02
THE FOOD MAP
47 PREFECTURES · 9 REGIONS · ALL JAPAN
北海道 Hokkaido
FRONTIER NORTH
🍜
SAPPORO MISO RAMEN
Butter, corn, rich miso — born 1950s
札幌味噌ラーメン
★ WORLD CLASS
🦀
HAIRY CRAB & KING CRAB
Hokkaido's finest crustaceans, steamed with ponzu
毛ガニ・タラバガニ
★ WORLD CLASS
🌊
UNI — SEA URCHIN
Rishiri cold-water roe, world's sushi chefs obsess
雲丹
★ WORLD CLASS
🍖
JINGISUKAN
Lamb grilled on a dome, Hokkaido soul food
ジンギスカン
🍨
HOKKAIDO DAIRY
40% of Japan's milk — richer than anywhere else
北海道乳製品
🐟
IKURA KAISENDON
Hakodate rice bowl buried in salmon roe
いくら海鮮丼
東北 Tōhoku
THE DEEP NORTH
🐄
GYUTAN — BEEF TONGUE
Sendai charcoal-grilled, post-war national treasure
牛タン
★ WORLD CLASS
🟢
ZUNDA MOCHI
Rice cakes smothered in sweet edamame paste
ずんだ餅
🍢
KIRITANPO NABE
Cedar-skewered rice in Akita chicken hot pot
きりたんぽ鍋
🍣
ICHIGO-NI
Hachinohe's luxurious sea urchin and abalone soup
いちご煮
★ WORLD CLASS
🍜
WANKO SOBA
Endless one-bite bowls — 15 bowls equal one serving
わんこそば
🍲
IMO-NI
Yamagata's autumn riverside taro hot pot
芋煮
🍜
KITAKATA RAMEN
Flat wavy noodles, highest ramen density in Japan
喜多方ラーメン
関東 Kantō
THE CAPITAL REGION
🍣
EDO-MAE SUSHI
Born 1820s on Tokyo's Edo waterfront
江戸前寿司
★ WORLD CLASS
🫓
MONJAYAKI
Tokyo's runny, griddle-scraped savory batter
もんじゃ焼き
🥟
UTSUNOMIYA GYOZA
Japan's dumpling capital — 200+ restaurants
宇都宮餃子
🍜
YOKOHAMA IEKEI RAMEN
Tonkotsu-shoyu hybrid born in Yokohama, 1974
横浜家系ラーメン
★ WORLD CLASS
🦞
ANKO NABE
Ibaraki monkfish hot pot, rich liver-infused broth
あんこう鍋
🫘
NATTO
Mito's fermented soybeans — polarizing breakfast ritual
納豆
中部 Chūbu
CENTRAL JAPAN
🍱
HITSUMABUSHI
Nagoya eel on rice, eaten three distinct ways
ひつまぶし
★ WORLD CLASS
🥩
MISO KATSU
Pork cutlet drowned in dark hatcho miso sauce
味噌カツ
★ WORLD CLASS
🍗
TEBASAKI
Nagoya double-fried chicken wings, soy-pepper glaze
手羽先
🦐
SHIROEBI — WHITE SHRIMP
Toyama Bay's translucent jewel, found nowhere else
白エビ
★ WORLD CLASS
🦀
ECHIZEN CRAB
Gold-tagged male snow crab, Fukui's winter crown
越前ガニ
★ WORLD CLASS
🍜
HOTO NOODLES
Flat wheat noodles, kabocha, miso — Yamanashi staple
ほうとう
🍜
SHINSHU SOBA
Nagano high-altitude buckwheat, Japan's finest soba
信州そば
★ WORLD CLASS
🦐
SAKURA EBI
Cherry shrimp caught only in Suruga Bay, Shizuoka
桜海老
🦞
ISE LOBSTER
Mie Prefecture's sacred New Year imperial lobster
伊勢海老
★ WORLD CLASS
近畿 Kansai
NATION'S KITCHEN
🐙
TAKOYAKI
Osaka's octopus balls, invented 1935 at Aizuya
たこ焼き
★ WORLD CLASS
🥞
OSAKA OKONOMIYAKI
Everything-mixed savory pancake — Osaka's identity
お好み焼き
★ WORLD CLASS
🍢
KUSHIKATSU
Fried skewers in Shinsekai — never double-dip the sauce
串カツ
🥩
KOBE BEEF
Tajima wagyu, fewer than 3,000 qualify per year
神戸牛
★ WORLD CLASS
🍵
KYOTO KAISEKI
Seasonal multi-course haute cuisine, UNESCO Washoku
懐石料理
★ WORLD CLASS
🍡
AKASHI YAKI
Soft eggy octopus dumplings, dipped in warm dashi
明石焼き
🐟
FUNAZUSHI
Japan's oldest sushi — fermented for one to three years
鮒ずし
中国 Chūgoku
WESTERN HONSHU
🥞
HIROSHIMA OKONOMIYAKI
Layered, noodles inside — the eternal Osaka rival
広島お好み焼き
★ WORLD CLASS
🦪
HIROSHIMA OYSTERS
70% of Japan's farmed oysters, Seto Inland Sea
広島かき
★ WORLD CLASS
🐡
FUGU — PUFFERFISH
Shimonoseki paper-thin sashimi, 3-year chef licence
ふぐ
★ WORLD CLASS
🦀
MATSUBA CRAB
San'in coast green-tagged snow crab, winter only
松葉ガニ
🍜
IZUMO SOBA
Three stacked lacquer bowls, dark whole-hull noodles
出雲そば
四国 Shikoku
THE PILGRIM ISLAND
🍜
SANUKI UDON
Kagawa's silky thick udon — most shops per capita
讃岐うどん
★ WORLD CLASS
🐟
KATSUO NO TATAKI
Kochi tuna seared over rice straw — smoke is the flavor
鰹のたたき
★ WORLD CLASS
🐟
TAI MESHI
Sea bream cooked whole, fat infuses every grain
鯛めし
🍜
TOKUSHIMA RAMEN
Dark amber broth, raw egg cracked in on top
徳島ラーメン
九州 Kyūshū
THE SOUTHERN POWERHOUSE
🍜
HAKATA TONKOTSU RAMEN
12-hour boil, creamy white pork bone broth
博多とんこつラーメン
★ WORLD CLASS
🥚
MENTAIKO
Fukuoka chili pollock roe — Japan eats 50,000 tonnes yearly
明太子
★ WORLD CLASS
🐴
BASASHI — HORSE SASHIMI
Kumamoto raw horse, sliced thin, served nearly frozen
馬刺し
🍗
CHICKEN NANBAN
Sweet vinegar fried chicken, buried in tartar sauce
チキン南蛮
🐷
KUROBUTA PORK
Kagoshima Berkshire black pig, sweet-potato-fed
黒豚
★ WORLD CLASS
🦑
YOBUKO IKA — LIVE SQUID
Saga's still-transparent sashimi, legs fried after
呼子のイカ
🍜
NAGASAKI CHAMPON
Chinese-Japanese fusion noodles, invented 1899
長崎ちゃんぽん
🍗
TORITEN
Oita ginger-soy chicken tempura, served with ponzu
とり天
沖縄 Okinawa
RYUKYU BLUE ZONE
🐷
RAFUTE
Awamori-braised pork belly — collagen melts completely
ラフテー
★ WORLD CLASS
🍜
OKINAWA SOBA
Wheat noodles in golden pork-bonito broth, Ryukyu-born
沖縄そば
★ WORLD CLASS
🥘
GOYA CHANPURU
Bitter melon, tofu and pork stir-fry — daily ritual
ゴーヤチャンプルー
🍶
AWAMORI
Ryukyu distilled spirit aged in clay pots for decades
泡盛