What to eat in Tokyo now

The city where Japan's best seasonal fish arrives at Toyosu every morning. Enjoy Edomae sushi, where nigiri was born, downtown monjayaki, and seasonal Japanese sweets and parfaits.

Tokyo Bay, the "Edomae" sea. Every morning, fish from all over Japan arrives at Toyosu Market

In season in November

• 🍣

  Edomae sushi (gizzard shad, sea eel, marinated tuna)

  Often raw

  Nigiri sushi was born in Edo, today's Tokyo. Edomae means fish given a little "work": vinegar-cured kohada, simmered sea eel brushed with sweet sauce, tuna marinated in soy sauce (zuke). In summer, baby kohada called shinko appear.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Jul – Aug

  Where

  Sushi bars in Ginza, Tsukiji and Toyosu, and neighborhood sushi shops

  Show the staff: 江戸前寿司（コハダ・穴子・づけ）

  Fish guide: Gizzard shad (kohada)

• 🍣

  Sushi and seafood bowls at Toyosu Market

  Often raw

  Tokyo's fish market. The best catch of the day arrives from every sea in Japan, so you can taste more seasonal fish here in one sitting than anywhere else on your trip. Tuna is at its richest in winter. The diners open very early and many close soon after lunch.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Dec – Feb

  Where

  The restaurants inside Toyosu Market (Shijo-mae Station on the Yurikamome line) and the Senkyaku Banrai complex next door

  Show the staff: 豊洲の市場の寿司・海鮮丼

  Fish guide: Bluefin tuna

• 🍢

  Street food at Tsukiji Outer Market (tamagoyaki, seafood skewers)

  When the wholesale market moved to Toyosu, the shops around it stayed in Tsukiji. Buy a little at a time: sweet tamagoyaki omelet, grilled scallop or sea urchin skewers and more. Some stalls also sell raw seafood. Busiest from morning to early afternoon.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Tsukiji Outer Market (Tsukiji or Tsukijishijo stations)

  Show the staff: 築地場外の食べ歩き（玉子焼き・海鮮の串）

• 🍤

  Edomae tendon and tempura (sea eel, sillago, prawn)

  Tempura spread from the street stalls of Edo. Tendon is fried sea eel, sillago and prawn from Tokyo Bay over rice with a sweet-savory sauce. Asakusa shops are known for a dark, rich sauce. Sea eel and sillago are best in summer.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Jun – Aug

  Where

  Tempura and tendon shops in Asakusa and Nihonbashi

  Show the staff: 江戸前の天丼・天ぷら（穴子・キス・えび）

  Fish guide: Conger eel (anago)

• 🍚

  Fukagawa-meshi (clams over rice)

  A dish of the old fishermen of Fukagawa, where clams were once plentiful. Either clams and leeks simmered in miso and poured over rice, or rice cooked together with the clams. Clams are best in spring.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Mar – May

  Where

  Fukagawa and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa (Koto ward)

  Show the staff: 深川めし（あさり）

• 🍲

  Anglerfish hot pot (anko nabe)

  It looks scary, but almost every part is eaten: flesh, skin and liver. It simmers with vegetables in a miso or soy broth enriched with the liver. A Tokyo winter classic, served at some restaurants since the Edo period.

  Season

  Nov – Feb

  Best

  Dec – Jan

  Where

  Long-established hot pot restaurants in Kanda and Asakusa

  Show the staff: あんこう鍋

  Fish guide: Monkfish (anko)

• 🌰

  Japanese chestnut Mont Blanc and kuri-kinton

  In autumn, chestnut sweets fill Tokyo's shop windows. Mont Blanc piped with fine strands of Japanese chestnut cream took on a style of its own in Tokyo. On the Japanese side, try kuri-kinton, chestnut squeezed into shape in a cloth. Some contain liquor or other nuts, so check if that matters to you.

  Season

  Sep – Nov

  Best

  Oct

  Where

  Pastry shops, wagashi shops and cafés around town

  Show the staff: 和栗のモンブラン・栗きんとん

• 🍳

  Monjayaki

  A downtown Tokyo favorite: a runny batter cooked on the griddle at your table and eaten straight off it with a tiny spatula. Cabbage plus fillings like spicy cod roe, cheese, squid or shrimp. Staff often show you how to cook it.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  Tsukishima Monja Street (Tsukishima Station)

  Show the staff: もんじゃ焼き

• 🍲

  Chanko nabe (sumo wrestlers' hot pot)

  The hot pot sumo wrestlers eat to build their bodies: plenty of chicken, fish and vegetables in a soy or miso broth. Many restaurants in Ryogoku are run by former wrestlers. The area is liveliest in January, May and September, when the Tokyo sumo tournaments are held.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Jan, May, Sep

  Where

  Ryogoku, around the Kokugikan sumo hall

  Show the staff: ちゃんこ鍋

• 🍜

  Tokyo ramen and tsukemen

  Classic Tokyo ramen is a clear soy-sauce soup made from chicken and dried sardine stock, with wavy noodles. Tsukemen, noodles dipped in a separate rich broth, was also born in Tokyo. At many shops you buy a meal ticket from the machine by the door first.

  Season

  All year

  Best

  Where

  All over the city (Ogikubo, Jimbocho, Ikebukuro and more)

  Show the staff: 東京ラーメン・つけ麺

Coming in December

• 🍓

  Strawberry daifuku and strawberry parfaits

  Japanese strawberries are in season from winter to spring, sweet and large. Strawberry daifuku, a whole berry wrapped with red bean paste in soft mochi, and parfaits piled with strawberries appear only in this season.

  Season

  Dec – Apr

  Best

  Jan – Mar

  Where

  Wagashi shops, and fruit parlors and cafés

  Show the staff: いちご大福・いちごのパフェ

Local specialties through the year

Other regions

Osaka · Nagoya (Aichi) · Fukuoka (Hakata) · Hiroshima · Hyogo (Kobe, Akashi) · Kyoto (city, Tango coast) · Hakuba (Nagano) · Hokkaido (Sapporo, Otaru) · Seoul · Busan

Seasons shift with the weather and the catch each year. Ask the restaurant what is in today.