Everyone I know uses Tokyofoodie.com to decide on restaurants in Tokyo. Well-written and comprehensive articles by other food lovers are perfect there.

www.tokyofoodie.com
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jan/18/tokyo.travelwebsites

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The rather delightfully named 'Piss alley' might not be the most delicately-named place to enjoy your dinner but the noodles here are truly fantastic. Navigate some of the divinely old-style Japanese 'corridors' of alleyway shops and restaurants and nip into one of the tiny hole in the walls to get your piping hot noodles and aromatic flavours of Japan. Only really able to accommodate a couple of people so you're likely to squeeze in with a hurried commuter and maybe a couple of old ladies but the atmosphere is pure magic in the ramen shops. All in all, thankfully modern plumbing but old-style eating experience!

Tokyo, Shinjuku station

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Bon serve Fucha Ryori cuisine, a form of Zen vegetarian cooking originating in China but developed in Japan. Small delicate and beautiful dishes are served in measured succession, in a private room on Tatami mats. We had about 11 courses (we lost count).

The service was immaculate: serene, polite and friendly, quite unlike anything European, and the whole experience was calm and almost meditative.

The restaurant is tucked away down a back street of old Tokyo houses. Booking is required.

Ryusen 1-2-11, Taito-Ku, near Iriya station (Hiriya line). Phone 03 (3872) 0375. Do not rely on the map provided by the restaurant, which is inaccurate. Get someone to look it up for you in the Tokyo street atlas.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This is a very popular and cheap fast food restaurant. Like the similar MosBurger, orders are cooked from fresh, so don't expect MacD's style service.

The burgers are amazingly tasty: I still dream about the bacon omelette burger 18 months after my return to the UK! Delicious fresh lemonade, chunky wedges and a huge range of condiments, all served by very young and helpful staff.

Almost everywhere!

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Tako-Yaki was my favorite street food. A savory octopus gobstopper, you bite through a crispy pancake shell, swallow down runny batter till you get to the chewy chunk of octopus in the center. Stalls selling this tend to have a cute cartoon octopus waiving its legs invitingly at you.

You can buy it from stalls at festivals or in parks (there‘s one in front of Yoiyogi park).

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I'm thinking here of Isetan in Shinjuku and Tobu and Seibu department stores in Ikebukuro, although all the major dept stores at Shibuya and Tokyo stations should have similar food basements.

Always busy and noisy with the calls of the sales staff touting their wares, they give an insight into the astonishing variety and sophistication of Japanese cuisine. Also, they also frequently offer tantalising titbits to passers-by.

On an upper-floor, there is usually also a selection of reasonably-priced restaurants offering a variety of different styles of Japanese cuisine.

If you get off the JR Yamanote line at Shinjuku, you'll find Odakyu, leave by the East Exit, and turn right, Isetan is on your left about 200 metres.

Get off the JR Yamanote line at Ikebukuro and it will be hard not to find yourself in either Tobu or Seibu department store basement 1. Both have two whole basement floors of food.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

"Kaiten" is the name given to the conveyor belt-style sushi restaurants you'll have seen on virtually any TV programme about Tokyo. Take a seat, make yourself a free cup of green tea and take whatever you fancy. The price of the sushi depends on the colour of the plate (you'll find the price guide on the wall), and once you've had enough just ask for the "okanjo" (bill) and pay at the till as you leave. Simple, easy and delicious. The price of a plate varies from JPY100 (about 50p) to JPY600 (3 pounds).

I recommend "Kazu" in Ginza (Ginei Building 1F, 8-8-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku), near the Burberry store.
Nearest station: Ginza.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Not technically Japanese food (it originates from Korea), but yaki-niku ("grilled meat") is so popular in Japan it would be rude not to mention it. You'll find each table has a miniature barbeque, upon which you place a variety of meats and vegetables to grill (or incinerate, depending on how many beers you've had). The choice of meats is huge (from beef tongue, every conceivable part of a chicken, to... well, you'll find out), and it's damn good fun too.

You'll find yaki-niku restaurants all over Tokyo. Gyukaku (www.gyukaku.ne.jp) has various locations throughout the city, with English menus available.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Tokyo is, after all, the home of edomae sushi, the succulent cuts of fish perched on tiny blocks of vinegared rice that will be familiar to many Western diners. The uninitiated should start with the staples, such as maguro (tuna), ika (squid), tako (octopus), ebi (prawn), but for a more authentically Japanese meal, try awabi (abalone), uni (sea urchin) and anago (broiled eel). If sushi rolls are your thing, forego the rather pedestrian California rolls and go for mashed tuna and spring onion. The incurably incautious should sample natto maki. Don’t be put off by the pungent smell and the slimy texture, the flavour is unforgettable for all the right reasons.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This market, the biggest in the world, is a must-see for any visitor to Tokyo. Huge interest in the early-morning tuna auctions has led to restrictions on the number of observers, but the stalls that surround the market are heaving with sea creatures of every imaginable description. The later you go, the slower your progress as the number of shoppers builds up. But, in any case, this is a place to be savoured. And, amazingly, it doesn’t smell of fish.

Metro: Tsukiji (on the Hibiya line)

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Gonpachi restaurant offers up a super dining experience. A hip, lively place where the staff shout a welcome to you while you're led to the table.

At the door you can choose between the sushi half of the place or the kushiyaki (skewers) and soba (noodles) half. The soba noodles are made from buckwheat ground daily on the premises. A massive food experience with traditional and yet modern Japanese fare. Skewers of foie gras with balsamico and strawberries? Unbelievable.
We tried the sushi half another night and were bowled over by the quality of the dishes and the æsthetic presentation.

Gonpachi is buried at the back of the G-Zone dining complex. After you enter just keep on walking down the halls. No, not that restaurant, keep going. All the way to the back. Well worth a visit.

Closest station: Kyobashi (Ginza Line). Exit 3. Or G-Zone is located under the elevated motorway across from the Seiyo Ginza hotel.
Tel: 03 5524 3641
Web: www.global-dining.com/site/restaurants/index.cfm?resID=142&page=detail&lang=EN&chainId=8

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The hotel provides delightful daily buffets for about 3,000 yen (15 quid to you) and you get to munch through Japanese and European dishes (including an amazing seafood curry) along with a worryingly wide selection of desserts. Plan to stay 12-3pm for a real test of character. Do not then get smart and go on the nearby rollercoaster but head for the gorgeously sedate Koishikawa park nearby in a desperate attempt to shrug off the undeniable excessive indulgence. Also recommended is the buffet at the Hotel Edmundo for a slightly cheaper blowout.

Tokyo Dome is near to Korakuen metro station. The Edmundo is near Iidabashi metro station.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Not what you'd immediately think of when visiting Tokyo, this wonderfully friendly restaurant in Shinjuku 3(san)-chome is well worth looking out if you've had your fill of rice, fish or noodles. It happens!! The owners and staff are friendly and the food is cooked almost in front of you. If you phone ahead larger parties can be accommodated. Being a Japanese or Turkish speaker would be advantageous here. It's probably a good idea to phone ahead anyway as the restaurant is popular especially when the belly dancer is doing the rounds! Opposite Istanbul is the semi-legendary Rolling Stone (immortalised in 'Angry White Pyjamas' anyway), a fine bar if you like dark bars, vinyl, drag queens and top quality tunes.

T160-0022, Shinjuku 3-8-2, Kurosu biru B1 (basement). Open between 5:00pm-12:00pm. Telephone 03 3225 4080. From JR Shinjuku Station head east along Shinjuku-dori. The large Isetan is on the right and Marui on the left. At Meiji-dori in front of you across from Isetan is a cinema and a branch of Sanwa Bank, between them is a narrow street. Go down this street until the last block and on the left down in the basement is Istanbul.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends