There are still a few good ramen spots, but I agree there's generally more in the northwest suburbs. Is Juno on Lincoln still open? That was probably the best sushi I've had in Chicago...although also the most expensive I think. Before people argue (and you're probably right), my guideline is simple -- sushi is something I never search for. It's fine, just not something I love. I loved the food at Juno.

Yeah, I should have mentioned ramen, of which we have many options!

I haven't been to Juno for about a year but I think it's still alive. Agree that it's great, but I've never branched out beyond sushi there. Kai Zan and Momotaro are also great, but still also fall into the mainly-sushi category in my mind. (I haven't been to the basement izakaya.)

Forgot about Momotaro. The basement is great. My wife has been to both top and bottom, but I've only been to the izakaya with her. Lots of really good seafood.
But I'll never forget the first time we went, our server was a trainee. After ordering a number of seafood dishes, the server asked if we had any food allergies, and my normally introverted spouse says "Yes, seafood". I don't know who was more shocked, me or the server! Then we laughed, said just kidding and, of course, tipped her well.

It's been nearly 10 years but I lived in Chicago for about 14 months and never dabbled in Japanese food while there (wasn't as big a sushi fan back then either) but Chicago has some truly excellent restaurants that go across the food cuisine spectrum

One of the best restaurant cities in the United States!

10 years ago would have missed the breadth of Japanese restaurants we have now I believe, but there were some good sushi places then. As I recall, ramen places (other than a few in the NW suburbs) were just starting to show up, and I can't think of any izakaya-style places.

The NW burbs, and some north, have had a healthy amount of Asian restaurants for quite a while. We were pleasantly surprised to find a strip of mainly family owned, fairly authentic Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean restaurants along Milwaukee Ave. in Glenview when we moved out of the city this year...literally over a dozen in just a couple blocks.

Lol it’s one of the best cities!

Is Noodle still there?
I’m still curious about Ron of Japan. I’ve never been there

Maybe, never heard of Noodle.
I'm curious about Ron of Japan too. My understanding is that it's mainly a teppanyaki place, which of course hasn't really been running since we moved out of the city in the spring. They had a small patio (too cold now), and are also doing takeout, but we haven't tried either. I just don't see the takeout comparing at all with "shrimp in pocket". :)

A quick look at the online carryout menu - appears they have sushi/sashimi, a traditional teppan entree menu, and full steak or seafood dinners.

It’s amusing how I’ve driven past Ron of Japan for years as I’ll pass it when going to Prairie Grass or Barnaby’s pizza or just anywhere in that part on Skokie Hwy :-)

I've probably passed it 30 times already since we moved here in the spring! It's right across the street from our Mariano's. Some day I'll try it and report back to you :). We had Barnaby's last weekend when our two young nephews stayed over.

Great category topic! For me, it's simple: Japanese, Italian, and Spanish. I would eat food from any of those 3 countries any day and/or every day.

Where in NYC do you like to eat Japanese (or did you like, pre-COVID)?

Pakistani
Turkish
Lebanese

Note Pakistani (especially Lahori) cuisine is the original Delhi cuisine. During partition all the top chefs and cooks migrated to Lahore making Lahore the focal point for what was North Indian cuisine. India remains the best place for vegetarian cuisine.

Turkish all day, every day
 

YES! Turkish is the absolute best for me. From breakfast to dessert, I just love everything about it! Lebanese is a close second. Portuguese food as well. One of the best meals of my life was in Lisbon and included squid ink risotto. The chef was convinced we'd hate it. We licked the bowl clean. Porto had so much incredible food.

Now I'm really interested in finding local Lahori places to support! It's hard to find really good veggie cuisine at times.

You need to come to London, or go to Lahore.