Japan Recommendations

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
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An opportunity presented itself for me to get an invite to go on a trip/ski trip to Japan late February. I’ve been dreaming of getting to be on top of the snow in Japan for years now, so I have a grasp on that side of things. Feel free to add if you have any thoughts though.

But as far as accommodation, restaurants etc. I could use some help. Will likely do a few days in Tokyo on the way in or out. Most of the time I believe we will spend on the North Island in Niseko, Rusutsu, Sapporo.

I am allergic to seafood, but the others aren’t, but sushi only restaurants are out of the question for me unfortunately.

I’ll take recs on restaurants, where to stay, wine shops, really anything. Thank you Berserkers.

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Allergic to all seafood? Because most Japanese dishes have dashi, most commonly made from fish or shellfish. There are a few vegetarian varieties related to Buddhist monastaries. And sushi is not just seafood.
I enjoy the Sapporo Brewery’s Gengis Khan restaurant. All meat.

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No fish or just no shellfish?

No fish, no recommendations on Tokyo from me. But I have a few in Kyoto if that’s in your itinerary.

Allergic to dashii will be a huge issue, so you need to figure that out. My vegetarian wife made an exception because it’s so ubiquitous (and the food can be bland without it).

Look for yakitori (chicken) and steak.

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How severe is your allergy?

I was there earlier this year and one person in our group had a shellfish allergy.

We did the best to avoid it but a few epi pens were used. The restaurants mean well but between the language barrier and what seemed to be a non understanding of what an allergy was that person found it very difficult to confidently order anything.

As mentioned above - dashi is used in just about everything. Veggies, steak, etc.

Edit: I should say we mostly stayed away from touristy places as we were with a friend from Japan that took us to some more “authentic” places. Even with him translating it didn’t go great for that person.

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@Sarah_Kirschbaum is probably the best resource on the board for all things Japan. I know she has been many times (and may still be there at the moment) and is extremely knowledgeable.

I’m a physician (not an allergist), but I would be suspect of an allergy to “all seafood”. I think it is very unlikely seafood as a category has a single shared allergen and even less likely that someone would be allergic to that same allergen. Have you seen an allergist to better define your allergy? It might be a useful thing to do, especially with this trip to Japan looming. Just my 2 cents…

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I definitely plan to in the coming weeks. This trip literally got finalized today.

My allergy isn’t severe as in anaphylaxis or epi pen. I throw up after eating it.

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Lucky you and a great decision to go!
Japan is amazing, and the variety of food options is incredible, no problem what so ever to find excellent options that are not seafood related.

I have always been take to various places in Tokyo so won’t be able to recommend any specific place. However to give you an idea what you could look out for in addition to the usually suspects (Yakitori, ramen, sushi - but not in your case, etc) - specialized restaurants:

  • okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes)
  • intestinal restaurants
  • Yakitori places
  • horse (only) restaurants
  • Shabu shabu
  • Korean bbq

I know it’s easy to get excited about fancy places but I would strongly recommend to at least have one night out in a salaryman district to see and feel real Japan every day life. Can be very nice interactions with locals after a few beers (order a dish or two to the guys next to you). Great experience and the average food quality is so high that even the simper places are terrific to great in terms of quality!

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I think you need to refine your question a bit more. There are 137,000 restaurants in Tokyo alone. In comparison all of NYC has 25,000.

I don’t know how serious you are about food.

If you are in Tokyo for three days I would suggest. 2-3 high end restaurants and a bunch of casual. Japanese restaurants are very focused and some of the very special ones you have to stand in long lines. You have to decide for example do you want Ramen and if so what kind, yakitori, etc. There are restaurants that specialize in just Unagi, not sure if this would be an issue with your allergy

Opinated on dining has great lists that I highly recommend to use for research:

https://www.oadguides.com/lists/japan/top-restaurants/2023

As for hotels again what is your price point. What I learned the hard way is that the american hotels are fare more expensive than their similar quality Japanese counterparts. For high end I really like the Aman.

Hope this helps a little but Japan unlike any other place requires a lot of research because of the unlimited choices.

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Robert, any recommended hotels in Tokyo that are not necessarily western but with western beds? Or is that a contradiction,

I’ve been twice , at the Park Hyatt, but my cash price point is lower. (Previous stays have been on points, love the place but it’s not the best location).

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Sorry I don’t. I usually go the points route and use an American hotel.

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We did 11 days in Japan in October, mostly Tokyo and a few days in Kyoto - loved it so much thinking about going back in 2024. Can’t help w/ the north islands piece, can make some suggestions for Tokyo. We’re eager to ski up north as well, please share your experience when you return!

For Tokyo, we based ourselves in the Shibuya area and would do again. Easy to get around on train and/or walking.

Restaurants can specialize in one thing like noodles (Ramen, Soba, Udon), Yakitori (grilled things on skewers, mostly chicken/parts), Tonkatsu (breaded/fried pork cutlet, Sushi and bars called izakaya’s which can offer a variety of these things.

Hotel - we stayed at Cerulean Tower Tokyu hotel and they have king size beds. If you book a room on the executive floors, it gets you access to the executive lounge on 35th floor where they serve light breakfast things in morning, then just tea/coffee/water/soda until 5PM, then cocktail hour w/ light bites, all complementary. (Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel | Tokyo Shibuya)

Food - all in Shibuya area, none are high-end places, Asahi on tap is a great pairing for most things.

Yakitori - place called Toritake - food is very good and it’s a great experience.

Tonkatsu - place called Maisen, several locations. (レストラン | とんかつ まい泉 | MAISEN) (menu .pdf https://mai-sen.com/restaurant/82debfe9e76d71ce58eb3bf7c770a15b.pdf)

Izakaya - name is Kokappo Ohashi Shibuya - should make a reservation, great experience.

Cocktail bar - recommend Bar Trench, in Ebisu neighborhood just one train stop away from main Shibuya station. Great cocktails & can try Japanese gin/whiskey/vodkas. (Bar Trench | Asia's 50 Best Bars 2022 | Ranked No. 25)

Ramen -
Nagi (英語ページ│株式会社凪スピリッツ), classic to fusion like pesto ramen

Shuichi (Ebisu neighborhood) - make a great curry ramen (https://www.5amramen.com/post/curry-ramen-tokyo-shuichi) (しゅういち - 乃木坂/つけ麺 | 食べログ)

Would recommend a tour by 5AM Ramen (https://japanko-official.com/5am-ramen-tokyo-ramen-tours/).
You can view their “best Ramen” list @ https://www.5amramen.com/blog/categories/best-ramen-lists

For restaurant reviews, popular site Japanese use is called Tabelog (not Yelp/TripAdvisor) per one of our guides (Restaurant map [Tabelog])

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Rosso Rosso in Niseko for steak. It’s built up quite a bit since I lived in Japan so likely lots of new stuff, but they are still there.

If you are into Backcountry, find a guide to hike up Yotei, that’s the fuji-like mountain in between Rusutsu and Niseko. Niseko Adventure Club did it, this was a while back tho.

Sapporo Museum tour is fun. If you have time, take the train to Yoichi for Nikka whisky.

Tokyo - I’ve liked staying at the Sheraton Miyako lately. Reasonably priced, decent location for where I like to go. Most all business hotel chains have western beds, but are small. Mitsui Garden was on the nicer side to me, one in Roppongi.

Aoyama Wine Base has an interesting selection and does many BTG (coravin). Should get English there.

There’s a Kenzo tasting room in Roppongi Hills. I didn’t care for the staff at all but you can taste a good range if that’s your thing.

Tonki in Meguro (near station) is where you want to go for tonkatsu, particularly kushikatsu.

Have lots of my own favorites, easier to point you to things once you’ve found a base…

I’ll try to put in some links when I get home…

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Following. Hitting Tokyo in late March, plus Kyoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima, so would really love any recommendations for those smaller cities.!

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Many recent recommendations in the main Tokyo/Kyoto thread.

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Someone up-thread suggested Table Log, and it has been quite helpful in parsing out restaurants for our coming trip to Kyoto and Tokyo. Run it on Chrome with translate.
Now, if I can just get the services who handle bookings to confirm my requests- that would be great.

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There are tons of great places to eat, but as mentioned if you have a seafood allergy, you need to be super careful as it sneaks into alot of things you would not expect. As far as lodging, Western hotels are normally the priciest. I am a Hyatt guy so have stayed at their portfolio in Tokyo. Andaz is my favorite followed by the Centric.
Your real issue will be what neighborhood to stay in. I am not a fan of Roggongi. Japanese chains are great and offer western beds. There are higher end chains (like Prince) and many “businessman” chains like Toyku, Dormy, etc… they are fine and pretty good value IMO.

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Been meaning to post here. But I got tested and as I suspected most seafood was undetected. Just crab and shrimp was on the very low end. Lobster was ok. So I’m going to be sampling seafood over the next month + and see what does what, if anything.

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Once in a while you get shown the light. Snagged a reservation for Monk for our last night in Kyoto. Tried for several nights, 10pmEST when the reservations go live for 2 months out. Looking forward.

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I think the only two restaurants we’re going to reserve will be Ginza Iwa for sushi and Crony 2* French/Japanese.

The rest will kind of be go with the flow, looking on lablelog etc. don’t want to lock ourselves in too much.

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Tokyo has very very good pizza. Pizza studio tamaki was my favorite but there are a few others