What food is Tokyo famous for?

Tokyo is famous for sushi, ramen, tempura, and yakitori, and you can eat all of them at cheap chain restaurants. Our three favorite meals in a month there were conveyor belt sushi at Sushiro, katsu curry at CoCo Ichibanya, and okonomiyaki.

What should I eat on my first day in Tokyo?

On your first day in Tokyo, eat conveyor belt sushi, Japanese katsu curry, and okonomiyaki. They were our three favorite meals of the month, and all three are easy to order in English.

Is food expensive in Tokyo?

No, food in Tokyo is cheaper than most people expect for a big city. In May 2026 we paid about $31 for 26 plates of sushi for two at Sushiro and about $7 for two beef bowls at Matsuya. Dinners from 7-Eleven or the supermarket ran us $10 to $15.

What do people eat for breakfast in Tokyo?

A traditional Japanese breakfast in Tokyo is rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and small sides like natto and pickles. Chains like Yayoiken serve the full set cheaply; we paid about $13 for two.

Do restaurants in Tokyo take credit cards?

Almost every restaurant we ate at in Tokyo took a credit card or a Suica card. The exceptions were Tenya, where the kiosk took only cash or a transit card, and a small bakery that took cash.

Do you tip at restaurants in Tokyo?

No, you don't tip in Tokyo. Tipping isn't part of the culture in Japan, and staff can find it rude.

The 14 Must-Eat Foods in Tokyo (After a Month of Eating)

Some nights I'd get on a plane just for dinner. A round of yellowtail and tuna sliding up to our booth. A crunchy pork cutlet sinking into thick, sweet Japanese curry. An okonomiyaki on the griddle, glossy with sauce and mayo under a pile of bonito flakes. Those are the three Tokyo dishes Cream and I crave most, and they top this list.

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In this guide 3 sections

We spent May 2026 living in Shinjuku, and nearly everything we ate came from the chains locals use every day, a few neighborhood bakeries, and a lot of 7-Eleven. On our first, shorter trip to Japan, in Osaka, we stuck to the famous food stalls and missed most of this. This time we ate our way through it, dish by dish.

What Are the Must-Eat Foods in Tokyo? My Quick Answer

With only one day in Tokyo, eat conveyor belt sushi, Japanese katsu curry, and okonomiyaki. Those three were the best meals of our month, and we'd happily order every one of them again tomorrow.

With more time, add ramen, yakitori, a tempura bowl, and a wagyu burger, and give at least one dinner to the convenience store. Hardly any of it is expensive: two Matsuya beef bowls set us back about $7.

💡 Before You Eat in Tokyo:

Order in English. Most chains have a kiosk or tablet with an English button.
Keep a Suica card on your phone. A few places take only cash or a transit card.
Have mobile data from the start. Maps, menus, and reservation apps all need it, so set up an Airalo eSIM before your flight.
Don't tip. It isn't done in Japan.
Eat and go. Meals are fast, and most places expect you to leave when you're done.

The 14 Must-Eat Foods in Tokyo

1. Conveyor Belt Sushi // Our Favorite Meal in Tokyo

Conveyor belt sushi (kaiten-zushi) gives you more for your money than any other meal in Tokyo, and it was the one we loved most. A tablet at the table takes your order, and an express lane delivers each plate to your seat.

Four Sushiro plates of nigiri on a wooden table in Tokyo: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and marinated tuna topped with green onion — 📍Sushiro, Shinjuku

Plates of salmon roe gunkan sushi riding the pink-lit express lane at a Sushiro in Shinjuku, Tokyo — 📍Sushiro, Shinjuku

⭐ Watch how ordering at Sushiro works, round by round

Fair warning: sushi in Japan spoils you for everywhere else. Order the classic fish first. The yellowtail practically melts, fresh tuna was the standout every time, and seared bonito is worth a plate too. The novelty plates I ordered for fun weren't in the same league, so stick with the fish.

Make your own green tea while you wait: there's matcha powder and a hot water spout at every seat, and it costs nothing.

Where we ate it: Sushiro in Shinjuku, our favorite, and Kura Sushi for comparison.

Lifting seared bonito nigiri with chopsticks over blue-and-white Kura Sushi plates in Tokyo — 📍Kura Sushi | Sushiro

Bernie smiling in a red Sushiro booth, holding up two plates of tuna and squid nigiri — 📍Kura Sushi | Sushiro

2. Katsu Curry // The Best Comfort Food in Japan

Japanese curry is its own thing: thick, mild, slightly sweet, and nothing like an Indian or Thai curry. Lay a fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu) on top and it becomes katsu curry.

A crispy pork tonkatsu cutlet on rice with thick brown Japanese curry at CoCo Ichibanya in Tokyo — 📍CoCo Ichibanya, Higashi-Shinjuku

A plate of chicken katsu curry with a golden fried cutlet beside a pool of curry sauce in Tokyo — 📍CoCo Ichibanya, Higashi-Shinjuku

⭐ Watch us try pork and chicken katsu curry at CoCo Ichibanya

It was the first Japanese curry either of us had tried, so we ordered one of each cutlet and traded halves. Pork was the better one, though both were crisp outside and juicy inside. The sauce is warmly spiced and thick enough to hold its shape on the plate, and regular spice was plenty for us.

It's a filling plate, so a smaller rice size makes sense if you're only a little hungry.

Where we ate it: CoCo Ichibanya, the curry chain with the yellow sign, in Higashi-Shinjuku.

3. Okonomiyaki and Monjayaki // The Most Fun Meal in Tokyo

Okonomiyaki is a savory egg-and-cabbage pancake cooked on a teppan griddle and finished with sauce, mayo, and bonito flakes. Monjayaki is Tokyo's loose, runny take on the same idea, spread thin on the griddle and scraped up with a mini spatula.

A bite of okonomiyaki with mayonnaise and bonito flakes lifted on a small spatula over the griddle at Osakaya in Shinjuku — 📍Osakaya, Kabukicho

Staff flipping a cabbage okonomiyaki pancake on a tabletop teppan griddle at Osakaya, Tokyo — 📍Osakaya, Kabukicho

⭐ Watch the staff cook our okonomiyaki and monjayaki at Osakaya

The okonomiyaki came out light and fluffy. Monjayaki is messier and more fun: you scrape it up in small bites with the mini spatula, straight off the hot plate. It was my pick of the table, and a yuzu orange sour was the right drink with it. Order yakisoba too if it's on the menu; it cooks on the same griddle.

Don't worry if you have no idea how to cook any of it. Our staff cooked every dish for us.

Where we ate it: Osakaya, a 24-hour basement teppan spot in Kabukicho.

Pork yakisoba noodles and bean sprouts frying on the griddle at Osakaya in Tokyo — 📍Osakaya, Shinjuku

Cream grinning behind a griddle with okonomiyaki and monjayaki cooking and edamame on the side at Osakaya — 📍Osakaya, Shinjuku

4. Tonkotsu Ramen // Best Eaten Alone in a Booth

Tonkotsu ramen means thin noodles in a rich, creamy broth made from pork bones, and you'll find it all over Tokyo.

An Ichiran tonkotsu ramen set in a wooden solo booth with a draft beer, a boiled egg, and a plate of sliced pork — 📍Ichiran, Shinjuku Kabukicho

Bernie smiling and holding up a bowl of Ichiran ramen in a solo booth in Shinjuku — 📍Ichiran, Shinjuku Kabukicho

That broth is deep and creamy, and Cream rated it above any ramen he'd eaten in the States. At Ichiran, a paper sheet lets you set the noodle firmness and spice before the bowl slides in through a little window. Add a boiled egg and extra sliced pork if you're hungry.

Slurp. In a room of solo booths, slurping was the only sound, and it's how noodles are eaten here.

Our ramen breakfast at Ichiran made it onto video, booth and all:

Our video of eating Ichiran tonkotsu ramen for breakfast in a solo booth in Tokyo.

Where we ate it: Ichiran in Kabukicho, for breakfast.

5. Yakitori // The Best Night Out in Tokyo

Yakitori is chicken grilled on skewers, every cut of the bird, seasoned with either salt or a sweet soy glaze.

A table covered in plates of yakitori skewers, sauced thigh, salted breast with leek, and beef, at Torikizoku in Shinjuku — 📍Torikizoku, Shinjuku

A chicken meatball skewer covered in melted cheese held up at Torikizoku in Tokyo — 📍Torikizoku, Shinjuku

⭐ Watch us order a whole table of 390-yen skewers at Torikizoku

Order a mix of both seasonings and a few cuts you've never tried. Best bite: the cheese-covered meatball. Biggest surprise: the sauced chicken heart, which I finished without a second thought. Torikizoku sells every item, skewers and drinks alike, at one flat price, so trying odd cuts costs nothing extra.¹

Where we ate it: Torikizoku in Shinjuku.

Grilled, sauced chicken heart skewers held over a plate at Torikizoku in Tokyo — 📍Torikizoku, Shinjuku

Bernie laughing and holding a handful of yakitori skewers at Torikizoku in Shinjuku — 📍Torikizoku, Shinjuku

6. Wagyu Burger // Our Favorite Burger Anywhere

A burger probably isn't on your Tokyo list, but a wagyu one here deserves a spot.

Bernie holding up a Shogun Burger double cheeseburger in its paper wrap — 📍Shogun Burger, Tokyu Kabukicho Tower

⭐ Watch Cream try the double wagyu burger at Shogun Burger

Wagyu is Japan's famously marbled beef, and it makes a rich burger patty. We ordered the double cheeseburger about five times in our last week, and it never changed. Bun, cheese, and charred wagyu all work together, and no burger back in the States comes close.

Where we ate it: Shogun Burger, at the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower branch.

7. Tendon // Cheap Tempura in a Bowl

Tendon is tempura (seafood and vegetables in a light, crisp batter) piled on rice with a sweet soy sauce.

A Tenya tendon bowl piled with shrimp, fish, and vegetable tempura next to a plate of extra shrimp tempura — 📍Tenya, Tokyo

Two large shrimp tempura and conger eel tempura on paper at Tenya in Tokyo — 📍Tenya, Tokyo

⭐ Watch us order tempura bowls at the Tenya kiosk

The classic shrimp bowl is the one to order, and the lotus root tempura caught me off guard in a good way. Add an extra piece or two of tempura on the side. Copy the locals, too: we watched them stir grated daikon into the dipping sauce and did the same.

Where we ate it: Tenya, near Ueno and around Tokyo.

Bernie holding a tray with a tempura bowl, miso soup, and pickles at a Tenya in Tokyo — 📍Tenya, Tokyo

8. Gyudon // The Cheapest Great Meal in Tokyo

Gyudon is a beef bowl: thin-sliced beef and onions simmered together and spooned over rice.

A plain bowl of gyudon, thinly sliced beef and onions over rice, on a tray at Matsuya in Tokyo — 📍Matsuya, Nakameguro

A bowl of gyudon topped with green onions and a raw egg yolk on a black tray at Matsuya — 📍Matsuya, Nakameguro

⭐ Watch how the Matsuya ticket kiosk works

Order it with green onion and a raw egg, and stir the yolk through the beef. Cream's bowl with both beat the plain one, though both are good. A plain bowl cost 460 yen, and few meals in Tokyo pack this much flavor for so little.

Where we ate it: Matsuya, for lunch in Nakameguro.

Cream lifting gyudon with chopsticks from a bowl topped with green onions and egg in a Matsuya booth — 📍Matsuya, Tokyo

9. Gyukatsu // A Beef Cutlet You Finish Yourself

Gyukatsu is a breaded, deep-fried beef cutlet left rare in the center, and a small hot stone at your seat lets you sear each slice to taste.

Three rare slices of breaded beef cutlet searing on a hot stone at Gyukatsu Motomura in Shinjuku — 📍Gyukatsu Motomura, Shinjuku Minamiguchi

A Gyukatsu Motomura set tray with barley rice, soup, the sliced beef cutlet, shredded cabbage, and small sides — 📍Gyukatsu Motomura, Shinjuku Minamiguchi

The sizzling stone and the spread of little side dishes make it a lot of fun. Sear each slice briefly, then try it with every sauce on the tray, because each one gives the beef a new flavor. The ginger dressing was my favorite.

Bernie smiling behind a Gyukatsu Motomura set with the beef cutlet, shredded cabbage, barley rice, soup, and small sides — 📍Gyukatsu Motomura, Shinjuku Minamiguchi

Where we ate it: Gyukatsu Motomura, by Shinjuku's south exit.

10. Japanese Breakfast // What to Eat in Tokyo for Breakfast

A traditional Japanese breakfast means rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and little sides such as natto (sticky fermented soybeans), pickles, and tofu.

A Yayoiken breakfast tray with grilled hokke fish, rice, miso soup, a neba-neba bowl, and a raw egg in Tokyo — 📍Yayoiken, Tokyo

A bowl of sticky natto beans on a breakfast tray at Yayoiken in Tokyo — 📍Yayoiken, Tokyo

Natto was a mystery to me until I copied a woman nearby, who tipped hers into a bowl, added the sauces, and stirred until it went stringy. I'm a convert now. The grilled fish was full of bones, so later we ordered sets without it. We only wish we'd started these breakfasts earlier, because we never felt better all trip.

Where we ate it: Yayoiken, a set-meal chain all over Tokyo, where a machine tops up your rice for free.

Lifting a stringy mix of natto, okra, seaweed, and fish from a neba-neba bowl with chopsticks at Yayoiken — 📍Yayoiken, Tokyo

11. Melon Pan and Yakisoba Pan // Japan's Bakery Classics

Japanese bakeries are their own world. Melon pan is a sweet bun with a crackly sugar crust, and yakisoba pan is fried noodles stuffed in a hot dog bun.

Holding a golden melon pan with a crackly sugar crust outside a bakery in Shinjuku — 📍Donsuke Bakery, Shinjuku

A yakisoba pan, fried noodles with pickled ginger in a soft bun, held on a street in Shinjuku — 📍Donsuke Bakery, Shinjuku

⭐ Watch us hunt for melon pan at a Shinjuku bakery

Melon pan has no melon flavor at all, just a light, sweet bun that begs for a coffee. The yakisoba pan is the savory one: fried noodles and a bit of red pickled ginger in a soft roll. My favorite turned out to be the black sesame and red bean bun the locals were all buying. Melon pan can sell out, so if you miss it, go back another day like we did.

Where we ate it: Donsuke Bakery, near our apartment in Shinjuku.

A round black sesame and red bean bun with a cat-paw shape held up outside in Shinjuku — 📍Donsuke Bakery, Shinjuku

12. Konbini Food // The Egg Sando, Onigiri, and Ice Cream

Japan's convenience stores (konbini) are worth eating at on purpose. A lot of our dinners came from 7-Eleven or the supermarket.

A 7-Eleven dinner spread on a table in Tokyo, a tempura rice bowl, an onigiri, a sandwich, and drinks — 📍7-Eleven and the supermarket, Shinjuku

Rows of packaged bento boxes with fried chicken, rice, and noodles at a Tokyo supermarket — 📍7-Eleven and the supermarket, Shinjuku

⭐ Watch the 7-Eleven ice creams we kept buying

Start with the 7-Eleven egg sandwich (tamago sando), creamy egg salad on pillowy white bread, and an onigiri, a seaweed-wrapped rice ball. Finish with something from the ice cream freezer; we ranked the 7-Eleven ice creams worth buying after trying them all. For onigiri and sandwiches, 7-Eleven is the winner; for fried chicken, go to Lawson.

Cream's go-to hack: an egg salad bun with a Big Frank sausage from behind the counter.

Where we ate it: 7-Eleven, all over Shinjuku.

Cream grinning and holding up the 7-Eleven hot dog hack, a Big Frank sausage in a bun with ketchup and mustard — 📍7-Eleven, Shinjuku

13. Roasted Sweet Potato // Our Supermarket Obsession

Roasted sweet potatoes (yaki imo) are sold hot in supermarkets and shops around Tokyo, and they're sweeter and creamier than the ones at home.

A split baked purple sweet potato with bright purple flesh on a white plate in Tokyo — 📍Life supermarket, Shinjuku

A warm display of roasted sweet potatoes in paper bags, including purple ones, at a Life supermarket in Tokyo — 📍Life supermarket, Shinjuku

We worked through every variety, and purple was the best. Eat it hot on the spot, or carry it home like we did.

Where we ate it: the Life supermarket near our apartment, after nearly every grocery run.

14. Japan-Only McDonald's // Our Tradition in Every Country

It may not be on your Tokyo list, but trying McDonald's is our ritual in every country, and Japan has one of the best menus we've found.

A McDonald's Japan tray with wrapped burgers, fries, a Grimace shake, and a Fanta Melon soda in Tokyo — 📍McDonald's, Shinjuku

A McDonald's Japan beef burger with egg, bacon, lettuce, and a glossy soy sauce glaze on its wrapper — 📍McDonald's, Shinjuku

⭐ Watch us try the Japan-only menu at McDonald's

Order the Chicken Tatsuta, the Ebi Filet-O (a shrimp burger), and the soy-glazed egg and bacon burger nicknamed the Samurai Mac. The Fanta Melon was a happy surprise. Pass on the cheese Shaka Shaka Chicken.

Where we ate it: McDonald's in Shinjuku.

Ready to Eat Your Way Through Tokyo?

Eating well in Tokyo doesn't take fancy reservations. Nearly everything here came from a chain, a bakery, or a convenience store. The only viral spot we'd skip is Age.3, unless the line is short. And if you're a picky eater, Tokyo still has plenty for you.

Most of these are a short walk or subway ride from Shinjuku, where we lived. To stay close to the food, compare hotels around Shinjuku.

Keep Reading

Where to Eat: The restaurants we scored highest, with what to order and what we paid, in The 11 Best Restaurants in Tokyo, Ranked.
Compare: The dishes we ate on repeat in Malaysia, in The 10 Must-Eat Foods in Kuala Lumpur.
McDonald's Everywhere: Why a Big Mac is our first meal in every new country, in Why McDonald's Is Always Our First Meal in a New Country.