo Tabelog 100. Operating on a reservation-only basis with dinner pricing between JPY 60,000 and JPY 79,999, it occupies the upper tier of Tokyo's yakitori scene, where the format discipline and sourcing rigour rival the city's most decorated omakase counters.

Established in Meiji 11 (1878), Wadakin is Matsusaka's most enduring sukiyaki institution, drawing a decade-plus run of Tabelog Bronze Awards and consistent recognition from Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings. Set in a traditional house restaurant with private rooms across multiple configurations, it serves Matsusaka beef — Japan's most tightly controlled wagyu designation — at lunch and dinner, with per-person spend typically landing between JPY 15,000 and JPY 29,999.

A ten-seat counter in Motoazabu operating at the upper tier of Tokyo's Edomae sushi scene. Sushi Shunji holds a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 and a score of 4.42, with dinner averaging JPY 50,000–59,999. Reservations run through a lottery system on the OMAKASE platform, placing access on par with the city's most competitive counters.

Komatsu Yasuke is a reservation-only sushi counter in central Kanazawa, earning consecutive Tabelog Silver and Bronze awards from 2018 through 2026 and repeated selection to the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. With 18 seats, seatings timed by reservation slot, and a lunch-only format, it operates within the tight seasonal rhythms of Hokuriku seafood — arguably the most argument-worthy fish region in Japan.

A seven-seat counter in Chuo's Shintomicho district, Ajiyuki holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 alongside selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100 for 2025. Dinner averages JPY 40,000–49,999 per head based on diner reviews, and the room operates on a referral-only reservation system. Fish sourcing is a declared priority, and sake and shochu form the drink program.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for four consecutive years (2023–2026) and twice selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST Top 100, Shinchaya in Oshu, Iwate serves kaiseki-rooted Japanese cuisine with a noted focus on eel and premium fish. Operating on a reservation-only basis, with full private room configurations and a price point of JPY 20,000–29,999 per person, it represents the serious end of regional Japanese dining well outside Japan's major urban corridors.

A five-consecutive-year Tabelog Bronze winner in Matsuyama's Chifunemachi district, Namae no Nai Italia Ryori Ten sits at the sharper end of western Ehime's Italian dining scene. With a Tabelog score of 4.09 and selection for Tabelog Italian WEST Top 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025, it represents the kind of sustained peer recognition that rarely accumulates in prefectural cities outside Japan's major dining corridors.

Two-Michelin-starred HOMMAGE Tokyo elevates French cuisine through Chef Noboru Arai's minimalist philosophy, where precise technique meets Japanese seasonality in an intimate 18-seat Asakusa sanctuary. The proprietress in traditional kimono welcomes guests to experience innovative dishes like squid tartar with watermelon spheres and reimagined carbonara, creating an unforgettable synthesis of French refinement and Tokyo tradition.

Sushimichi Sakurada operates from Marunouchi in central Nagoya, earning a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 with a score of 4.16 — placing it among the city's more closely watched sushi counters. Lunch and dinner run by reservation only, with seatings timed around the first booking of the day. Online reservations are required; phone bookings are not accepted.

Sushikin (Susukino Sushi Kin) is an eight-seat counter in Sapporo's Susukino district, operating dinner-only by reservation and priced in the JPY 30,000–39,999 range. A consistent Tabelog Bronze Award winner from 2022 through 2026 and a recurring entry in the Tabelog Sushi EAST Top 100, it occupies the upper tier of Hokkaido's serious sushi scene, where the prefecture's cold-water seafood supply sets a notably high raw-material baseline.

Open since 2006 in Osaka's Fukushima Ward, kamoshiya Kusumoto runs a monthly-changing course built around fermented foods and brewed beverages from across the world. The 12-seat counter has held a Tabelog Award every year from 2017 through 2026, earning Silver in 2018 and consistent Bronze recognition since, with a current score of 3.77. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person, with reservations through Pocket Concierge.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Fukuoka's Akasaka district, Sushi Karashima has held Tabelog Bronze recognition consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and appeared in the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 every eligible year since 2021. Dinner runs in two seatings with spend tracking between JPY 60,000 and JPY 79,999. Reservations open by phone one month in advance on the same calendar date.

A French restaurant in Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, Fenêtre holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for both 2025 and 2026 and has been named to the Tabelog French EAST 100 twice. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999, placing it in the upper tier of regional fine dining. The surrounding dairy-farming belt of eastern Hokkaido provides an unusually direct line between producer and plate.

An eight-seat yakiniku counter in Nagoya's Nishi Ward, HIRO NAGOYA operates on reservation-only terms with a dinner spend of JPY 80,000–99,999 per person. Tabelog Bronze Award winner every eligible year from 2021 through 2026 and continuously listed in the Tabelog Yakiniku 100 since 2018, it sits among the most recognised yakiniku addresses in eastern Japan. Private-room availability and a considered wine programme complete a format built for serious, unhurried eating.

Arata in Osaka presents focused modern Japanese yakiniku with a terroir-led approach. Must-try items include the seasonal Bear meat dish (winter), the multi-course 10-chapter omakase that traces local flavors, and vibrant Seasonal vegetable dishes sourced from Nose-region farms. The experience pairs precise grilling and Kyoto-influenced technique with sustainably sourced ingredients, earning Arata a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 4.04 score. Expect warm, attentive service, charcoal-scented plates, and a dinner-only rhythm that turns each visit into a deliberate culinary escape in the city.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner scoring 3.86, Tempura Kusunoki sits inside the Shikemichi historic district of Nagoya's Nishi Ward, offering precision tempura in one of the city's most atmospheric old-town streetscapes. The address alone signals intent: a craft-focused counter in a preserved merchant quarter where occasion dining carries genuine weight. For a city that tends to underplay its restaurant depth, this is one of the addresses that rewards attention.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, Sizen Mukuan sits in the Kii-Tanabe area of Wakayama Prefecture and holds a Tabelog score of 3.91 alongside three consecutive selections for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100. The 15-seat room, open since January 2016, operates on a reservation-only basis with a stated emphasis on vegetables, fish, and sake. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999.

Yakiniku Ito has operated from Saeki, Oita since December 1989, earning consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026 and four successive selections to the Tabelog Yakiniku WEST 100. With 46 seats arranged across tatami rooms and sunken seating, dinner runs JPY 8,000–14,999 per person. Reservations open on the first of each month and are accepted by phone only.

IL GARAGE is an eight-seat Italian restaurant on the second floor of a Nakagyo Ward building in Kyoto, serving seasonal menus to a maximum of two groups per sitting. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 3.98, it operates by advance reservation only and prices dinner between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. Lunch runs weekends only.

A four-seat basement counter in Sapporo's Chuo Ward, Sushinokura has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2023 through 2026 and appeared in the Tabelog Sushi EAST Top 100 in 2021, 2022, and 2025. Operating solely for dinner, reservation-only, with a Tabelog score of 4.16, it sits in the upper tier of Hokkaido's sushi scene at JPY 20,000–29,999 per head.

Le Sorcier operates one of western Japan's most disciplined French formats: a single group per day, maximum four guests, deep in Shunan, Yamaguchi. Tabelog Bronze winner from 2023 through 2026 and listed among the Tabelog French WEST Top 100, the restaurant scores 4.13 on the platform with dinner priced at JPY 20,000–29,999. Bookings are currently full through July 2027.

A ten-seat house restaurant in rural Mie prefecture, Restaurant Ryu applies classical French technique to seasonal Japanese ingredients at a price point (JPY 8,000–14,999) that sits well below comparable award-recognised French restaurants in Osaka or Kyoto. Tabelog Bronze winner in 2022, 2025, and 2026, and selected for the Tabelog French WEST 100 three times, it has built a quiet but durable reputation since opening in October 2006.

A counter-format yakitori specialist in Ashiya, Hyogo, Eragon has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and three straight inclusions in the Tabelog Yakitori WEST Top 100. The focus is Oshioka Jidori chicken, prepared across 15 seats divided between an intimate counter and a private room, open Tuesday through Saturday from 17:30.

Among Ginza's French addresses, L'AFFINAGE occupies a specific tier: Michelin one-star, Tabelog Bronze Award in 2025 and 2026, and a score of 4.15 from Japan's most exacting review platform. The 20-seat room on the second floor of GINZA-A-5 runs dinner at ¥30,000–¥39,999, positioning it below the three-star ceiling but well above the neighbourhood's casual French bistro circuit.

A six-seat counter in Fukuoka's Hirao district, torila operates on full referral, accepting around ten guests per night for an omakase built around aged local chicken. Tabelog has listed it among Japan's top yakitori for six consecutive years, including a Silver Award in 2022 and Bronze recognition through 2026. Access requires an introduction; payment is cash only.

Harutaka holds three Michelin stars and a Tabelog Silver award at the sixth-floor counter on Ginza 8-chome, where Chef Harutaka Takahashi trained under Sukiyabashi Jiro and applies Edomae technique with particular attention to fish sourcing. Seventeen seats, a dinner-only format priced between JPY 60,000 and JPY 79,999, and consistent recognition across La Liste, OAD, and Asia's 50 Best place it firmly in Ginza's top omakase tier.

One of only a handful of Western dining institutions to hold continuous Tabelog Bronze recognition since 2017, Tour D'Argent Tokyo sits within Hotel New Otani's lobby-floor dining room as Tokyo's ambassador for Parisian grande cuisine. With a lineage traceable to the 1582 Paris original and dinner prices running JPY 30,000–39,999, it occupies a formal, heritage-anchored tier in Tokyo's French restaurant hierarchy.

A six-seat tempura counter in central Chiba, Tenhaku holds a Tabelog Silver Award 2026 and a score of 4.29, placing it among Japan's most closely watched specialists in the category. Operating on a session-only format with reservations exclusively through Ikkyu, the counter runs four seats at lunch and six at dinner, with a particular emphasis on fish-sourced ingredients and a self-taught frying approach that has earned consecutive Tabelog 100 Tempura recognition since 2022.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Higashi-Azabu, Sushi Sugaya has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2021 through 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 list for three consecutive cycles. Ranked as high as #214 in Japan by Opinionated About Dining, the counter operates on strict reservation-only terms at a base price of ¥53,800 and up, placing it firmly in Tokyo's upper-tier omakase bracket.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for three consecutive years (2024–2026) and twice selected for the Tabelog French EAST 100, maison FUJIYA Hakodate operates from a standalone house in Motomachi, serving Neo-Classical French cuisine built around Hokkaido's southern coastal produce. With 26 seats, a sommelier on hand, and dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999, it sits at the top of Hakodate's fine dining tier.

Kobayashi opened in Roppongi in June 2024, earning a Tabelog Bronze Award within its first year and a score of 3.83 — a rapid credentialing for a new counter. Chef Takeshi Kobayashi runs an eight-seat format with the 'Ultra K' tasting menu, placing the restaurant inside Tokyo's increasingly competitive small-counter Japanese dining tier. Dinner service runs six evenings a week from 18:30.

An eight-seat counter in rural Taketoyo, Aichi, Sushi Dokoro Mutsuki holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 and has appeared in the Tabelog Sushi EAST Top 100 every year since 2021. Operating by reservation only, Wednesday through Sunday, it prices dinner between JPY 10,000 and JPY 14,999 at the listed rate, with review averages running considerably higher. Cash only, no card payments accepted.

Shimoyamitenae Izuru sits six diners at a counter in Sapporo's Nakajima Koen neighbourhood, applying French and innovative technique to Hokkaido's fish-forward larder. A Tabelog Silver winner in 2021 and consistent Bronze winner through 2026, with a score of 4.26, it occupies the same serious tier as the city's kaiseki houses at comparable price points of JPY 30,000–39,999 per head.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year since 2017 and a fixture on the Tabelog French TOKYO 100 list, Le Mange-Tout operates from a 14-seat house restaurant in Kagurazaka, serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 18:30. Chef Noboru Tani's French menu sits in the JPY 30,000–39,999 range, with a sommelier-led wine program and a Tabelog score of 3.89 placing it consistently among Tokyo's most recognised French tables.

Makinonci in Kanazawa offers contemporary French cuisine rooted in Ishikawa produce, led by Chef Hirokazu Makino. Must-try dishes include the Kaga lotus root tower, blowfish shirako with mochi rice and black truffle, and bergamot fromage blanc sorbet with craft gin jelly. The nine-seat, reservation-only counter feels like dining at the chef’s home, with an open kitchen, wood-fire grilling, and a tasting menu that unfolds over roughly three hours. Awarded the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and rated 4.33, Makinonci pairs exacting French technique with local fishermen and farmers for intensely fresh, seasonal plates that reward advance booking.

Shizuku in Osaka is an Osaka sushi restaurant that focuses on seasonal Modern Japanese techniques. Must-try dishes include the HANAORIBAKO seasonal set, grilled eel on rice (unagi don), and the chef’s nigiri selection. The kitchen emphasizes Osaka-style sushi and carefully sourced seafood, delivering clean, rice-forward flavors and precise cuts. Evening service runs 18:00–23:00 with a focused menu that highlights texture, temperature, and dashi-driven accompaniments. Recognized with the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 3.99 score, Shizuku pairs attentive service with an intimate first-floor setting in Higashi Shinsaibashi, offering a memorable, locally rooted dining experience for inquisitive diners.

Sushi Tsubomi operates from a compact room in Meguro's Higashiyama district, serving dinner-only omakase under chef Keiya Kawaguchi. Ranked #342 on Opinionated About Dining's Japan list in 2024 and holding a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 3.93, it sits in Tokyo's mid-tier omakase bracket where craft outpaces ceremony. Bookings are competitive; the counter draws a loyal local following rather than a tourist circuit.

In Kyoto's western Nishikyo Ward, Kuishinbo Yamanaka has spent four decades refining a focused approach to Omi beef — the prized azuki-colored wagyu from Shiga Prefecture. Holding Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 to 2026, and ranked among Japan's top 120 restaurants by Opinionated About Dining in both 2024 and 2025, it sits in a residential house-restaurant format that Kyoto's most consistent neighbourhood institutions tend to occupy.

Hida Kisetsu Ryori Sakana has held Tabelog Bronze recognition consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and appeared in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST 100 in 2021, placing it among the most consistently rated regional tables in Gifu Prefecture. The restaurant operates from a house-style property in Takayama's Echigomachi district, serving Hida seasonal cuisine with a particular focus on fish across 30 seats arranged across counter, tatami, and private rooms.

Occupying the third floor of a Kitashinchi building since 2013, TOM Curiosa holds a Michelin star and a Tabelog Silver Award (2026, score 4.34), placing it among Osaka's most decorated Italian tables. The 15-seat room splits between a nine-seat counter and a six-seat table section, with two evening seatings and a sommelier on hand. Reservations run exclusively through the OMAKASE platform.

Italian Ryori Imai in Ashiya holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2024, 2025, and 2026, alongside consecutive selection for the Tabelog Italian WEST 100, with a score of 4.34 and dinner averaging JPY 30,000–39,999. Operating by reservation only, the restaurant represents the particular strand of Italian cooking that has taken deep root in the Kansai region's quieter, wealthier suburbs.

European Curry Tomato in Ogikubo has held a place on the Tabelog Curry Tokyo 100 list every year since 2017 and earned Tabelog Silver in 2018, 2021, and 2022. The 15-seat room on a residential side street off Ogikubo Station operates on strict two-session days, cash only, and closes Wednesday and Thursday. At under JPY 3,000 a head, it sits at the opposite end of the Tokyo dining spectrum from the city's tasting-menu tier.

Sushi Minato has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2018 through 2026, making it the most consistently decorated sushi counter in Asahikawa. The kitchen works within an Ezo-mae tradition that applies Edo-mae technique to Hokkaido's cold-water fish, and an 11-seat counter alongside private tatami rooms gives the space genuine range. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, with service from 18:00 Tuesday through Saturday.

Sushi Nishizaki in Setagaya's Kitazawa district holds a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 and a 4.34 score, placing it among Tokyo's most-reviewed counter sushi rooms outside the central wards. Twelve seats split between a main counter and a private four-seat room. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 by listed price, with review-based averages suggesting the experience often runs higher.

In Nishitenma, Osaka's counter-dining quarter, OIMATSU Tempura Suzuki holds a Michelin Plate (2024 and 2025) and a Tabelog Bronze Award with a score of 4.31. The kitchen works with safflower oil and thin batter to keep each ingredient's flavour intact, adjusting its menu to the precise start and end of each ingredient's season. It sits in the ¥¥¥ tier alongside Osaka's broader kaiseki and Japanese counter dining scene.

An eight-seat omakase counter in Kobe's Chuo Ward, Sushi Ueda has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2022 through 2026 and earned consecutive selection to the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 list. Chef Masamichi Ueda works with seafood from both the Seto Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan, positioning the counter within Kansai's quieter but serious sushi circuit, at dinner prices in the JPY 30,000–39,999 range.

A reservation-only house restaurant in the mountains of Yamagata, Gifu, Katatsumuri holds the Tabelog Award for the eighth consecutive year and scores 4.00 on Japan's most-used restaurant platform. The ten-seat tatami-room setting and vegetable-forward creative menu place it firmly in the tradition of rural Japanese dining rooted in seasonal, local produce, priced at JPY 15,000–19,999 per person.

A seven-seat counter sushi restaurant in a residential Akita neighbourhood, Takarazushibunten holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2023, 2025, and 2026, alongside consecutive selection for Tabelog Sushi EAST's 100-restaurant list. Operating evenings only, reservation-only, and cash-only, it runs almost entirely on returning local customers — a structure that tells you most of what you need to know before you arrive.

Kappou Shintaku in Murakami, Niigata holds a Tabelog Silver Award (2026) and a Tabelog Score of 4.38, placing it among the leading kaiseki restaurants in eastern Japan. Operating from a 14-seat house restaurant on Komachi street, brothers Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai build their kaiseki around the exceptional produce of the Murakami region, with a particular emphasis on fish and locally curated sake.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for four consecutive years (2023–2026) and listed in the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine Top 100 for 2025, Terroir Aitoibukuro operates as a 16-seat auberge-style restaurant in Hokuto, Yamanashi — roughly two hours from central Tokyo. The format combines French-influenced innovative cuisine with a strong emphasis on local vegetables, served across both lunch and dinner sittings on a reservation-only basis.

A ten-seat yakiniku counter in Osaka's Nishinari Ward, Masachan operates on a closed-membership basis: reservations require prior approval from the host, and walk-ins are not accepted. The restaurant has held a Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2022 through 2026 and has appeared on the Tabelog Yakiniku WEST 100 list every year since 2019, placing it consistently among the most recognised yakiniku addresses in western Japan.

A reservation-only Italian house restaurant in Kanoya, on the Osumi Peninsula southeast of Kagoshima City, SENTI.U has held Tabelog Bronze consecutively since 2023 and carries a score of 4.17. Eleven seats, a fish-forward menu built from local Kagoshima ingredients, and a wine program given serious attention define what is, by any regional measure, the leading Italian table on this side of the prefecture.

Open since December 1991, Ohtsu has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2020 through 2026 and carries a Tabelog score of 4.39 — an unusual consistency for a 14-seat French restaurant operating outside Tokyo. Located in Mito's Shiraume district, it runs on a reservation-only model across lunch and dinner sittings, with per-person spend typically landing between JPY 30,000 and JPY 49,999.

Kikunoi's Akasaka branch carries Kyoto's ryotei tradition into central Tokyo, holding two Michelin stars (2026) and Tabelog Bronze recognition every year since 2017. Dinner menus run from ¥22,000 to ¥55,000, with seating across a 13-seat counter, tatami rooms, and four private rooms for two to twenty guests. Chef Ryohei Hayashi leads a kitchen that folds the seasonal rhythms of Kansai kaiseki into a format calibrated for Tokyo dining.

A seven-year fixture in Ginza's kaiseki tier, Ginza Fujiyama holds a Tabelog score of 3.84 and consecutive Bronze Awards from 2020 through 2026, alongside three selections for the Tabelog 100 Tokyo Japanese cuisine list. The 16-seat room on the seventh floor of the Morita Building operates dinner-only, with pricing in the JPY 50,000–59,999 range placing it squarely among the neighbourhood's upper-bracket Japanese restaurants.

La Floraison de TAKEUCHI is a French restaurant in Nagoya's Sakae district, recognised with a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a score of 3.94. Lunch and dinner service run Tuesday through Sunday, with last food orders at 12:30 and 18:30 respectively. It occupies the ground floor of the Arc Sakae Shirakawa Park Building, placing it within easy reach of central Nagoya.

Akasaka Kitafuku in Tokyo delivers precision Modern Japanese seafood crafted around live Hokkaido crab. Must-try dishes include the Golden Crab Set, Crab Sashimi, and Crab Shabu-Shabu. The omakase kaiseki menu pairs Kyoto-style starters with tableside crab preparation for an immersive, theatrical meal. Chef Masato Kawasaki prepares each course to highlight pure crab sweetness, with delicate sake and wine pairings. Recognized with a Michelin star (2021) and a Tabelog Bronze Award (2025, score 4.11), the restaurant balances refined technique and fresh, seasonal seafood in an intimate 7th-floor setting ideal for celebrations and business dinners.

A Michelin-starred kaiseki counter in Nishitenma, Osaka, Zeshin has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2018 and earned a place in the Tabelog 100 for Japanese cuisine in the West three times. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999, lunch JPY 10,000–14,999. Reservations accepted by phone; cash only on the day.

Maison DIA Mizuguchi in Nagoya delivers Modern French cuisine with bold local touches from Hokkaido and Nagoya. Must-try plates include Amuse-bouche tarts (caviar & foie gras), Domestic beef fillet Rossini, and the signature Fondant au chocolat. The 9-course tasting (approx. ¥40,800) unfolds at an 18-seat open kitchen counter where technique meets live service. Recognized with the Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 4.07 score, the restaurant pairs sommelier-led wines with seasonal seafood, truffles, and domestic beef. Expect buttery sauces, concentrated umami, and warm, attentive service in an intimate, theatre-like setting that makes every meal feel like an occasion.

Opened in January 2021 in Gotemba's Higashiyama district, Maison Kei carries the credibility of Chef Kei Kobayashi — the first Asian chef to earn three Michelin stars in France — into a 54-seat house restaurant with views of Mount Fuji. Tabelog Bronze winner every year from 2022 through 2026, and selected for Tabelog French EAST Top 100 in both 2023 and 2025, it sits at the serious end of regional French dining in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Yu is a Tabelog Bronze Award-winning sushi counter in Roppongi, operating Thursday and Monday evenings only — a scheduling discipline that signals serious intent in a city where omakase scarcity is half the proposition. With a Tabelog score of 4.18 and 118 Google reviews averaging 4.1, it sits inside Tokyo's mid-to-upper sushi tier, where counter craft and sourcing rigour separate the contenders from the crowd.

Ichitaka is a Tabelog Bronze Award-winning sushi counter in Fukuoka's Chuo Ward, operating evenings only from 17:30 with last food orders at 20:00. Holding a Tabelog score of 3.98 from nearly 800 Google reviewers at 4.6 stars, it occupies a mid-to-upper tier in a city where sushi culture runs deep and competition among serious counters is unrelenting.

A French-Kyoto table in Nakagyo Ward with a Tabelog Bronze Award and a score of 3.83, Les champs d'or operates Tuesday through Saturday across lunch and dinner services. The kitchen works a French foundation with Kyoto sensibility, placing it in a small but growing category of Western fine dining that earns sustained local recognition in a city dominated by kaiseki.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year since 2017 and a recurring entry in Tabelog's French EAST 100, La Vagabonde operates from a 16-seat room near Tsurumai Station in Nagoya's Naka Ward. The intimate format, a dedicated sommelier, and dinner prices in the JPY 30,000–39,999 range position it firmly within Nagoya's small tier of seriously considered French restaurants.

An eight-seat counter in Fukuoka's Minami Ward, Sushi Osamu has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 for 2021, 2022, and 2025. The single 27,000-yen course runs five evenings a week, placing it in a small tier of suburban Fukuoka counters that compete on consistency and sourcing rather than city-centre visibility.

Nikuya Setsugekka Nagoya occupies a basement counter in the Meieki district, where a 14-seat format and consecutive Tabelog Award recognition since 2019 place it among the most consistent yakiniku addresses in Aichi. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 per head, with a programme built around top-grade wagyu, curated sake, and sommelier-led wine pairings. Reservations open three months ahead and fill quickly.

Tsukumo holds two Michelin stars and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026, placing it among the most decorated Japanese restaurants in the Kansai region outside Kyoto. Operating from a house-restaurant format in Nara's Kideracho district, the counter-and-private-room setup serves a reservation-only format at JPY 20,000–29,999 per person. Sake and wine programs receive equal attention alongside the fish-focused kitchen.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, Hirosaku operates as an 18-seat kaiseki counter and tatami room in Shimbashi, holding a Michelin star since 2019 and placing on the Tabelog Tokyo 100 list in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Dinner runs between ¥50,000 and ¥59,999 per head; lunch offers a quieter, more accessible entry point. Chef Satoshi Watanabe runs the room with a stripped-back team of three.

Set inside a converted rural elementary school in Komatsu's Satoyama countryside, Auberge eaufeu holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2024, 2025, and 2026, with a score of 4.19 and a place on the Tabelog Innovative/Creative Cuisine 100 list. Chef Shota Itoi's French-rooted cooking draws directly from Hokuriku's coastal and agricultural produce, at prices running JPY 20,000–29,999 per person.

A nine-seat kaiseki counter in Gion's Minamigawa machiya belt, Sakagawa has held consecutive Tabelog Bronze recognition from 2017 through 2026 and has appeared on the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 three times. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 per person, with a beverage programme that places particular emphasis on nihonshu pairing. Chef Hirokazu Sakagawa operates evenings only, Tuesday through Sunday.

A nine-seat Italian counter in Akita City holding consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2022 through 2026 and two selections for the Tabelog Italian EAST Top 100. Dinner runs from JPY 15,000 to JPY 19,999, service begins at 18:00, and the room is counter-only. Reservations are accepted online or by phone before 16:00.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2022 through 2026, Sushishunbi Nishikawa holds an eight-seat counter in Nagoya's Meieki district and a score of 4.33 from Japan's most widely consulted restaurant database. The course format centres on locally sourced fish, positioning this as one of the city's clearest arguments for Nagoya-style sushi over the Tokyo-dominant omakase template.

An auberge-format Italian restaurant set among its own working fields in Wakayama's Iwade, Villa Aida holds a Tabelog score of 4.26 and consecutive annual awards from 2020 through 2026. Chef Kanji Kobayashi grows more than 100 vegetable varieties on the surrounding land and sources seafood from within 12 kilometres, positioning the restaurant among Japan's most seriously produce-rooted Italian tables.

A Kyoto cuisine counter in Nagoya's Chikusa Ward, Hachisen has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026, earning Silver in 2020 and three consecutive selections for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine East 100. Chef Masayoshi Amano runs a 12-seat room with a strict focus on fish, kaiseki structure, and the seasonal discipline that defines the Kyoto culinary tradition transplanted into one of Japan's most industrially minded cities.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2022 to 2026, Funachef operates an 11-seat counter in Osaka's Kita Ward, where modern French courses draw on European, Asian, and Southern Hemisphere influences. Lunch runs from JPY 10,000 and dinner from JPY 18,000 plus tax and service, with a wine program the restaurant takes particular care over. Five consecutive years of peer recognition place it firmly among western Japan's most consistent French addresses.

A ten-seat, invitation-only pizza counter in Kagurazaka that has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2024 through 2026 and appeared on the Tabelog Pizza 100 list in both 2023 and 2025. Access is restricted to existing guests and their referrals, placing it firmly in the closed-circuit tier of Tokyo's serious pizza scene. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999.

Yoshoku Tsubaki has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2022 through 2026 and appeared in the Tabelog Yoshoku 100 across three consecutive cycles, placing it among the most consistently recognised yoshoku restaurants in Japan's Chubu region. Set in a converted house on the quiet outskirts of Gifu City, it operates on a reservation-only basis with dinner averaging JPY 8,000–9,999. The room seats 32 across eight tables, with a wine-focused drinks list and a particular emphasis on fish sourcing.

Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, Restaurant SNOW operates from a 14-seat room in Fukuoka's Yakuin neighbourhood, applying French technique to Kyushu produce through a Nordic-influenced lens. Dinner runs JPY 14,850 fixed; lunch from JPY 5,500. The restaurant opens five days a week and accepts reservations online.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, Otomezushi operates from a quiet Kanazawa backstreet with a 17-seat room split between counter and tatami. Chef Kazuhiko Tsurumi's sourcing priorities sit squarely within Ishikawa's ingredient-driven sushi tradition, and the venue has ranked consistently among Japan's top 220 restaurants on Opinionated About Dining. Reservations for new customers open two months in advance.

A 14-seat French restaurant in Osaka's Fukushima Ward, ad hoc has held Tabelog Bronze recognition consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and appears on the Tabelog French WEST 100 list for 2021, 2023, and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 with a sommelier on hand and a wine program the kitchen takes seriously. The room seats only 14 across table seating, and the kitchen prioritises seasonal fish.

A two-Michelin-star kaiseki counter in central Nara, NARA NIKON has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards every year from 2020 through 2026 and a score of 4.30, placing it among western Japan's most consistent fine-dining addresses. Nineteen seats across counter, table, and tatami formats serve a fish-focused menu, with an evening spend in the JPY 20,000–29,999 range. Phone-only reservations make advance planning essential.

An eight-seat counter in Nagoya's Tempaku Ward, Fujisawa operates by reservation only from 18:00, with dinner averaging JPY 40,000–49,999. Consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026, plus back-to-back inclusion in the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 list, place it among the most consistently recognised sushi counters in the Chubu region.

A ten-seat counter in Kitashinchi, Osaka, Noguchi Taro holds a Tabelog score of 4.10 and has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2017 through 2026, alongside three selections to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100. Operating dinner-only from 18:00 six evenings a week, it draws a following shaped by a precise focus on fish and a drinks program built around sake and shochu.

A members-only unagi specialist in Seto, Aichi, Tashiro has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026 and has appeared on the Tabelog Unagi 100 list four times. With just 14 seats, lunch-only hours, and a reservation policy restricted to members, access requires planning well in advance. The current Tabelog score sits at 4.27, placing it among the most consistently recognised eel restaurants in the Chubu region.

An eight-seat French counter in Shirokane, L'Algorithme has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2019 through 2026 and holds a place on the Tabelog French Tokyo 100 list for 2021, 2023, and 2025. The omakase format runs six to ten courses at prices that sit well below comparable counters in Ginza, making it one of the more accessible entry points into Tokyo's serious French dining tier.

Nabeno-Ism elevates Tokyo fine dining through Chef Yuichiro Watanabe's Michelin-starred fusion of French haute cuisine and Edo-period traditions. This 30-seat Asakusa sanctuary showcases signature sobagaki with caviar and seasonal French-Japanese pairings, reflecting the former Robuchon executive chef's distinctive "Watanabe-ism" philosophy.

A Michelin Plate-recognised French contemporary restaurant in Shibuya's Uehara neighbourhood, sio has climbed the Opinionated About Dining Japan rankings from a 2023 recommendation to a #395 ranking in 2024, settling at #480 in 2025. Chef Shusaku Toba's kitchen operates in the accessible end of Tokyo's French dining tier, with evening sittings Tuesday through Sunday and weekend lunch service. Google reviewers score it 4.2 across 384 ratings.

TOMONO in Osaka presents Michelin-starred, innovative Chinese cuisine focused on seafood. Must-try experiences include the Seasonal Seafood Tasting Course, a Sichuan-inspired seafood course, and a Cantonese-style steamed seasonal fish. Chef Ryo Tomono crafts an intimate nine-seat tasting counter on the 9th floor of KITASHINCHI PLACE, blending Sichuan, Cantonese, Japanese, and Western techniques. Expect precisely balanced spice, delicate umami from premium seafood, and artful plating that rewards slow tasting. Recognized with a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025, TOMONO pairs technical skill with a calm, white minimalist interior. Reservations are essential; notice of seafood preferences is required five days ahead. A 10% service charge and a 5,000 yen corkage fee apply.

A 15-seat Japanese cuisine counter in Fukui City, Itto has held the Tabelog Award Bronze for three consecutive years (2024–2026) and appears in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 for both 2023 and 2025. The seasonal program pivots sharply in November, when the Echizen crab course takes over lunch service — placing it firmly in Hokuriku's premium ingredient calendar.

A Tabelog Bronze Award holder with a 3.95 score, Takeru operates from the second floor of a Ginza building and runs through the full day from noon to 11pm — a schedule rare among Ginza sushi counters. Against the neighbourhood's appointment-only omakase tier, it occupies a more accessible position while still drawing the kind of repeat clientele that Ginza sushi earns through consistency rather than novelty.

Hirovanna is a 15-seat Italian restaurant in Nagoya's Nakono district, recognised by the Tabelog Award Bronze in both 2025 and 2026, and selected for the Tabelog Italian EAST Top 100 in 2023 and 2025. Set-course lunches and dinners draw on ingredients sourced directly from Aichi's coastline and mountain farms. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999; lunch from JPY 10,000–14,999.

Cucina Italiana Gallura has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2020 through 2026, with Silver recognition in 2018 and 2019, placing it among the most consistently decorated Italian restaurants in eastern Japan. Seated at just 10 covers in Nagoya's Showa Ward, the kitchen applies Italian technique to local seafood through monthly-changing courses priced from JPY 10,000 at lunch and JPY 20,000 at dinner.

Korakuan (Kouraku An) is a Tabelog Bronze Award winner in Otsu's Kayanoura district, recognised every year from 2018 through 2026 and selected three times for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100. With 27 seats, a tatami room, and a fish-forward kaiseki format, dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 against a backdrop of Lake Biwa views. Cash only; reservations required for two or more.

Torishige in Yoyogi, Tokyo, has operated since 1949, evolving from a postwar food stall into a Tabelog Award Bronze winner with eight consecutive years of recognition and a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The 82-seat, cash-only room specialises in grilled offal (motsuyaki), with three generations of the family expanding the menu from pork to beef to rare cuts. Dinner runs ¥8,000–¥14,999 per person.

A reservation-only kaiseki restaurant in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Yoshicho has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026 alongside two selections for Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST 100. The menu frames Ibaraki's seasonal produce and prized ingredients — suppon and anko among them — within a single-chef operation running a fully customised course format at JPY 15,000–20,000 per person.

A Tabelog Award Bronze winner for 2025 and 2026, Restaurant HONJIN operates from a house-restaurant setting in Ichinomiya, Aichi, combining French technique with teppanyaki execution across two counter formats. With a Tabelog score of 3.93 and selection for the Tabelog French EAST Top 100 in 2025, it represents the most decorated French table in the city, open by reservation only with dinner running to around JPY 20,000–29,999 based on review averages.

A Michelin two-star restaurant in Tottori city, Kaniyoshi has held Tabelog Silver recognition and earned a Tabelog score of 4.24, placing it among Japan's most closely watched regional seafood destinations. The focus is Matsuba crab, the prized winter variety pulled from the Sea of Japan, served through a reservation-only course format. Private rooms seat up to eight, and the counter adds a more immediate perspective on the kitchen's work.

Founded in the first year of the Taisho era, Kikunoi Honten sits at the formal centre of Kyoto's kaiseki tradition, holding three Michelin stars and consistent Tabelog Bronze recognition since 2018. Under chef Yoshihiro Murata, the Higashiyama ryotei operates across 120 seats and ten tatami rooms, with dinner averaging JPY 30,000–39,999. La Liste placed it at 95 points in 2026, positioning it among Japan's most documented kaiseki addresses.

Open since December 2003 and now holding three Michelin stars, RyuGin operates at the upper end of Tokyo's kaiseki tier, with dinner averaging JPY 80,000–99,999 per head. Chef Seiji Yamamoto structures the menu around Japan's four seasons, with a marked focus on scientific precision and ingredient provenance. The restaurant sits on the seventh floor of Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, steps from the Imperial Palace.

A two-Michelin-star kaiseki counter in Kyoto's northern Takagamine district, Otagi holds five consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards and a Tabelog score of 4.11. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 and operates by reservation only from 17:30. Private rooms are available, and on-site parking makes the off-centre address accessible for those arriving outside the central Kyoto tourist corridor.

Sous-sus has held the Tabelog Award Bronze every year from 2022 through 2026, making it the most consistently recognised French restaurant in Akita. Located in the Omachi district, it runs a counter-seated, fish-focused menu with a serious wine program. Dinner averages JPY 15,000–19,999; lunch offers the same kitchen at JPY 5,000–5,999.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for four consecutive years (2023–2026) and a repeated selection for Tabelog Italian EAST Top 100, Da Sasino operates a 20-seat dinner-only room in Hirosaki's central Honcho district. The kitchen works Italian formats through Aomori's agricultural and coastal produce, and the wine program is taken seriously enough to merit its own billing in the restaurant's name. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999.

An eight-seat Edomae counter in Sapporo's Susukino district, Sushi Hidetaka holds a Tabelog score of 4.02 and has earned the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026, placing it among Japan's Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 for 2021, 2022, and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999, service is counter-only, and evenings close at 23:00 Monday through Saturday.

A ten-seat Italian counter in Yurihonjo that has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026, plus back-to-back selection for Tabelog Italian EAST Top 100. The kitchen works through a seven-course lunch and eleven-course dinner built on seasonal Akita produce, with a wine program cited specifically in reviewer notes. Reservation-only, six days a week.

The only Louis Vuitton collaboration restaurant in Japan, SUGALABO V occupies the seventh floor of the Louis Vuitton Maison on Shinsaibashi-suji, serving French cuisine to a 24-seat dining room that has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 through 2026. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 per person before service charge, with actual spend tracking closer to JPY 60,000–79,999 based on review data. Reservations are by arrangement only, with select seats allocated exclusively to Tabelog members.

Tsugumi operates an eight-seat counter in Fukuoka's Chuo Ward, anchoring its kaiseki-style menu to a rotating cast of Kyushu's most distinctive seasonal ingredients: natural tiger puffer fish in winter, wild Ariake Sea eel in summer, and the prized local grouper kue through autumn. Tabelog Bronze recognition in each year from 2022 through 2026, and selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025, place it firmly within western Japan's most closely watched regional-cuisine counters.

A Michelin Plate-recognised counter in Kyoto's Minami Ward, en carries Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 through 2026 and a score of 4.12 on Japan's most-read restaurant database. The eight-seat omakase operates on a single evening turn, with dinner running from JPY 30,000 to JPY 39,999. The chef's story spans continents and culinary traditions, and the name — evoking the swallow's migratory return — anchors the cooking firmly in Kyoto.

A 16-seat counter in Osaka's Edobori district, Goichi Higobashi has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026 alongside five straight years in the Tabelog Yakitori 100, placing it among western Japan's most consistently recognised yakitori houses. The format is counter-only, the drink list leans toward curated sake and shochu, and dinner runs between JPY 10,000 and JPY 14,999.

Higebozu is Sapporo's most decorated yakitori counter, holding Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026 and consecutive selection to the Tabelog Yakitori EAST Top 100 since 2023. Ten seats arranged around a U-shaped grill define the format: a fixed-time course, reservation-only access for groups, and Takasaka chicken sourced exclusively through this counter in Hokkaido.

A 12-seat counter in Roppongi's PAL Building, Koho serves Chinese cuisine through a lens shaped by Japanese precision and product sensibility. Holding Tabelog Bronze Awards for six consecutive years (2021–2026), with Silver recognition from 2017 to 2020, it sits among Tokyo's most recognised Chinese restaurants and prices its dinner course at JPY 30,000–39,999 per head.

An eight-seat counter in Niigata's Chuo Ward, Kyodaizushi holds a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 and a Tabelog score of 4.45, placing it among the prefecture's most recognised sushi addresses. Chef Ryuji Honma runs two sittings per evening, with dinner priced at JPY 20,000–29,999. Reservations are handled via the restaurant's official Instagram linking to the OMAKASE platform.

A ten-seat French-innovative counter in Fukuoka's Ohori Park district, TTOAHISU has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2019 and earned selection in the Tabelog Innovative 100 for 2025. Chef Taishi Yamashita shapes a structured multi-course format around a pronounced focus on fish, with dinner spend averaging JPY 20,000–29,999 per head and lunch offering a more accessible entry point.

Inside the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Les Saisons has held Tabelog Silver and Bronze honours continuously since 2017 and earned 81 points in the 2026 La Liste rankings. The kitchen pairs a classical French framework with Japanese seasonal ingredients, from mountain vegetables to wagyu, across a 94-seat dining room on the mezzanine floor. Dinner runs to around JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch offers a lower entry point at JPY 10,000–14,999.

Akita Tempura Mikawa has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2019 through 2026, placing it among the most consistently recognised tempura counters outside Japan's major cities. Operating from a 12-seat room in Akita's Omachi district, the kitchen under chef Hisao Ogawa applies classical frying technique to the fish and produce of Akita Prefecture, scoring a 4.27 on Tabelog with dinner running JPY 15,000–19,999.

Operating from a basement room in the Mikimoto Building since 1974, Ginza L'écrin is one of Tokyo's longest-standing French tables, holding a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2018 through 2026. The kitchen applies orthodox French technique to Japanese-sourced fish and seasonal produce, with a wine program overseen by an in-house sommelier. Dinner runs from JPY 20,000 to JPY 29,999; reviewed spending averages suggest considerably higher.

A Kyobashi counter where Edomae tempura tradition meets decades of craft. Fukamachi holds a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Awards from 2017 through 2026, with a 14-seat room split between counter and table. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch offers a more accessible entry at JPY 10,000–14,999. Reservations by phone or Auto Reserve are essential.

At Tomura, the art of Japanese seasonality is translated into an intimate, meticulously paced culinary journey. Seating is limited, conversation is hushed, and every dish arrives with a quiet confidence—an ode to pristine ingredients shaped by precise technique and time-honored sensibilities. Expect a progression that moves like a tea ceremony: clean lines, immaculate textures, and flavors that deepen with each course, from the nuance of a barely warmed sashimi to the resonant warmth of a delicately smoked broth. Service is discreet yet anticipatory, the atmosphere serene and candlelit, and the wine and sake selections calibrated to highlight purity over power. Tomura is not a stage for spectacle; it is a sanctuary for connoisseurs who prize restraint, reverence, and a lingering finish that endures long after the final bow of tea.

A reservation-only suppon specialist in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward, Daiichi has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2021 through 2026, scoring 4.03. The entire menu revolves around a single ingredient: soft-shell turtle, served across a fixed course built around hot pot and rice porridge. At 26,000 yen inclusive of tax, it occupies a narrow, highly committed tier of Japanese specialist cuisine.

Ajiman is Roppongi's referral-only fugu counter, holding a Tabelog Silver Award in 2026 with a score of 4.27 and ranked among Japan's top 200 restaurants by Opinionated About Dining across three consecutive years. Twelve seats, cash only, closed through the summer months, and accessible only through an introducer — this is fugu dining at its most deliberately restricted.

A ten-seat Italian counter in Minami-Aoyama holding two Michelin stars and a Tabelog Silver Award (4.36), PRISMA operates under chef Tomofumi Saito with a dinner-only format priced at JPY 40,000–49,999. Reservations open two months in advance and close quickly. The room is deliberately small, the wine program considered, and the award record spans every Tabelog cycle since 2017.

An eight-seat Edo-style sushi counter in Akita's Omachi district, Sushisho has held Tabelog Bronze recognition in 2022, 2025, and 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 list for three consecutive cycles. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person, service is dinner-only Tuesday through Saturday, and reservations are handled through Pocket Concierge. The format is counter omakase, solo-dining friendly, and grounded in a lineage tracing back to Sushi Takumi.

Izumo has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 through 2026 and earned back-to-back selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST Top 100 for 2023 and 2025, placing it among the most consistently recognised kaiseki addresses in Nagoya. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 per person, reservations are mandatory, and the restaurant accepts cash only.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2017 through 2026, Mikawa Zezankyo has spent a decade anchoring the serious end of Tokyo's tempura tradition in a quiet Koto City house restaurant. Chef Tetsuya Saotome presides over a 30-seat space that runs from a nine-seat counter downstairs to tatami private rooms upstairs, with pricing in the JPY 20,000–29,999 range and a reservation-only policy that reflects steady demand.

Yoroniku in Minami-Aoyama has operated since 2007 under a format it calls 'meat kaiseki' — yakiniku structured with the sequencing and restraint of a kaiseki progression rather than the à la carte ordering typical of the category. The original location holds a Tabelog Bronze award and a score of 4.22, while the Ebisu branch carries Silver status, and the group has appeared in Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings every year from 2023 through 2025.

Oryori Sato has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and has been selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100 three times, making it the most consistently recognised kaiseki counter in Kokura. Fourteen seats, a fish-forward seasonal menu, and a location two minutes from Kokura Station place it firmly in the Kyushu fine-dining tier, priced at JPY 20,000–29,999 per head.

Morifuji occupies a ground-floor space in Shinjuku's Nandomachi district, operating on a referral system with just 11 seats split between a five-seat counter and a private room for six. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.12 and selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100 in 2023 and 2025, it sits in Tokyo's tier of serious, low-volume Japanese cuisine houses where access is earned rather than booked.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year since 2017 and a three-Michelin-star restaurant, Restaurant Molière operates from Sapporo's Chuo Ward, working closely with Hokkaido's agricultural and marine producers. Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi's French kitchen has earned consecutive recognition in Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings, placing it among a small tier of destination French restaurants operating outside Tokyo.

Rin is a Tabelog Award Bronze winner and Tabelog Unagi 100 selection in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, earning a 4.29 score through consistent recognition from 2022 to 2026. Operating as the second location of a respected local unagi house, it serves only 20 meals per day across two timed lunch sessions, making early reservations through OMAKASE essential for anyone serious about securing a seat.

Gion Nishi has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2018 through 2026 and earned selection to the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The 20-seat kaiseki room on Tsukimicho sits eight minutes from Gion-Shijo Station and serves seasonal Japanese cuisine with a sommelier on hand and a drink program that takes both sake and wine seriously. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 with a 10% service charge; Tuesday evenings are dinner-only.

Nikutoieba Matsuda holds Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2024 through 2026, alongside a Michelin Plate recognition, placing it among Nara Prefecture's most consistently decorated beef specialists. The 18-seat counter and table format runs reservation-only sessions in Kashihara, operating as a considered occasion venue where the wagyu program is supported by a serious sake and wine list, with a sommelier on hand.

Ranmaru has held a Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2020 through 2026 and earned a place in Tokyo's Sushi 100 list in 2021, 2022, and 2025 — a sustained record that few nine-seat counters in Meguro can match. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per head, positioning it squarely in Tokyo's serious-but-not-Ginza omakase tier, where the cooking earns its price through consistency rather than postcode.

A 12-seat counter in Fukuoka's Minami Ward where Chinese cuisine is filtered through Japanese technique and sensibility. Tabelog Bronze Award winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 3.95 and selection in the Tabelog Chinese WEST Top 100 for 2023 and 2024, Imaishihanten Suzuka operates on a reservation-only course format at dinner prices of JPY 20,000–29,999.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for four consecutive years (2023–2026), NAKADO occupies a quiet fifth-floor space in Hiroshima's Naka Ward, serving French cuisine with a pronounced focus on fish and a sake-forward drinks list. At 14 seats across a counter and two private rooms, it operates at the intimate end of Hiroshima's Western-cuisine tier, with review-based average spend reaching JPY 30,000–39,999 at dinner.

LURRA° in Kyoto serves Modern Japanese tasting menus that fuse Kyoto seasonality with Nordic technique. Must-try plates include Jerusalem artichoke curd with caviar, wood-grilled Kyoto duck, and sweet potato ice cream. The Michelin-starred, 10-seat counter emphasizes firewood cooking and foraged produce, creating smoky, mineral, and umami-driven flavors. Recognized with a Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 3.92 score on local platforms, LURRA° pairs inventive dishes with curated sake, French and Italian wines, and low- or zero-proof pairings. Expect an intimate, sensory dinner where each course reveals local terroir reimagined through precise technique and seasonal storytelling.

Robatayaki Sanroku sits in Yamaga's Kahoku district, a considerable drive from Kumamoto city, yet its Tabelog Silver 2026 rating and six consecutive Tabelog Award wins draw dedicated visitors making the journey specifically for its chicken and grilled meat focus. Thirteen seats, lunch-only hours, and a cash-only policy define the format. Reservations on weekdays require an 11:30 AM arrival or face automatic cancellation.

A reservation-only, 11-seat sushi counter in Minamiazabu, Ichikawa has held the Tabelog Bronze Award consecutively from 2019 through 2026 and appears in the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 list for 2021, 2022, and 2025. Dinner averages JPY 40,000–49,999. The counter opens evenings only, six nights a week, with last orders at 20:30.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner and consecutive Tabelog Yakitori EAST '100' selectee, Shutei Tanaka operates a strict 10-seat counter in Sumida, Tokyo, where two brothers run back-to-back omakase sessions each evening. The prix fixe format centers on salt-seasoned skewers of locally raised chicken, with sake pairings and a collaborative oyakodon finale that divides labor between the brothers. Dinner averages JPY 10,000–14,999 per head; reservations via TableCheck only.

A seven-seat counter in Toyonaka that earned the Tabelog Bronze Award in every year from 2022 to 2026 and a Michelin star in 2024, Point sits in Osaka's smaller, more concentrated tier of French dining. The counter-only format, wine-focused service with a sommelier on hand, and a dinner spend that Tabelog reviewers place at JPY 30,000–39,999 position it among the region's most closely watched French tables.

Sushi Hijikata occupies a six-seat counter in Nagoya's Nishiki district, operating four evenings a week and holding Tabelog Bronze Awards continuously since 2017. Dinner averages JPY 50,000–59,999, positioning it at the upper tier of the city's omakase circuit. Repeated inclusion in the Tabelog Sushi EAST 100 confirms its standing among Japan's most consistently recognised regional sushi counters.

A two-Michelin-star kaiseki address in Higashiyama, Gion Nishikawa has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026 and appears in both the Opinionated About Dining Japan rankings and La Liste's global top restaurants. With 27 seats across a counter, tatami room, and private dining, it operates lunch and dinner services that differ considerably in pace, price, and atmosphere.

Shimmonzen Yonemura sits on the Shinmonzen antique corridor in Kyoto's Higashiyama district, where Chef Masayasu Yonemura's omakase courses weave French technique through Japanese seasonal ingredients. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, with two Michelin stars, it holds 20 seats across counter and private rooms. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch, JPY 15,000–19,999.

Uozuya operates from a house restaurant in Nakagyo Ward, earning Michelin one-star recognition and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2025 and 2026, with a score of 3.89. The ten-seat counter runs reservation-only dinner service from Monday through Saturday, with seasonal Japanese cuisine priced at JPY 30,000–39,999 per head. The calligraphy on its sign, by essayist Masako Shirasu, signals the literary and artistic circles that have long frequented it.

A four-seat kaiseki counter in Imabari, Ehime, Shinoda holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and a 4.17 score, placing it among Japan's most closely watched regional Japanese cuisine tables. Reservation-only seatings at 12:30 and 18:30 run as course-only meals, with dishes built around the day's available ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea and surrounding Ehime farms.

A lunch-only Japanese counter in Tsukiji's Chuo City, Rokkan holds a Tabelog Bronze Award (2025, score 3.77) and ranks among Japan's top restaurants on Opinionated About Dining — climbing from #461 in 2025 to #411 in 2024. Operating under chef Ren Ishino, it draws from one of Tokyo's most ingredient-dense neighbourhoods, offering a tightly focused midday service that rewards early planning.

Tabelog Bronze Award winner for 2025 and 2026, Soshi is a 14-seat counter sushi restaurant in Hiroshima's Naka Ward focused on Setouchi fish interpreted through an Edomae framework. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 with two fixed seatings nightly. Reservations are booked several months ahead and accepted exclusively through the OMAKASE online platform.

A membership-only, eight-seat sushi counter in Osaka operating under a strict 50-person member cap, mikami limited50 earned Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026 alongside selection for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 by listed price, with review averages pushing closer to JPY 55,000. Access requires membership; there is no walk-in option.

A Michelin-starred kappo house in Shimogyo Ward, Ayanokoji Karatsu operates from just 12 seats across a counter and private room, with Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2021 through 2026. The kitchen's emphasis on personally sourced seasonal ingredients — from wild plants in Miyama to sweetfish from Shiga — places it firmly in Kyoto's ingredient-led dining tradition. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999; lunch, when available, considerably less.

Azur et Masa Ueki has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2020 and earned a place in the Tabelog French Tokyo 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025, placing it among the city's most consistently recognised French restaurants. Operating under the concept of Wakon Yosai — Japanese spirit, Western skill — the Nishiazabu address offers dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on weekends, with private rooms available for groups of up to eight.

A Tabelog Award winner every year since 2017 and a consistent entry in the Tabelog Tonkatsu 100, Manger operates from a 12-seat counter in Yao, on the southeastern edge of Osaka's metropolitan sprawl. Chef Kunio Sakamoto has held this format since 1996, running lunch and dinner on a walk-in, same-day-reservation basis at a price point that sits well below most award-level tonkatsu in Japan.

Otowa Restaurant Utsunomiya presents Chef Kazunori Otowa's masterful "Cuisine Mestiza," where European training under Alain Chapel meets Japanese seasonal artistry. This Relais & Châteaux member transforms Tochigi Prefecture ingredients into extraordinary tasting menus within an intimate, family-operated setting that defines Utsunomiya fine dining.

On the fifth floor of Shima Kanko Hotel The Bay Suites, La Mer has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026, placing it among western Japan's most consistently rated French tables. The kitchen focuses on the seafood abundance of Ago Bay, translating Mie's coastal produce into a French framework with a dedicated wine program and sommelier service. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999 per person, with ocean views and smart casual dress required.

An eight-seat counter in Toranomon running French-meets-Japanese cuisine under chef Riku Yakushijin, Unis has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026, a Tabelog French TOKYO 100 selection, and a place in Opinionated About Dining's top 300 restaurants in Japan. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 per person; reservations are accepted online only.

A 14-seat reservation-only Chinese restaurant in Osaka's Kitahama district, Hinotori has held Tabelog Bronze or Silver recognition every year since 2017 and carries a 4.31 score. The counter seats eight and a private room accommodates six, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999. Ranked #352 among Japan's top restaurants by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, it occupies a narrow, serious tier within Osaka's premium Chinese dining scene.

A Michelin-starred kaiseki counter in Nishi-Shimbashi, Shimbashi Sasada draws on Kyoto culinary tradition to present seasonally driven dishes at a ¥¥¥ price point accessible below Tokyo's top-tier omakase bracket. The kitchen's emphasis on aemono appetisers and sake pairings gives evening service a distinct character, with a Tabelog score of 3.91 and a Bronze Award (2025) confirming its standing among serious Japanese dining rooms in Minato.

A ten-seat Sichuan counter in Ginza's AG1 Building, JOTAKI has held Tabelog Bronze recognition consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and appears in Tabelog's Chinese TOKYO 100 list for both 2023 and 2024. Operating on reservation only at dinner prices of JPY 50,000–59,999, it represents the serious upper tier of Chinese fine dining in Tokyo, where Japanese culinary sensibility shapes the Sichuan framework.

Set within the ryokan grounds of Myoken Ishiharaso in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Shokusai Ishikura has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2020 through 2026 and earned a place on the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 list in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 60,000 to JPY 79,999 per person, placing it firmly in the premium tier of Kyushu kaiseki. Private rooms are available, and the kitchen is noted for its focus on fish.

Operating from the third floor of Kioi Terrace in Chiyoda since 2016, Kioicho Mitani has earned Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2018 through 2026 and holds a score of 3.95 on Japan's most authoritative restaurant database. The 19-seat counter, overseen by Chef Hiroyuki Takano, sits in the upper tier of Tokyo sushi at dinner prices of JPY 50,000–59,999, with repeated selection for the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 confirming its standing among the city's most consistently regarded rooms.

Restaurant Ryuzu has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2017 through 2026 and earned two Michelin stars, placing Chef Ryuta Iizuka's French kitchen among Roppongi's most consistently awarded tables. The 29-seat dining room, including a five-seat counter and private rooms for up to ten, runs on seasonal produce sourced from Niigata and the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture. Dinner averages JPY 30,000–39,999; lunch offers a more accessible entry point at JPY 10,000–14,999.

A six-seat counter restaurant in Aomori's Shinmachi district, Kashu (花秀) earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026, and a place in the Tabelog French EAST Top 100. The format is reservation-only, dinner-only, with a creative French approach built around Aomori produce. Average spend based on reviews runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per person.

A six-seat house restaurant in Karuizawa's Hotchi district, LA CASA DI Tetsuo Ota holds a Tabelog score of 4.26 and consecutive Tabelog Award recognition through 2024 Silver and 2025–2026 Bronze, placing it among Japan's most-watched innovative cuisine tables. Reservations operate in annual rounds, with 2027 bookings opening in 2025.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2021 through 2026, Suyama pursues tea kaiseki through the specific lens of Hokkaido's ingredient seasons, operating at 14 seats in Odori West, Sapporo. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 with a drinks program that takes sake and wine selection seriously, alongside a BYO policy that few kaiseki rooms in the city extend.

Tempura Takeuchi sits in Nakagawa, south of central Fukuoka, operating from a house restaurant format with 13 seats and a counter-led experience that has earned Tabelog Silver recognition in 2026 and consecutive Bronze awards since 2021. Reservation-only, cash-only, and closed Mondays, it draws diners willing to travel for tempura at a price point that reviews consistently place between JPY 10,000 and JPY 14,999.

Operating from a 14-seat dining room in Sapporo's Susukino district since 2010, AKI NAGAO has earned consecutive Tabelog Awards from 2020 through 2026, reaching Silver in 2026 with a score of 4.33. The kitchen works in a French-innovative register with a noted emphasis on fish, drawing on Hokkaido's exceptional seafood supply. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 and the room is reservation-only.

A twelve-seat French restaurant in Nagoya's Sakae district, Mas de Lavande has held Tabelog Bronze continuously since 2017 and earned selection to the Tabelog French EAST Top 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Operating on reservation only from a basement beneath Hotel MyStays Nagoya Sakae, it occupies a specific position in Nagoya's premium French scene: classically grounded, fish-focused, and wine-serious, with dinner averaging JPY 15,000–20,000 per person.

A 12-seat Italian counter in Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward, RADICE has held Tabelog Bronze recognition across 2019, 2025, and 2026, and appears on the Tabelog Italian WEST 100 list for 2021, 2023, and 2025. Operating on a reservation-only, simultaneous-start format, it sits in a small tier of Western restaurants in Kyoto that compete on precision and sourcing depth rather than scale. Dinner runs approximately 2.5 hours, with courses priced in the JPY 15,000–29,000 range depending on the evening.

A traditional detached house in Sotokanda where unaju and sushi share equal billing, Ishibashi holds a Michelin Plate recognition and a Tabelog score of 4.04, placing it among Japan's recognised specialists in freshwater eel. Dinner runs to ¥20,000–¥29,999; lunch, where the unaju format comes into its own, sits at ¥10,000–¥14,999. Weekday evenings only, reservation required.

Opened in Shirokane in September 2019, Sushi Matsuura holds a Michelin star (2024) and Tabelog Bronze Awards for both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.35. The eight-seat counter runs reservation-only omakase priced at JPY 30,000 per person from September 2025. Dinner operates across two seatings; Saturday adds a lunch service running the same course format.

A six-seat counter in Fukuoka's Nishinakasu district, Gahoujin 我逢人 holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2023 through 2026 and appears in Tabelog's Sushi WEST 100 list. Chef Diago Sakai runs reservation-only sessions with two-hour slots, priced at JPY 30,000–39,999. The counter seats a maximum of six, making advance planning essential for any visit.

Sense presents the rare purity of classic Cantonese cuisine expressed with masterly precision and contemporary poise. From the signature deep-fried whole pigeon—lacquered, aromatic, and exquisitely succulent—to crystalline double‑boiled premium soups and quickly‑steamed star grouper that captures the sea’s sweetest whisper, each dish is an ode to time-honored technique. Floor-to-ceiling views sweep across Tokyo’s glittering skyline, where subdued lighting and hushed service set a tone of discreet luxury. Dim sum arrives as delicate jewelry boxes of flavor, crafted with the kind of restraint that lets pristine ingredients speak. For the discerning traveler, Sense is both a culinary pilgrimage and an urban sanctuary—orthodox Cantonese traditions rendered with grace, discipline, and a view that lingers long after the final sip of tea.

Sushi Saeki operates from the second floor of a Ginza building, serving Edomae-style omakase at dinner prices between JPY 50,000 and JPY 59,999. Tabelog Bronze recognition in 2021, 2022, 2025, and 2026, alongside consecutive inclusion in the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100, places it firmly inside Ginza's acknowledged upper tier. Reservations are available; the counter is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

hiro in Gifu presents contemporary Chinese cuisine led by Chef Hirokazu Uno. Must-try dishes include Taisho shrimp in Chengdu chili sauce and seasonal fluffy crab rice balls. The kitchen pairs precise wok technique with seasonal Japanese ingredients to reframe Chinese flavors in a refined tasting or à la carte format. Tabelog Bronze Award 2025 and a 3.96 score underscore consistent quality. Expect vibrant chili heat, delicate crab sweetness, and careful textures served during a focused evening service that highlights freshness, ingredient provenance, and chef-led creativity.

An eight-seat kaiseki counter in Minami-Aoyama, Hakuun holds a Michelin star and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2025 and 2026, with a 4.22 score placing it among Tokyo's top-ranked Japanese cuisine tables. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 per head, across two evening sessions. Chef Shingo Sakamoto's approach centres on fragrance, temperature, and live dashi preparation at the counter.

A four-seat innovative counter in Minamiazabu, Hasegawa Minoru operates entirely by reservation through the OMAKASE platform, with dinner running JPY 50,000–59,999 and the same price band at lunch. Tabelog Silver recognition every year from 2019 to 2023 and again in 2025 and 2026, plus inclusion in the Tabelog Innovative 100 for 2025, places it among Tokyo's most consistently decorated creative-cuisine addresses.

A 15-seat kaiseki counter in Azabu-Juban, Azabu Yukimura has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026 and earned a Tabelog Silver in 2017, placing it among the most consistently recognised Japanese cuisine restaurants in Tokyo. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999, with an evening-only service that makes it a deliberate choice for milestone occasions rather than casual dining.

Two Michelin stars, a Tabelog score of 4.06, and a La Liste ranking of 88 points place MAZ in the upper tier of Tokyo's innovative dining scene — but what sets it apart is the currency of exchange: Peruvian biodiversity interpreted through Japanese technique. At ¥40,000–¥49,999 per head before the 10% service charge, the 20-seat Kioicho counter prices against Tokyo's French and kaiseki elite while offering something none of them do.

Miyamaso sits in the mountains of Kyoto's Hanase district, an hour from the city centre, where the kitchen has built its reputation around sansai — wild herbs and foraged mountain plants — combined with river fish and game. Holding two Michelin stars and ranked 32nd in Japan by Opinionated About Dining (2025), it occupies a distinct tier: a destination restaurant that demands real commitment to reach, and rewards it proportionally.

Occupying a quieter register than its sibling Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon in the same Yebisu Garden Place complex, LA TABLE de Joël Robuchon is the Robuchon group's more accessible French address in Tokyo — a Michelin-starred room with a Tabelog Silver Award, scored at 4.43, that has held its position among Tokyo's most recognised French tables since at least 2017.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2020 through 2026, Kisetsu Ryori Nakashima holds a consistent place among Japan's most recognised kaiseki tables outside the major cities. The 14-seat room in Hiroshima's Naka Ward operates on reservation only, dinner from 18:30, with a documented emphasis on seasonal fish and the unhurried pacing that defines formal Japanese cuisine at this level.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner every year from 2020 through 2026, Suzaki Shokuryohinten operates from a house restaurant in Mitoyo, Kagawa, serving udon through a morning-only window that closes when the bowls run out. With a Tabelog score of 4.25 and lunch averaging under 999 yen, it sits at the disciplined, no-frills end of Kagawa's celebrated sanuki udon tradition — consistently selected for the Tabelog Udon 100 list since 2017.

Vesta (formally Sanda Gyu Kamado Sumibi Yaki Westa) has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year since 2019 and ranked as high as #71 among all Japan restaurants on Opinionated About Dining. The 16-seat room in Nihonbashi focuses on Sanba beef grilled over Kishu Binchotan charcoal, with private rooms for two to eight and a sommelier-led wine program. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999; lunch from JPY 50,000.

Kiyota occupies a nine-seat counter in Ginza 6-chome, operating within one of Tokyo's most competitive sushi corridors. A Tabelog Silver Award winner in 2018 and 2019, and consistently recognised in the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 through 2025, the counter also runs a separate satellite space, Kiyota Hanare, where dinner pricing reaches JPY 100,000 and above. Both venues operate on a reservation-only basis under Chef Norihiko Yoshizawa.

At Saeki Hanten, classical Cantonese technique meets Kyoto’s refined sensibility, creating a dining experience that whispers of craftsmanship and quiet luxury. Seasonal Japanese produce—Biwako crustaceans, Kyoto bamboo shoots, and pristine mountain greens—are deftly woven into time-honored recipes: lacquered duck carved tableside, double-boiled consommés gleaming with clarity, and wok-fired dishes perfumed with breath-of-wok intensity. In a hushed, beautifully lit room where linen, lacquer, and porcelain set a restrained stage, service unfolds with intuitive grace. For the discerning traveler, Saeki Hanten offers more than dinner: it is a serene, exquisitely paced journey through Cantonese flavors filtered through Kyoto elegance.

A six-seat French counter in Shimbashi's basement circuit, Restaurant La FinS has held Tabelog Bronze consecutively since 2017 and carries a 3.97 score heading into 2026. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999 with a last order at 19:00, making early commitment essential. The kitchen's focus on fish-forward French technique has kept it inside the Tabelog French Tokyo Top 100 across three selection cycles.

An eight-seat counter in Kanazawa's Hikosomachi district, Sushi Kibatani works Sea of Japan fish through Edo-style technique with a regional inflection shaped by Noto coastline sourcing. Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2020 through 2026, plus consecutive selection to the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100, confirms its position in western Japan's tightest omakase tier. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999; reservations require advance booking through the venue website.

A Tabelog Award Silver winner since 2026 and a fixture on the Tabelog Italian WEST 100 list since 2021, gucite operates from a compact counter in Osaka's Tenma district, serving dinner at JPY 20,000–29,999 per head. The reservation list is closed to new bookings, and the venue requires that all guests drink wine — signals of a format built around depth rather than volume.

Opened in October 2022 in Minami-Aoyama's basement-level dining circuit, malca has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and a Michelin Plate across two years, with a Tabelog score of 4.30 against a peer set of Tokyo's serious Italian tables. The 18-seat room offers both à la carte and omakase formats at JPY 20,000–29,999 for dinner, with a daily-changing menu anchored by fish sourced directly from named producers.

A reservation-only Sichuan restaurant in Minami-Aoyama, 4000 Chinese Restaurant has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2020 through 2026 and carries a score of 4.16 on Japan's most-used restaurant database. With just 20 seats across a counter and two tables, the format favours precision over scale. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999, placing it firmly in Tokyo's premium Chinese tier.

Shinya Yakiniku Daichan holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and a score of 4.28 at its 16-seat counter in Kyoto's Nakagyo ward. Operating on reservations only, with per-person spend running JPY 20,000–29,999, it occupies a narrow tier where premium yakiniku meets the city's exacting standards for ingredient sourcing and quiet precision.

Among Ginza's tempura counters, Tempura Kondo occupies a tier defined by two Michelin stars, consistent Tabelog Bronze recognition since 2018, and a La Liste score of 85 points in 2026. Chef Fumio Kondo's 50 years at the fryer have reframed tempura around vegetable primacy, treating batter as a vessel for steam rather than a coating. Twenty seats, lunch and dinner service Monday through Saturday, with dinner averaging ¥20,000–¥29,999.

Zenryomaru (listed on Tabelog as Kitaura Zenryo) holds a Tabelog score of 3.86, consecutive Bronze Awards from 2024 through 2026, and two selections for Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100 — an unusual accumulation of recognition for a dinner-only restaurant in Nobeoka, Miyazaki. The kitchen focuses on fish sourced from Kitaura coastal waters. Reservations are essential; the venue is closed on Sundays.

Kitchen Toshiki has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2023 through 2026 and earned back-to-back selection in the Tabelog Yoshoku 100, placing it among the most recognised yoshoku addresses in eastern Japan. Opened in May 2022 in Naka Ward's Aoi district, the 24-seat room focuses on Japanese-style western cooking with a particular emphasis on fish. Dinner runs between JPY 6,000 and JPY 7,999; lunch between JPY 3,000 and JPY 3,999.

An eight-seat counter in Nagoya's Imaike neighbourhood, Kotowari wo Hakarumise Bando holds Tabelog Bronze recognition for 2025 and 2026 alongside consecutive selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine East 100 in 2023 and 2025. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 and access is by introduction only, placing it firmly in the city's most restricted tier of Japanese cuisine.

Yakiniku Sudo Haruyoshi has held a place in Tabelog's Yakiniku West 100 every year since 2018, earning consecutive Bronze Awards from 2022 through 2026 and a Tabelog score of 3.97. The 30-seat, reservation-only room in Fukuoka's Haruyoshi district operates on a full-attendance model with semi-private seating, a wine-focused drinks list, and dinner spend that typically lands between ¥15,000 and ¥19,999 per person.

A seven-seat kaiseki counter in Ginza's Higashi-Ginza pocket, Iyuki has held Tabelog Silver or Bronze recognition every year since 2017 and earned selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Chef Masahiro Ueda runs a reservation-only dinner format priced between JPY 80,000 and 99,999, with access managed through a referral system that limits availability to introduced guests.

A ten-seat kaiseki counter in Nagoya's Nishi Ward, Hanaichi has earned the Tabelog Award consecutively from 2020 through 2026 and holds a Tabelog score of 4.30. The fish-focused menu sits in the JPY 10,000–14,999 dinner range. Reservations are required, and the waiting list is currently closed to new bookings.

Yakitori Taniguchi is an eight-seat counter in Amagasaki's Minamimukonoso district, earning Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026 alongside consecutive selection to the Tabelog Yakitori West 100 list. Dinner runs JPY 15,000–19,999 per person, with two seatings from 16:30. Reservations are online only; cash is not accepted.

Shunsaiten Tsuchiya holds two Michelin stars and consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards, operating from a 14-seat counter in Suita just north of central Osaka. The format fuses kaiseki structure with tempura technique, with a particular focus on Kansai seasonal seafood and a house cottonseed oil that marks a deliberate connection to Osaka's historic cotton-producing economy.

Shumoku-cho Shimizu holds consecutive Tabelog Gold Awards (2025 and 2026) and a 4.59 score, placing it among Nagoya's most recognised kaiseki counters. The 12-seat room in Higashi Ward serves dinner-only kaiseki rooted in Gifu seasonal produce, with an average spend of JPY 40,000–59,000. Reservations are accepted online only, and the room operates Monday through Saturday from 18:00.

An eight-seat counter in Motoakasaka that has earned Tabelog Silver and Bronze recognition continuously since 2017 and appeared in Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings through 2025. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 and operates six evenings a week, Sunday closed. The format is counter-only omakase with no private rooms, phone prohibited at the table, and sake as the primary drink pairing.

A six-seat counter in Nakagyo Ward, Guu has earned Tabelog Silver in 2026 and a score of 4.39 — placing it among the most recognised Chinese restaurants in western Japan. Bookings open via Instagram DM on the first of each month, with dinner priced between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. It is one of the few Chinese fine-dining addresses in Kyoto operating at this tier of critical recognition.

Opened in April 2021 in Higashiyama's Awadaguchi district, Tsukioka operates under the concept of 'A Museum of Food,' framing wabi-sabi aesthetics and seasonal Japanese cuisine within a 20-seat house restaurant setting. Tabelog Award Bronze winner in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.17, it holds a place among Tabelog's Japanese cuisine West 100 for 2025. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999; lunch JPY 15,000–19,999.

A kaiseki counter in Yotsuya, Shinjuku, that has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2020 through 2026, with a Silver award in 2018 and repeated selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine Tokyo 100. Chef Shotaro Hara runs a 22-seat room across counter and private dining formats, with dinner averaging JPY 20,000–29,999 and lunch offering a lower entry point at JPY 10,000–14,999.

A Tabelog Silver-turned-Bronze award holder across eight consecutive years, Mikasa in Kawasaki's Miyamae Ward runs an eight-seat counter serving chef's selection tempura courses around JPY 20,000 at dinner. Ranked in the top 340 restaurants in Japan by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, the counter-only format, cash-only payment policy, and proximity to Miyazakidai Station make advance planning essential.

Ryoriya Sobiki operates out of Saijo in Higashi-Hiroshima, earning Tabelog Bronze recognition every year from 2023 through 2026 and consecutive selection for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100. The 19-seat restaurant runs a chef's-choice course built around seasonal ingredients and Saijo's renowned spring water, with a serious sake program to match. Advance reservations are required.

Azabu Kadowaki holds three Michelin stars and scores 92 points on La Liste 2026, operating from a six-seat counter in Azabu-Juban that draws direct comparisons with the tea-ceremony tradition. Chef Toshiya Kadowaki builds seasonal Japanese menus around transient ingredient pairings, with truffle rice among the dishes cited most often by guests and critics. Evenings run Tuesday through Saturday from 17:30.

Open since November 2005, Teuchi Soba Jiyu San occupies a quiet stretch of Nakano that most visitors to Tokyo never reach. A Tabelog Bronze winner every year from 2017 through 2026 and a consistent entry in the Tabelog Soba EAST Top 100, it serves hand-milled buckwheat noodles in a 15-seat room where the sake list receives as much attention as the bowl.

An eight-seat counter in Shinbashi that has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in both 2025 and 2026, alongside three consecutive Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 selections. Chef Naoto Fukasaku serves generous cuts of fish over Hokkaido rice cooked in a traditional hagama pot, with dinner averaging JPY 30,000–39,999. Reservation-only and solo-dining friendly.

Opened in May 2018 near Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, Toyonaga holds consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025 and 2026) and a score of 4.21, placing it inside Osaka's tightly contested Sushi WEST Top 100. The ten-seat counter runs reservation-only omakase across two sittings nightly, with a course priced at JPY 37,000 including tax. It operates Monday through Friday only, making advance planning essential.

Sushi Dokoro Yamato occupies a nine-seat counter in Tsukiji, earning Tabelog Bronze Awards consecutively from 2024 through 2026 and selection to the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 in both 2022 and 2025. The format is reservation-only, phone-booked on the first business day of each month for the following month, with a per-person spend of JPY 30,000–39,999. The proprietress tends the charcoal brazier herself, grilling large clams, ichiyaboshi, and seasonal produce beside the sushi counter.

Open since March 2010, Sushi Yoshitake occupies the ninth floor of a Ginza building and operates within the upper tier of Tokyo's omakase circuit. Dinner pricing runs JPY 60,000–79,999, with consistent Tabelog Bronze recognition since 2018 and placement in the Tabelog Sushi Tokyo 100 for 2021, 2022, and 2025. Reservations are available through the restaurant's website.

A ten-seat omakase counter in Kitakyushu's Tobata Ward, Teruzushi has earned Tabelog Bronze consecutively from 2019 through 2026 and ranks among the Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 for multiple years. Priced at JPY 40,000–49,999 per person, it operates on reservations only and draws visitors from well beyond Fukuoka Prefecture, placing it firmly in the upper tier of western Japan's sushi scene.

A ten-seat counter restaurant in Sendai's Taihaku Ward, KUROMORI has earned Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026, alongside three consecutive selections for the Tabelog Chinese EAST Top 100. The kitchen works a course format rooted in Chinese cuisine with Miyagi ingredients, operating Tuesday through Saturday with dinner courses starting at 18:45 and Friday and Saturday lunch from 12:00.

Hinode in Kuwana, Mie, holds a Tabelog 4.26 score and consecutive Bronze and Silver awards dating back to 2017, alongside three selections in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100. The kaiseki-rooted menu centres on the region's prized seafood — most notably clam hot pot — served across seven private tatami and table rooms. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999 before a 20% service charge; reservations for peak season require entering a November lottery.

A Gion institution for meat kappo, Yassan has earned consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards (2025, 2026) and a Michelin Plate for its counter-led approach to simmered and grilled beef dishes. Set on Gionmachi Kitagawa in Higashiyama Ward, it operates Monday through Saturday evenings and draws a loyal local crowd that fills the 22-seat counter most nights. Tatami rooms upstairs accommodate groups of three or more by reservation.

Sushi Matsumoto occupies a quiet corner of Nishinomiya's Kurakuen district with just ten counter seats and a Tabelog score of 3.86, placing it among the Kansai region's most consistently recognised sushi houses. A three-time Tabelog Bronze Award winner and multiple Tabelog Sushi WEST 100 selection, it operates on reservation only with dinner priced between JPY 20,000 and JPY 29,999. Cash only, no service charge.

A sushi counter in Ebisu's residential backstreets, Ebisu Endo has climbed steadily through Opinionated About Dining's Japan rankings — from Recommended in 2023 to #316 in 2024 and #362 in 2025 — signalling a venue that the specialist critic community takes seriously. Chef Norihito Endo operates across a full midday-to-midnight window, an unusually extended schedule for a counter at this recognition level.

Nakajo is an Edomae sushi counter in Yokohama's Kannai district, holding consecutive Tabelog Bronze Awards from 2019 through 2026 and a Tabelog Score of 4.08. The 15-seat room — nine at the counter, six in a private room — runs dinner service only, with an average spend of JPY 40,000–49,999. Reservations are accepted and the kitchen sources fish through Tsukiji.

A ten-seat counter in Nakagyo Ward, Gokomachi Tagawa has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2018 through 2026 and earned a Michelin star in 2024. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999, with the kitchen's focus on seasonal ingredients treated without distraction — charcoal-grilled wagyu and eel, and a closing course of clay-pot rice prepared three ways.

A ten-seat kappo counter in Minato that has held Tabelog Bronze consecutively since 2019 and earned placement in Tabelog's Tokyo 100 for Japanese cuisine three times. Kurogi operates on a reservation-only basis with courses priced from ¥50,000 per person, positioning it firmly within Tokyo's highest tier of traditional Japanese dining. The format is rooted in Edo-style kappo, with an emphasis on ingredient expression over technical spectacle.

Ryoriya Miyazaki holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2025 and 2026 alongside selection in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST 100, with a score of 4.04 and dinner pricing between JPY 15,000 and JPY 19,999. The seven-seat counter in central Fukui City focuses on Hokuriku ingredients, with particular attention to fish and seasonal kaiseki structure. Reservations are dinner-only, open six evenings a week from 17:30.

A ten-seat counter in Fukuoka's Haruyoshi district, CUCCAGNA has held Tabelog Bronze recognition in both 2025 and 2026, with a score of 4.03 and consistent inclusion in the Tabelog Italian WEST Top 100. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–29,999. The restaurant operates by member reservation only, positioning it firmly in Fukuoka's most selective dining tier.

A Tabelog Award Bronze winner since 2021 and a fixture in the Yakitori 100 selection every year since, Eiki operates from a 15-seat counter in Ebisu's ROZIS building. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999, reservations go through Shokuoku only, and the room fills with the kind of guests who return on a schedule rather than an occasion.

A Tabelog Bronze Award winner for three consecutive years (2024–2026) and selected for the Tabelog Chinese WEST Top 100 list, Hasunomi brings Setouchi and Okayama produce into a focused Chinese course format across just 16 seats near Nishigawa Greenway Park. Open evenings only, the fixed course at ¥15,000 per person signals a kitchen operating at the sharper end of Okayama's dining scene.

Kyogokuzushi holds Tabelog Bronze Awards for 2025 and 2026 and a Tabelog score of 4.14, placing it among the top 100 sushi restaurants in western Japan. Located five minutes from JR Nagahama Station in Shiga Prefecture, it runs distinct counter and table menus under the same roof, with Edo-mae omakase nigiri available exclusively at the six- to seven-seat counter by reservation.

A two-Michelin-star French restaurant in Tokyo's Nihonbashi Kabutocho district, ASAHINA Gastronome has held Tabelog Bronze recognition every year since 2021 and earned 80 points from La Liste 2026. Chef Satoru Asahina works within the classical French canon, reconstructing historical techniques alongside modern presentation. Dinner runs ¥40,000–¥49,999; the weekend lunch service offers a lower entry point at ¥20,000–¥29,999.