Hello, this is Yuta from K’s House Tokyo Oasis.
I’ve traveled to over 40 countries so far, and one of the things I enjoy is checking out Japanese restaurants overseas and seeing how Japanese food is presented around the world.
Japanese dishes such as ramen, sushi, yakiniku, takoyaki, and karaage are now extremely popular all over the world—especially in East and Southeast Asia. If you visit any major city, you can easily find Japanese restaurants, and many well-known Japanese chain restaurants have expanded overseas as well. As a result, what we consider “Japanese flavors” have become quite familiar in many countries.
On the other hand, there are also many Japanese foods that are very familiar to locals in Japan but are surprisingly hard to find at Japanese restaurants overseas.
So this time, for those who want to enjoy uniquely Japanese food while visiting Japan, I’d like to introduce a few Japanese chain restaurants where you can enjoy authentic local dishes at reasonable prices 💡
When it comes to Japanese fish dishes, sushi is probably the first thing that comes to mind for most people. However, from a local Japanese perspective, grilled fish is just as essential to everyday meals in Japan as sushi is.
In particular, grilled fish is widely enjoyed as a healthy breakfast option, making it a great choice if you’d like to experience a truly Japanese-style breakfast during your visit.
Shinpachi Shokudo is a popular chain restaurant—especially among office workers—where you can enjoy charcoal-grilled fish set meals, with around ten different fish varieties to choose from. With over 50 locations across Japan, mainly in Tokyo but also in major cities such as Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya, it’s a place loved by many locals.
While you’ll find familiar options like salmon and hokke (atka mackerel), which are sometimes seen at izakaya restaurants overseas, one of Shinpachi Shokudo’s highlights is its wider selection of fish that are rarely found outside Japan. These include sardines, Pacific saury, Spanish mackerel, and herring.
Since you’re in Japan, why not take the opportunity to try a type of fish you don’t usually see back home? That said, there’s no need to worry—every fish served at Shinpachi Shokudo is a well-loved classic for Japanese diners, so you can enjoy it with confidence!
This time, I ordered the Teriyaki Grilled Ginhirasu Set Meal. To be honest, it was a type of fish I had never heard of before, but since it was available for a limited time, I decided to give it a try 💡
Visually, it looks slightly similar to salmon. The flavor is light yet pleasantly fatty, and combined with the smoky aroma of charcoal grilling, it was absolutely delicious.
Another great point about Shinpachi Shokudo is that you can add small side dishes at very reasonable prices. When I visited, they were offering negitoro—finely chopped tuna sashimi—for just 90 yen, so I couldn’t resist ordering it as well.
Negitoro is a tuna dish that’s not very common outside Japan, so I highly recommend giving it a try if you have the chance. It’s rich, flavorful, and pairs perfectly with steamed white rice 💡
Charcoal-grilled fish has a much richer aroma and depth of flavor compared to grilled fish commonly found at non-specialty chain restaurants. Since you can enjoy high-quality fish at such an affordable price, this is definitely something worth experiencing during your stay in Japan.
While many large chain restaurants also offer grilled fish set meals as a breakfast option, the cooking method is completely different—resulting in a noticeable difference in overall taste and quality.
If you’re traveling with someone who isn’t a fan of seafood, don’t worry. Shinpachi Shokudo also offers alternative set meals, such as ginger pork (shogayaki), at some locations.
One more standout feature of Shinpachi Shokudo: customers who order a set meal can enjoy a beer for just 160 yen (before tax). The slightly salty grilled fish pairs perfectly with a cold beer, so I highly recommend trying that combination as well!
When people think of pasta, Western cuisine usually comes to mind. However, in Japan, many unique pasta dishes have been created using Japanese ingredients and flavors. If you’d like to try this distinctly Japanese take on pasta, Yomenya Goemon is a place I highly recommend.
Originally founded in Shibuya, the restaurant has now grown into a major chain with over 200 locations across Japan. You can find it not only in Tokyo and the greater metropolitan area, but all the way from Hokkaido in the north to Kagoshima in the south. On the other hand, the chain has only a handful of locations outside Japan—currently limited to South Korea—making it a type of Japanese restaurant that’s still hard to come by overseas.
The concept of Yomenya Goemon is “pasta eaten with chopsticks.” Instead of using a fork and spoon, all pasta dishes are meant to be enjoyed with chopsticks, which is one of the restaurant’s most distinctive features. It’s a fun and uniquely Japanese dining experience, so even if you’re not confident with chopsticks, why not take this opportunity to give it a try?
This time, I visited the Shibuya Main Store, located in the heart of Shibuya Center-Gai. Unlike other locations, this branch is known for offering a salad bar, so I stopped by to see what it was like for myself.
With around 30 pasta dishes on the menu, Yomenya Goemon offers not only classic Western-style pasta, but also many creative variations with a distinctly Japanese twist.
For example, their take on carbonara combines tarako—salted cod roe—with yuba, the delicate skin that forms on the surface of heated soy milk. This combination creates a creamy dish that incorporates traditional Japanese ingredients in a surprisingly harmonious way.
There are also many other options that let you fully enjoy Japanese flavors, such as “mushrooms and bacon with butter and soy sauce” or “chilled pork with plenty of vegetables in a sesame sauce”. If you’re curious about Japanese-style pasta, these are definitely worth trying—especially when enjoyed with chopsticks!
Some of the most popular pasta dishes are also available as half-and-half portions, which is perfect if you’re visiting in a small group but want to sample more than one flavor.
At the Shibuya Main Store, the salad bar is available for 380 yen. The selection was fairly simple, including shredded cabbage, carrot marinated in French dressing, Japanese-style glass noodles, wakame seaweed, corn, daikon radish, onion, and tofu.
There are three dressing options—Japanese-style, sesame, and Japanese-style mayonnaise—all of which complement the flavors well. Personally, I recommend the Japanese-style mayonnaise, which has a pleasant aroma of dashi broth.
That said, the overall quality of the salad bar isn’t particularly high, so I don’t think it’s something you need to add unless you’re especially interested. The salad bar is currently available at only three locations, including the Shibuya Main Store, so if it catches your attention, visiting one of these specific branches would be your best bet.
For my meal, I decided to try something that really highlights Japanese ingredients: the Hakata-style pasta with mentaiko and spicy takana.
This dish features uniquely Japanese ingredients such as spicy takana pickles, mentaiko, and shirasu (whitebait), with bacon and egg yolk adding richness and depth. The overall flavor reminded me of a garlic-forward peperoncino, but with a distinctly Japanese type of spiciness derived from mentaiko and takana rather than chili peppers.
Beyond its beautiful presentation, the dish offered flavors you simply won’t find outside Japan. Eating this one-of-a-kind pasta with chopsticks makes for a truly unique experience—especially for travelers who have already tried many of Japan’s more famous foods and are looking for something a little different.
The Japanese-style soup served alongside the pasta, made with a dashi-based broth, is another subtle touch that highlights the restaurant’s Japanese identity.
For us Japanese, gyutan (grilled beef tongue) is one of the most popular items at yakiniku restaurants. In fact, it’s said that over half of the world’s beef tongue consumption takes place in Japan, which helps explain why it remains relatively unfamiliar in many other countries.
Negishi is a well-known gyutan specialty chain with over 40 locations, mainly in Tokyo and across the greater metropolitan area, including Yokohama and Saitama. One of its defining features is the combination of gyutan with tororo—grated Japanese mountain yam, known for its strong stickiness. This way of eating yam is quite rare outside East Asia.
The set meals also come with mugimeshi (barley rice), which is both nutritious and filling. It’s often said that Negishi helped popularize gyutan as a healthier and more balanced meal, making it appealing not only to men but also to women.
This time, I visited the Ueno branch of Negishi, located on the basement floor of a building near the station. On a Saturday evening, the restaurant was so popular that there was a line outside. After waiting about 10 minutes, I was shown to a counter seat, where I could watch the gyutan being grilled right in front of me.
I ordered the Marune Set, which allows you to enjoy both thinly sliced shiro-tan (white tongue) and slightly thicker, chewier aka-tan (red tongue) in one meal.
The set includes barley rice, tororo, a beef-tail soup with pieces of gyutan, and miso-seasoned green onion pickles. Best of all, refills of rice are free.
Both types of gyutan are simply seasoned with salt and pepper, allowing you to fully appreciate the meat’s natural flavor and satisfying texture. The tail soup is light and salt-based, further reflecting the restaurant’s focus on highlighting the ingredients themselves.
The tororo is subtly flavored with bonito dashi, and I recommend mixing it into your rice before eating. Don’t be afraid of the sticky texture—it’s part of the experience! The portion of tororo is quite generous, so be sure to take advantage of the free rice refills to enjoy it to the fullest.
Because the seasoning is intentionally simple, adding a little soy sauce is also a great option.
The combination of gyutan and tororo is quite rare outside Japan, making Negishi an excellent choice for travelers who have already tried the classic Japanese dishes and are looking for a more local, authentic dining experience. It’s definitely one of the chain restaurants I’d highly recommend for anyone wanting to explore a deeper side of Japanese food culture.
So, what did you think?
Popular Japanese dishes are, of course, always a great choice. But if you’re staying in Japan for a longer period of time, I truly believe that exploring these lesser-known yet deeply local Japanese meals is one of the real pleasures of traveling here.
As a special memory of your trip to Japan, be sure to try as many different kinds of Japanese food as you can—and discover flavors you might not have expected.
