Last updated on June 24th, 2025
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With its countless snug ramen joints, cozy izakayas, and bustling standing sushi bars, Tokyo’s food scene is a beast—in the best way. That’s where this Tokyo foodie guide comes in to save the day!
Tokyo, the obvious winner when it comes to the best places to visit in Japan for first-timers, is an absolute monster of a city to plan for.
The city expands far and wide, with more cool neighborhoods that one can visit on any given trip, packed with stylish shops, fun bars, themed cafes, and incredible museums—there seems to be an infinite array of unique things to do in Tokyo.
But one activity you cannot miss while exploring Tokyo is to eat your way around the city.
While being a slightly harder place to navigate, food-wise, than the country’s foodie capital—you can literally find incredible, cheap eats in Osaka around every corner—Tokyo’s immense size means you will always find something good to eat… if you know where to look.
So, after spending six months looking under every rock for the best places to eat in Tokyo, I have compiled this Tokyo foodie guide with my top contenders for your reading—and eating—pleasure.
Whether you’re spending 2 days in Tokyo or have more time to leisurely enjoy a 5-day Tokyo itinerary, these food recommendations are easy to add to any plan, as they are all spread throughout the city—and most of them are in the typical areas you would already be visiting.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
Tokyo Foodie Guide: The Best Ramen, Brunch, and Local Gems
Breakfast and brunch in Tokyo
Streamer Coffee Company: Coffee shop with a great breakfast
One thing you will quickly notice when looking for the best breakfast places in Tokyo is that they are hard to find.
Some cafes and restaurants don’t even open until 10:30 or even 11 am, making it difficult to find a place to have breakfast before starting your early day of exploring exciting Tokyo.
This is why Streamer Coffee Company is one of my go-tos—they are one of the very few places open at around 8 am, plus they have various locations around the city, which is super convenient!
Besides being one of the best coffee shops in Tokyo—I love their lattes—Streamer Coffee Company also offers a few food items on their menu, my favorite one being their hearty and delicious egg breakfast sandwich—it’s perfection!
Flipper’s Shibuya: Fluffiest soufflé pancakes
Speaking of places that don’t open before 11 am *checks Google maps*, well, never mind then… Flipper’s Shibuya now opens at 9 am.
Last time I was there, they opened at 11 am, which is why I consider it the best brunch in Tokyo, but still, you can have your fluffy pancakes at any time you want.
Fluffy and wiggly soufflé pancakes were very high on my foodie bucket list while in Japan, and after trying them at Flipper’s Shibuya, I was hooked!
This spot became my go-to, and the place I took family when they were visiting, as it is very conveniently located in the heart of Shibuya.
Now that they open even earlier, it’s the perfect breakfast spot in Tokyo to start your day and then continue your adventures in the heart of the city.
You can’t go wrong with their classic soufflé pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries, but their savoury ones are also great—and perfect for a hangover… just saying.
☕️Tip: Their coffee isn’t the best, so if you’re a coffee lover, it’s worth stopping by the nearby Blue Bottle for your caffeine fix before or after breakfast.
Allpress Espresso Toranomon Cafe: Best brunch in Tokyo
I came across this tucked-away spot while looking for a place with good brunch, great coffee, and space to work from, and after being there once, I became a loyal customer, visiting at least once a week for six months.
Allpress Espresso Toranomon Cafe quickly became my go-to for their simple yet delicious brunch.
Their salmon avocado toast is probably one of the things I ate the most while in Tokyo—after Ichiran ramen, of course—and their coffee was always just perfect.
Housed inside the Tonaromon Business Tower, a short walk away from Shimbashi station, Allpress Tonaromon Cafe will probably not be a place you will walk past, but it’s truly worth the detour if you are after some of the best brunch in Tokyo.
Best cheap eats in Tokyo
7-Eleven: The ultimate place to eat cheap in Tokyo
If you are planning your trip to Japan, I’m sure the internet has already made you aware that 7-Eleven is a mandatory stop during your trip.
No, not even that, is an experience.
Contrary to 7-Eleven’s in most countries, the quality and offerings of Japanese 7-Eleven are just elite!
AND, incredibly affordable, making it undisputedly one of the best cheap places to eat in Tokyo, and Japan in general.
You can truly find anything here—from breakfast to snacks to full-on fresh meals to sushi. There’s even a machine that blends a smoothie for you on the spot when you feed it a cup of frozen fruit.
The options are endless. Which is why you can very easily eat at 7-Eleven every day of your trip if you want to stay on a budget and still have great and different meals every time.
🍙 My go-to 7-Eleven eats you shouldn’t miss:
- Maple syrup pancakes: My go-to breakfast for early morning trips.
- Onigiri: I must have had at least 3-5 tuna onigiris per week. They are the perfect quick, light, and tasty lunch or dinner.
- Katsu-don sandwich: So so good! The spicy mustard will make you feel like you are having a much more expensive meal.
- Sushi rolls: Great, convenient lunch option, like a very light burrito.
- Egg sandwich: The fluffy egg sandwich is something else!
- Curry bread: Flavorful little pocket of dough, perfect for a rainy or cold day.
- Instant ramen: You can buy any ramen in the store and fill it up with hot water to eat there. So convenient!
Family Mart: Another top place to eat cheaply
Family Mart is another great convenience store that you will find all across Japan, offering a wide variety of amazing meals for incredible prices.
While I am mostly loyal to 7-Eleven, my second favorite option is Family Mart when in need of a little snack or a quick sandwich for lunch.
Besides their food, I particularly love their merch. I know, convenience store merch? But it’s so cute!
Yakiniku LIKE: Affordable and convenient yakiniku spot
Yakiniku LIKE is a Japanese chain of what would kind of be considered a “fast food” version of yakiniku restaurants… let me explain.
Normally, a Yakiniku meal tends to be a group experience, where you have a big table with a grill in the middle where you can cook your meat, or in a fancier setting, someone does it for you.
At Yakiniku LIKE, you will find all individual seat placements with your own small grill for one—it’s so cute!
The great thing about Yakiniku LIKE is that they are also very affordable. They pride themselves on their quick, tasty, and good value meals, which explains why it is always packed with locals on their lunch break.
The menu is simple and set-based—you just choose your favorite kind of meat cut, and the set will come with rice, seaweed soup, and kimchi. The cheapest set is around 6 USD.
Yoshinoya: Cheap and beloved Japanese chain
Another great place to eat cheap in Tokyo is the popular chain Yoshinoya.
Yoshinoya is a gyudon restaurant, serving filling rice bowls covered with thinly sliced and flavorful beef as their specialty.
The bowls are hearty and super affordable, starting from around 4 USD for a meal(!).
I personally like them just fine, but wouldn’t be my first option to eat at. The biggest highlight for me, however, is that some of their locations in Tokyo are open 24/7, which makes it the perfect fuel stop after a night out.
🍜 Planning your Japan itinerary? Don’t miss these foodie guides for each stop:
Best places to eat in Tokyo for lunch and dinner
Oedo Shinjukuminamiguchiten: Affordable and tasty conveyor belt sushi
If you are really in the mood for sushi, but are too far away from the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, fear not; there are plenty of great sushi options sprinkled throughout the city.
A good one to have on your radar is Oedo Shinjukuminamiguchiten, a tasty, affordable conveyor belt sushi restaurant, just a few steps away from Shinjuku Station.
This place definitely has a local stamp of approval, as we were some of the very few foreigners in there, and the place was packed!
Every plate is 190¥ (around 1.30 USD), which is a great value for the price, and the sushi is delicious!
Ichiran Ramen: Unmissable and iconic ramen spot
One of the best—and absolutely unmissable—places to eat in Tokyo is Ichiran Ramen, a beloved Japanese chain specializing in Tonkotsu ramen.
While there are countless ramen joints in Tokyo, Ichiran Ramen stands out with its simple yet consistently delicious hearty bowls of ramen, as well as for its unique service style.
Perfect for solo-diners, Ichiran Ramen restaurants consist of individual booths, where, through a mostly interaction-free process, food appears in front of you through a small curtain that lifts and falls.
The service is a fun and uniquely Japanese experience, the food is always spot on, and the menu is super affordable, around 7 USD for a classic tonkotsu ramen, making it also one of the best cheap places to eat in Tokyo.
Ginza Kagari: Michelin Bib Gourmand chicken ramen
We’re starting this Tokyo foodie guide strong, there’s no gatekeeping here, and if there are only two ramen you need to try in Tokyo, they are Ichiran AND Ginza Kagari.
Ginza Kagari is a small but contemporary-looking ramen shop serving Tori Paitan Ramen, the most delicious, creamy, comforting chicken ramen I have ever had in my life.
It’s like a hug in a bowl.
And while I can get very passionate about food, I’m not the only one who thinks this spot is incredibly good; the Michelin guides agree.
This casual ramen joint is recognized as a Bib Gourmand, a distinction given to casual eateries that consistently serve the highest quality of food at reasonable prices.
⭐️ Avoid the lines: The original location is the one in Ginza—as the name suggests—however, this one is tiny and tends to get incredibly busy. For a shorter line and the same taste, visit the one in the food court in Roppongi Hills.
UO KUSA: A casual and lively standing seafood stall
UO Kusa is a hidden gem in the middle of the bustling Ameyoko Shopping Street. We came across this little stall after noticing the loud and happy locals cheering their sake glasses one evening.
Upon closer inspection, we noticed the incredible-looking seafood and immediately joined the party.
This no-frills market stall offers deliciously fresh seafood—from massive oysters and tasty crab legs to some more exotic sashimi bites, like ray liver and shark heart(!)
The vibe is casual, local, and friendly. Every time we came here, we ended up cheering with the people around us and having really fun conversations with some happy and tipsy locals.
This unassuming seafood stall gets a 5/5 on my Tokyo foodie guide for its tasty food, great sake, and incredible local vibe right in the heart of Tokyo!
Kushiyaki Bistro Fukumimi Ginza: Modern Izakaya
Another great spot to have on your radar if wandering around Ginza is Bistro Fukumimi, a modern and tasty Izakaya restaurant.
We visited this spot multiple times during our six months in Tokyo, especially for dinners with friends, as the restaurant is quite spacious and can accommodate bigger groups if booked in advance.
The space is big and modern, the service is friendly, and the food is delicious!
Make sure to try their chicken thigh yakitori with green onion, the potato salad, the shishito peppers, and their grilled onigiri.
Tsukiji Yaki Uo Ishikawa: A locally approved spot in the Tsukiji Fish Market
This place is a true gem, shared with us by a local friend of a friend who mentioned that this is one of her favorite restaurants in Tokyo, and one she visits regularly.
Tsukiji Yaki Uo Ishikawa is basically a seafood yakiniku—you are seated around a table with a grill in the middle where you get to cook your own meal, and the star of the show is their unbelievable, melt-in-your-mouth tuna.
You always hear that seafood at the Tsukiji Fish Market is just something else; well, this place is proof of that.
While you can choose from various types of seafood dishes and bowls, I highly recommend ordering some of their tuna sets for grilling—they are just incredible, and easily one of the best things I ate during my nine months in Japan.
Sushi at Tsukiji Sushi Sei: Incredibly fresh sushi in the Fish Market
Another great spot for incredible seafood in the Tsukiji Fish Market is Tsukiji Sushi Sei, just a few steps away from the tuna restaurant.
While visiting multiple sushi restaurants throughout my nine months in Japan, Tsukiji Sushi Sei still stands out in my mind as the most delicious one.
From their flavorful green tea and punchy wasabi to their decadent medium fatty tuna, everything tastes top-quality!
And it helps that the service is super foreign-friendly and patient—an unmissable spot in this Tokyo foodie guide.
We visited this place multiple times, and brought every friend that visited us here, and it was always a hit!
Sweet treats in Tokyo
Taiyaki Kanda Daruma: The BEST strawberry Daifuku
I came across Taiyaki Kanda Daruma while walking to Shimbashi Station one day, and seeing their picture-perfect strawberry daifuku on display, and after a first bite, I was OBSESSED.
I ate so many of these during my time in Tokyo, I’m surprised I didn’t turn into a strawberry myself.
I must have stopped here at least twice a week. I bought them for people’s birthdays. I bought 6 packs of daifuku to enjoy at home—they are just insanely good!
And after thinking this is what normal strawberry daifuku tastes like, I was so disappointed to try many others after these—in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto—and nothing even came close.
These are the only ones that taste as incredible as they look.
So if you are around the Ginza area or Shimbashi Station, do yourself a favor and make the short walk to this cute stand for a little sweet treat—you won’t regret it.
Miyashita Cafe: The creamiest soft-serve ice cream
Being in Japan over the summer, I quickly learned about the popular Cremia ice cream, and while trying and failing to find this ice cream on a hot afternoon in Tokyo, I found Miyashita Cafe instead.
Miyashita Cafe is a small cafe inside Miyashita Park, a modern shopping center close to Shibuya, serving the creamiest, fluffiest, most delicious soft-serve ice cream I’ve ever had.
I know I say everything on this list is so good, BUT that’s why it made it to my Tokyo foodie guide—this is the curated selection of all my favorite finds.
So yeah, this ice cream is incredibly good!
I ended up finding a Cremia ice cream spot after this, and after trying both, I think the Miyashita Cafe ice cream is far superior.
Matcha Tokyo on Cat Street
Lastly, the cafe that turned me into a matcha lover—Matcha Tokyo.
Matcha Tokyo is a matcha cafe on Cat Street, in the heart of Tokyo, serving all sorts of delicious matcha-based drinks and treats.
I was never a big matcha fan before coming to Japan, but I knew I wanted to give it a try here, and Matcha Tokyo was the first spot I had one in, and then it was game over for coffee—at least for a little bit.
My go-to order is a simple iced matcha latte, which I think is an easier way to try matcha for the first time, as the flavor is more subtle when cold.
Final thoughts on this Tokyo foodie guide
While there are thousands upon thousands of incredible restaurants to try in Tokyo, this foodie guide is a compilation of my favorite spots I discovered after six months of living and eating my way around this city.
Most of these are places I visited frequently over my time in Tokyo, and the spots I will immediately run to as soon as I step foot in the city—fingers crossed, hopefully soon!
So I hope you found this Tokyo foodie guide useful, and I hope it’s a good addition to your Tokyo itinerary, as food is just as important as seeing the sights—at least for me.
What food are you most looking forward to trying in Tokyo? Let us know in the comments, as you can tell, I love talking about food!