The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-06 · by Emily Holgate, Erina Starkey
Japan is home to some of the best restaurants in the world, but finding them is another matter.
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finding → find → them
Many are hidden on upper floors or basements, others have no website or social media presence, or have only been written about in Japanese.
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others → hide → Japanese
It helps to have a good recommendation, so we asked Australian chefs, cooks and food writers for their favourite places to dine out in Japan.
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we → help → Japan
Here’s what they said.
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they → ’ → what
Joy Lui, chef-owner Sydney’s Aenza
Favourite restaurant: Yakitori Kibitaki, Osaka
It’s the combination of excellent yakitori, sake and genuine hospitality that makes Kibitaki a place I always return to when I’m in Osaka.
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I → ’ → Osaka
Yakitori is made with Fukushima chicken, grilled over high-heat Kishu Binchotan [premium white charcoal].
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Yakitori → make → Binchotan
It has a beautiful texture — slightly chewy, rich and very juicy, seasoned with salt and pepper or their house tare sauce.
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It → have → salt
Favourite bar: Sake Potan, Osaka
The owner of Sake Potan has great knowledge of sake, and he speaks English, which makes the experience very welcoming for international guests.
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experience → have → guests
I love sitting at the bar, talking with him about different regions, producers and brewing styles.
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I → sit → regions
They give you a map of Japan, and with every glass of sake you try, they mark the region it comes from.
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it → give → region
They also serve really good bar snacks, so it’s very easy to settle in and spend a few hours here.
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it → serve → hours
When I visit my hometown of Nagasaki, I go to a 200-year-old eel restaurant called Fukudaya that I’ve been going to since I was a child.
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I → visit → that
They specialise in eel, and you can order it in many different grades and sizes, and steamed or grilled.
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you → specialise → grades
It’s simple, familiar flavours that remind me why Japanese food is so special.
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food → ’ → me
Favourite food experience: Kappabashi Street, Tokyo
I spend hours exploring stores filled with beautiful pottery, cookware and unique ingredients.
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I → spend → pottery
I’m always discovering something new, whether it’s a plate, a technique or a product that inspires me.
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that → discover → me
Josh Niland, chef-owner Sydney’s Saint Peter
Favourite restaurant: Sezanne, Tokyo
When I was in Japan, I had the most amazing meal at Sezanne by Daniel Calvert.
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I → have → Calvert
I really hope that if I get the chance to return, I can visit his soon-to-open Chez Calvert as it will no doubt be as precise and beautiful as Sezanne.
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it → hope → Sezanne
Favourite food experience: Toyama
A food experience I had that was like no other was when I travelled to Toyama in the north of Japan to go to the fish markets and tour the town.
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I → have → town
We had the opportunity to dine in a restaurant that only served goat, then another that focused on soba, another on sashimi, then we took a tour of an incredible ceramicist’s studio, and finally a tour of one of the largest sake collections in Japan.
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we → have → Japan
For a relatively small town it was incredible to see the range of talents and quality.
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it → see → talents
Emiko Davies, food writer and cook
Recommended restaurant: Marui Sushi, Ginza, Tokyo
It’s a handy spot to know about for a lovely, affordable sushi meal.
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It → ’ → meal
They serve delicious chirashizushi bowls [sushi and sashimi in one large bowl, on top of rice], or if you’re after something more, nigiri sets that come with chawanmushi [savoury custard], miso soup, dessert and tea.
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that → serve → chawanmushi
They have two small rooms over two floors, and upstairs there is also one table in a tatami room (remember to take off your shoes) and great lunch deals.
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They → have → shoes
kissaten
Kissaten are coffee houses that are firmly set in a time warp, set to Japan’s retro Showa era (the 1920s-1980s).
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that → set → era
My favourite things to order are extra thick-cut shokupan toast with eggs, or butter and jam, egg sandwiches or “pudding”, a creme caramel topped with a flourish of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, but some will offer more substantial meals like omuraisu (omelette rice) and Japanese curry.
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some → order → omuraisu
Keita Abe, chef-owner of Sydney’s Chaco Ramen
Favourite restaurant: Unagi Hashimoto, Tokyo
I’m very picky about eel as I care about how they are farmed and treated.
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they → ’m → eel
Hashimoto is my hero restaurant and the only place I go for eel in Japan.
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I → go → Japan
It’s twice cooked, steamed first, then grilled on charcoal on gentle heat.
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It → ’ → heat
Order the eel jyu (grilled eel on rice), it’s golden brown, beautifully caramelised and melts in your mouth.
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it → order → mouth
We often go a few times in the same trip and some of the seasonal offerings would have changed, which I just love.
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I → go → which
I always love the vegetables too.
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I → love → vegetables
Last trip, the baby corn was so beautiful, grilled over the binchotan and served with a little butter.
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corn → grill → butter
Favourite cafe: Higashiya, Tokyo
Higashiya is a tea house and maker of traditional Japanese wagashi (confectionery) – some packaged, like Monaka (mochi rice wafers filled with sweet bean paste), which make for the best gifts and souvenirs, and some freshly made (think hyper-seasonal mochi and sweets), which can be enjoyed with tea at their flagship in Ginza and in Marunouchi, or taken away to eat.
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which → package → Marunouchi
I also love the Aoyama outpost, Higashiya Man, which specialises in freshly steamed manju.
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which → love → manju
One summer I had the best ice-cream monaka from there too.
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I → have → monaka
gets better with each visit, somehow owners Zaiyu san and Emi san seem to be even more fun and friendly each time.
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san → get → visit
I also really loved Toky’s Ukiyo, a small venue doing wonderfully creative food and drink.
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I → love → food
One restaurant I can never forget about is Meiizan Kimiya in Kagoshima.
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I → forget → Kagoshima
’s a10-seat omakase run by two brothers, one a sushi chef, the other a specialist in all things Nihon ryori.
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other → ’ → things
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
