For eel, I recommend Kansai. ;) But Nodaiwa should be tops in Tokyo. ^

For sushi, I would seriously consider a few days Hokkaido trip to Sapporo and Otaru ( or Hakodate ). There are plenty of affordable HND - CTS flights and Hokkaido is very family friendly. Foodie tourism is popular and well catered for in Japan.

Tenichi is good, expense account type of place. Rakutei is rarefied, a zen meal experience. It is also 14,000 yen for lunch, and they have one sitting. The boss takes his job very seriously.

Sushidai is in the market, very good and cheap. Kozasa is very good and expensive.

Bah humbug.......the best eel is in Yanagawa.....double steamed, with a special sauce.

LapLap, did you ever make it to my friend's soba shop in Shakujii Koen? Bit out of the way to recommend to casual visitors, but...

I finally made it in on my last trip to Tokyo, and while I spent half the evening collapsed over several chairs with a migraine, the soba was as wonderful as I remembered it being (once I woke up--great guest of honor I am).

I had my family in tow in October, and it proved difficult in December (visiting the in-laws and locating reasonably priced tabi & other kimono-mono before New Year kicked in). But your recommendation is firmly embedded in my notes. On my next visit I fully intend to ditch MrLapLap - who is a die hard Ramen fan (mysteriously so as he can't handle scalding hot broth which means he only enjoys the stuff once it has begun to congeal... yuck!) and pursue my own appetites.

I keep hearing rumours that it is possible to get fish based ramen (that isn't laden with inches of pork lard and chicken fat - pour it into a glass bowl and watch it go cold if you want to see how healthy this sarariman staple really is ;)) but no-one has ever been able to point me in the direction of a restaurant that actually serves it. I'm starting to think it's an urban myth made up on my behalf.

I watched Tampopo in the late 80's which made me hunt out Noto - a Ramen bar in Bread Street, London. This in turn ignited my love affair with Japanese food (even though/ or perhaps especially because I ditched meat in the early 90's), a passion which ultimately led me to visit Japan in the first place. And the food there is something I've never been disappointed by - and I'm long resigned to the fact that I'll never be able to try all the food I want to in Japan. There are just too many specialities and regional delicacies for one short life-time.

Itadakimasu!

One of my good friends in Tokyo (Japanese) also doesn't eat meat but eats fish, so I'll see if she knows of any places.

Tried out a noodle shop in the East Village recently (Momofuku) that states very clearly on their menu "We do not serve vegetarian friendly items". Better than pretending you do, I suppose! Didn't think the noodles were that great, but loved most of the other things I tried (serious pork fest).

One word: Tonkatsu.

'3' more:

Ebi katsu, hotate katsu, kaki katsu.... mmmm!


(EDIT to add: these are really karaage dishes - prawn, scallop & oyster - the katsu suffix is incorrect, I was just trying to highlight that there are many Tonki-style tonkatsu restaurants that offer more options than just pork cutlets.)

I'm a menchi katsu gal, myself.

Skip Gonpachi - really westernized and touristy type. Terrible service.

The concierge at the Grand Hyatt recommended Yaotoku for eel. We loved it and return every time we are in Tokyo.

Gessin Kyo for vegetarian food was really good, but if I remember correctly, pricey. It's very small and the food was very good.

I liked the atmosphere and the dishes at Gesshinkyo, but wasn't as impressed by the food as you were, it seems. It was a Y12,000 set dinner when I went a few years ago.

The various "katsu" dishes are something that Japanese-style restaurants in the West have trouble getting right. The "koromo" always seem tough and overdone.

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've had an awful couple of weeks (problems with elderly father - hard drive crash - you get the idea).

My husband and I are from Florida too - we spent about a week in Tokyo in April. Note that my husband spent about a year learning elementary Japanese before our trip.

I am a knowledgeable food traveler - and I couldn't agree more with ksandness about Tokyo. You cannot imagine how many restaurants there are (or how big the city is for that matter). And how many tens of thousands of restaurants are not mentioned anywhere in the English speaking press. And - when they get mentioned - I have to raise my eyebrows. We poked around one day and "found" a tempura place called Ippoh (it was in the Barney's New York building). Had lunch there and it was excellent. And it winds up this month as one of the 50 or 100 "hot places" in T&L Magazine. I had to laugh though - because it was an intense language experience. Only 7 people at lunch - and none of the staff spoke a word of English. We had fun - but some people might not have.

Anyway - we never had a bad meal in Tokyo. High-end - low-end - or in the middle. So - for lesser deal restaurants - I would recommend poking around when you're hungry - without a Zagat guide. Find a place that "feels right". Don't underestimate the value of restaurants with plastic food in the windows. That plastic food can be a lifesaver.

With regard to bigger deal restaurants - like Kozasa (we ate there) - I recommend running your likes/dislikes/ideas by your hotel concierge. Who will do a good job of pairing you with an appropriate restaurant. E.g., Kozasa is not a place where you will feel comfortable unless you speak Japanese (even with my husband's basic Japanese - we invited a Japanese speaking friend to join us so we would enjoy the experience). It is expensive (about $130/pp for lunch - about double that for dinner). It is definitely not a child-friendly place (you said you were traveling with family). And I think you'll have problems making reservations there unless you speak Japanese. Perhaps it would be a good fit for you - but - like I said - I'd run it by the hotel concierge.

Anyway - good luck - and good trip. Robyn

Hi,
Extra advice.

1) Ramen, there are various number of Ramen in Japan, but I love Kyushu style, soup is made from pig born. I think Ichiran and Ippudo are in Tokyo too. Ippudo is better for me. Ichiran's inside of shop is too unique for me.

2) Laplap! You know Japan so much, but in this time...all your Ebi katsu, Hotate Katsu and Kaki katsu sounds too curious for me! :) Ebi katsu=Ebi furai (deep-fried), deep fried Hotate....it might be also called as "firai" too. Kaki katsu...the most difficult for me. It might be a deep fried mixture of vegetables, mightn't it? Yours could be names in one/ two shops, but not so common in Japan, I am sure ;) Clearks might understand what you are saying, but un-well-trained clerks might laugh.

3) Warming. I am unhappy to speak ill of my own country. But you might be not only looks like non-Japanese, but also do not understand Japanese. In Tokyo, when I go to restaurants with non Japanese, clerks often make a miss when payment. Example, price :mad: , add extra stuff which we don't eat :mad: , expensive course :mad: ... And such miss is often happens for Japanese at turist restaurants in rural turist place too. Restautants for locals or big franchises are OK. Anyway, beware about payment. It might be I am a young woman the reason why such a thing often happen to me.

Have a nice trip!