Food and gastronomy

A food trip to Japan is built around two things: kaiseki, the seasonal multi-course dinner served at ryokans, the traditional inns, and the regional cuisines, each with its own produce, from Kaga crab to Hiroshima oysters. The Umika selection brings the two together: houses where you stay for the table, such as Kinjohro in Kanazawa, sushi counters in Tokyo hotels, and stops in the market cities, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa and Takayama. Traditional Japanese cuisine, washoku, has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since December 2013.

Kaiseki, the thread of the trip

JNTO (the Japan National Tourism Organization) describes kaiseki as a traditional multi-course dinner that places great emphasis on seasonal ingredients and presentation. The menu is usually set by the kitchen; grilled fish, soup and rice form its base. At a ryokan you eat it every evening, and it changes with the place and the season.

• In Hakone, the kaiseki at Gora Kadan changes every month and is usually served in your room; the one at KAI Hakone includes the Hakone dish, beef and vegetables simmered in broth.
• In Kanazawa, Kinjohro is first of all a ryōtei, a traditional restaurant where you dine in a private room, serving Kaga cuisine, from the former domain of the Maeda lords; a crab kaiseki menu is offered on certain dates.
• In Kaga, Beniya Mukayu serves omakase, a menu chosen by the kitchen, with hairy crab from Hashitate port, abalone, ayu, a river fish, from the Shōgawa gorge, wagyu beef and Noto salt ice cream; KAI Kaga serves its kaiseki on Kutani porcelain and Yamanaka lacquerware.
• In Hida, the kaiseki at KAI Okuhida is built around Hida beef, and Wanosato serves its "Wagokoro" kaiseki in the rooms of its old farmhouse.
• On Miyajima, Iwasō serves a Kyoto-style kaiseki with produce from the Inland Sea: Miyajima oysters in winter, conger eel.

City hotels have their own Japanese tables too: Kozue at Park Hyatt Tokyo, modern Japanese cooking inspired by kaiseki, facing Mount Fuji; Yamazato at The Okura Tokyo, with its kappo counter, where food is prepared in front of you; Taka-An at Aman Kyoto, with two private dining rooms.

Region by region

Tokyo, home of Edomae sushi

Edomae sushi follows the tradition of old Edo, today's Tokyo. Two counters in our selection practise it: Musashi by Aman at Aman Tokyo, omakase at a hinoki (Japanese cypress) counter run by chef Hiroyuki Musashi; and Sushi Otemon, opened in March 2025 in the basement of Hoshinoya Tokyo, eight seats and two sittings, at 5.30 pm and 8 pm. Hoshinoya Tokyo's restaurant, led since May 2023 by chef Ryosuke Oka, serves forgotten Japanese family recipes.

Kyoto, the city's own produce

Nishiki Market, known as "Kyoto's kitchen", is a 390 m covered street with 400 years of history. At Hoshinoya Kyoto, you choose each evening between the restaurant's kaiseki, a shabu-shabu served in your room, with beef or with yuba, soy milk skin, and tea soba, and simple Kyoto dishes such as yuba udon or bubuzuke, rice with tea poured over it. At Capella Kyoto, SoNoMa by SingleThread, the first project outside the United States of the three-star Sonoma restaurant, is a 12-seat counter led by chef Keita Tominaga, and Yoi a kappo counter open late.

Osaka and Nara

Osaka is the city of konamon, flour-based dishes, according to its tourist office: takoyaki, octopus balls, and okonomiyaki, a griddle pancake that Osaka makes by mixing the ingredients into the batter before cooking. Kushikatsu, battered and fried skewers, began as a speciality of the Shinsekai district. Dotonbori, along the canal dug from 1612 onwards, is the district of food and giant shop signs; Kuromon Market is a few minutes' walk away. At Four Seasons Hotel Osaka, next to the restaurants of Kitashinchi, Sushi L'Abysse Osaka, by chef Yannick Alléno, pairs modern French cooking with Edo-style sushi.

In Nara, the Harushika sake brewery, in the Naramachi district, offers a tasting of five sakes for 700 ¥ (about 4 €) per person, from 10 am to 4.30 pm, last order; it closes on Tuesdays.

Kanazawa and Kaga

Kanazawa, on the Sea of Japan, has Omicho Market, about 170 shops selling fish, vegetables and fruit, which has supplied the city for about 300 years. Gold leaf, kinpaku, is its speciality, sold in the shops of Higashi Chaya. Winter is snow crab season: Beniya Mukayu serves it as sashimi, as a supplement, from 7 November to 20 March.

Hida, beef and sake

Hida beef has been a protected geographical indication since 31 January 2023: it comes from Japanese Black cattle fattened for at least 14 months by an accredited farmer, fed longest in Gifu Prefecture, and graded 3, 4 or 5 for meat quality. The Takayama tourist office recommends it as steak, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu or yakiniku, meat grilled at the table. In the old town of Sanmachi, sake breweries are marked by a ball of cedar leaves hanging at the door. More is on our Hida, Takayama and Shirakawa-go page.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

According to JNTO, Hiroshima Prefecture produces more than 60% of Japan's oysters, and winter is the best season to try them. Hiroshima okonomiyaki is built in layers: thin batter, cabbage, meat, oysters or squid, yakisoba noodles and egg. Miyajima is known for anago-meshi, grilled conger eel on rice cooked in a stock made from eel heads. Our Hiroshima and Miyajima page covers the rest of the stop.

The Seto Inland Sea

Setoda is Japan's leading lemon producer, and Azumi Setoda offers lemon picking from October to early April; its dining room serves seasonal Inland Sea cooking, with no dinner on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. On board guntû, a six-seat sushi counter facing the sea is run by chef Nobuo Sakamoto.

Markets

Booking a table

For kaiseki restaurants, JNTO recommends booking, and some require it. Hotel restaurants have their own rules: at Hoshinoya Tokyo, the restaurant and Sushi Otemon must be booked by 8 pm the day before, and each group chooses a single dinner; at Hoshinoya Kyoto, the in-room shabu-shabu is booked before 8 pm the day before; at Azumi Setoda, dinner, in two sittings from 5.30 pm, is by reservation. On Naoshima, Benesse House serves dinner at Museum Restaurant Issen at 6 pm or 8 pm; its Terrace Restaurant is closed from 4 January to 4 March 2027. We book these tables together with the rooms, including the Musashi counter at Aman Tokyo.

Dietary needs are flagged in advance: seven days ahead at Iwasō for a vegetarian or gluten-free menu, five days ahead at KAI Miyajima and three days ahead at Hoshinoya Tokyo for a vegetarian menu. Hoshinoya Kyoto's light dining room cannot adapt its dishes for allergies.

At the table, sushi may be eaten with your fingers, you dip the fish side into the soy sauce, and slurping noodles is fine; tipping is uncommon. The guide Onsen, ryokan and etiquette in Japan covers other customs, and our Ryokans page walks through dinner at an inn.