Hi, I’m Momo. Welcome to JapanEatinerary, a Japan food travel guide written by someone who actually lives here.
Why I started this Japan food travel guide
I live in Tokyo. I eat out four or five nights a week, because a good meal is basically my hobby.
Along the way, I also visited more than 40 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. So I’ve eaten a lot of things, in a lot of places.
Think back-alley ramen counters in Osaka. A tiny sake brewery in the Tohoku countryside. Izakayas where the menu is only in Japanese, and the owner just brings you whatever’s fresh.
There’s no shortage of “Top 10 things to eat in Tokyo” listicles online. But very few are written by someone who actually lives here and actually ate there. Fewer still will tell you honestly when something isn’t worth it.
So this Japan food travel guide is my attempt at exactly that: first-hand experience, not recycled listicles.
Most of my day-to-day eating happens right here in Tokyo. That means everything from supermarket deli counters and convenience store snacks to small neighborhood restaurants.
What you’ll find in this Japan food travel guide
This site is built around one idea: plan your trip to Japan around food. That means:
- Food tours and cooking classes — honest, first-hand reviews of what’s worth booking, and what isn’t.
- Sake and Japanese whisky — beginner-friendly guides for tasting your way through Japan. For a deeper dive, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association is a great technical resource.
- Where to stay and how to get around — practical guides to ryokan bookings, rail passes, and airport transfers. Written for people who don’t read Japanese.
- Regional food culture — because Tokyo is only one small slice of what Japan actually tastes like.
Why listen to me
I’m not a professional travel writer. I haven’t eaten at every restaurant in Japan, either.
But I do have a decade of living here, and a genuinely embarrassing restaurant budget. I also have a habit of going out of my way for good food.
So every recommendation in this Japan food travel guide is based on something I’ve personally done, eaten, or booked. None of it is repackaged from other blogs.
When I recommend a booking site, tour operator, or product, I’m upfront about it. I sometimes earn a small commission if you book through my link, at no extra cost to you.
It never affects which experiences I recommend. For the full details, see my Privacy Policy page.
Say hello
Planning a trip and have a question? Or just want to tell me I got a ramen ranking wrong? Get in touch on the Contact page — I read every message myself.