Side Trips from Tokyo Restaurants

The local specialty in Nikko is a soybean-based concoction known as yuba (tofu skin); dozens of restaurants in Nikko serve it in a variety of dishes you might not have believed possible for so prosaic an ingredient. Other local favorites are soba (buckwheat) and udon (wheat-flour) noodles—both inexpensive, filling, and tasty options for lunch.

Three things about Kamakura make it a good place to dine. It's on the ocean (properly speaking, on Sagami Bay), which means that fresh seafood is everywhere; it's a major tourist stop; and it has long been a prestigious place to live among Japan's worldly and well-to-do (many successful writers, artists, and intellectuals call Kamakura home). On a day trip from Tokyo, you can feel confident picking a place for lunch almost at random.

Yokohama, as befits a city of more than 3 million people, lacks little in the way of food: from quick-fix lunch counters to elegant dining rooms, you'll find almost every imaginable cuisine. Your best bet is Chinatown—Japan's largest Chinese community—with more than 100 restaurants representing every regional style. If you fancy Italian, Indian, or even Scandinavian, this international port is still guaranteed to provide an eminently satisfying meal.

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  • 1. Beer Mountain

    $$$

    This beer hall is Mt. Takao's only full-fledged restaurant and serves a prix-fixe two-hour, all-you-can eat, all-you-can drink buffet meal that is a hodgepodge of sausages, pasta, Japanese dishes, and desserts, and there are a number of Japanese beers on tap. Beer Mountain is connected to Takaosan Station, the top station of the Takao Tozan Cable Line.

    2205 Takao-machi, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, 193-0844, Japan
    042-665–9943

    Known For

    • Lively outdoor atmosphere
    • Views over the mountains and Western Tokyo
    • Filling post-hike meal

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Oct.–June
  • 2. Gyoshintei

    $$$

    This is the only restaurant in Nikko devoted to shojin ryori, the Buddhist-temple vegetarian fare that evolved centuries ago into haute cuisine. Gyoshintei is decorated in the style of a ryotei (traditional restaurant), with all-tatami seating. It differs from a ryotei in that it has one large, open space where many guests are served at once, rather than a number of rooms for private dining. Dinner is served until 7.

    2339–1 Sannai, Nikko, Tochigi-ken, 321-1431, Japan
    0288-53–3751

    Known For

    • Buddhist-temple cuisine
    • Serene setting
    • Traditional atmosphere

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Thurs.
  • 3. Hachinoki Kita-Kamakuraten

    $$$

    Traditional shojin ryori (the vegetarian cuisine of Zen monasteries) is served in this old Japanese house on the Kamakura Kaido (Route 21) near the entrance to Jochi Temple. The seating is mainly in tatami rooms with beautiful antique wood furnishings. If you prefer table seating, visit the annex building. Allow plenty of time; this is not a meal to be hurried through.

    350 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 247-0062, Japan
    0467-23–3723

    Known For

    • Buddhist-temple cuisine for all budgets
    • Peaceful, traditional atmosphere
    • Elegant dining experience

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 4. Houtenkaku Shinkan

    $$$ | Naka-ku

    This no-frills eatery serves up excellent sheng jian bao (Shanghai-style fried dumplings) and other casual Shanghai cuisine all day long. The open kitchen is behind glass so customers can admire the speed with which the chefs cook up this Shanghai staple. Get a selection of sheng jian bao at the first floor takeout window for an inexpensive snack or dine in at the second-floor restaurant for a more relaxed meal.

    192--15 Yamashita, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 231-0023, Japan
    050-5570--4921

    Known For

    • Authentic Shanghai dumplings
    • Quick and satisfying street food
  • 5. Kaikin Hanten

    $$$ | Naka-ku

    In contrast to many of the meat-heavy choices in Chinatown, this Cantonese restaurant specializes in fresh, flavorful seafood dishes. Menu highlights include the shrimp-shiso spring rolls, steamed Sakhalin surf clams with garlic, and a rotating selection of fresh fish caught that day. Not to be outdone by the seafood, the sweet-and-sour ribs are a treat. 

    126--22 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, Japan
    050-5485--4599

    Known For

    • Some of Chinatown's freshest seafood
    • Excellent quality at reasonable prices
    • Wide selection of Cantonese dishes
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  • 6. Meiji-no-Yakata

    $$$

    Not far from the east entrance to Rinno-ji temple, Meiji-no-Yakata is an elegant 19th-century Western-style stone house, originally built as a summer retreat for an American diplomat. The food, too, is Western-style: specialties of the house include fresh rainbow trout from Lake Chuzenji, roast lamb with pepper sauce, and melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon made from local Tochigi beef. High ceilings, hardwood floors, and an air of informality make this a very pleasant place to dine.

    2339–1 Sannai, Nikko, Tochigi-ken, 321-1431, Japan
    0288-53–3751

    Known For

    • Classic high-end Japanese–Western cuisine
    • Excellent desserts
    • Lovely outdoor seating
  • 7. Roma Statione

    $$$ | Naka-ku

    Opened more than 40 years ago, this popular venue between Chinatown and Yamashita Park is Yokohama's source for Italian food. The owner, whose father studied cooking in Italy before returning home, is also the head chef and has continued using the original recipes. The house specialty is seafood: the spaghetti vongole (with clam sauce) is particularly good, as is the spaghetti pescatora and the seafood pizza. An added bonus is the impressive selection of Italian wines.

    26 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 231-0023, Japan
    045-681–1818

    Known For

    • Authentic Italian cuisine
    • Excellent seafood
    • Extensive Italian wine selection
  • 8. Sawamoto

    $$$

    Charcoal-broiled unagi (eel) is an acquired taste, and there's no better place in Nikko to acquire it than at this small and unpretentious place with only five plain-wood tables. Service can be lukewarm, but Sawamoto is reliable for a light lunch or very early dinner of unagi on a bed of rice, served in an elegant lacquered box. Eel is considered a stamina builder: just right for the weary visitor on a hot summer day.

    1037–1 Kamihatsuishi-machi, Nikko, Tochigi-ken, 321-1401, Japan
    0288-54–0163

    Known For

    • Simple, beautifully prepared unagi
    • 90 years of history
    • Simple, comfortable atmosphere

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 9. Yokohama Cheese Cafe

    $$$ | Nishi-ku

    This is a cozy and inviting casual Italian restaurant, whose interior looks like an Italian country home. There are candles on the tables and an open kitchen where diners can watch the cooks making pizza. On the menu: 18 kinds of Neopolitan-style wood fire–baked pizzas, 20 kinds of pastas, fondue, and other dishes that include—you guessed it—cheese. The set-course menus are reasonable, filling, and recommended.

    2–1–10 Kitasaiwai, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 220-0004, Japan
    045-290–5656

    Known For

    • A cheese lover's paradise
    • Rich, creamy fondue
    • Affordable multicourse meals

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 10. Yubatei Masudaya

    $$$

    Masudaya started out as a sake maker more than a century ago, but for four generations now, it has been the town's best-known restaurant. The specialty is yuba (tofu skin), which the chefs transform, with the help of local vegetables and fresh fish, into sumptuous high cuisine. The building is traditional, with a lovely interior garden; but meals here are prix fixe, and the assembly-line-style service detracts from the ambience.

    439–2 Ishiya-machi, Nikko, Tochigi-ken, 321-1405, Japan
    0288-54–2151

    Known For

    • Fresh local ingredients
    • Relaxing environment
    • A perfect place to try yuba tofu cuisine

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Thurs. No dinner, Reservations essential

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