Review excerpt: Kyoto's Shokudo Marushin has "teishoku" meals that are a classic combination of rice, miso soup, vegetables, and a main dish of meat or fish.

Review excerpt: This pair of long-time friends traveled the country, tested out ramen from all over Japan, and now, at age 22, own their own noodle shop, Ramen no Bonbo, in Kyoto.

Review excerpt: Jinbocho's Hinomoto Beer Parlor also has a strong emphasis on sake, plus an excellent menu of Japanese food to go with it — just right for an after-work evening of sipping and nibbling.

Review excerpt: The new lunch menu at Shibuya's The SG Club, an award-winning bar, has both Mala and Mole curries.

Review excerpt: Breakfast at Lorimer is the best Japanese-style breakfast in Kyoto. Then, in the afternoon after Lorimer empties out, the spaces doubles as a cooking school.

Review excerpt: Tokyo's Raku serves a longer, skinnier Kobe variant of dumpling, each just a single bite with more golden-fried wrapper than filling.

Review excerpt: More than just a grocery store, Akomeya is a treasured source of foodstuffs and cookware from around the country. It also has a superb little restaurant.

Review excerpt: At Aozora Blue, chef Hirofumi Matsui draws on his soba-making experiences to offer an exquisite, handmade udon noodle in an elevated setting.

Review excerpt: Shibuya's Hiyori serves nihonshu and Italian wines alongside its signature oden.

Review excerpt: All the classic unagi dishes at Kurocyodo are offered, from simple unagi donburi rice bowls to unajū (served on rice in lacquerware boxes), and even cooked in donabe claypots or as shabu-shabu.

Review excerpt: Rakushin — the austere Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant that opened in 2018 — chef Katayama’s saba-zushi is a perfect balance of salt, vinegar and rice.

Review excerpt: Kurasuno is a small izakaya bar-restaurant near Taisho Station on the Osaka Loop Line and beloved neighborhood treasure in the hearts and minds of residents since it opened in 1949.