Review excerpt: Taishu Sakaba Raincolor's signature dish is a hearty Hamburg steak the size of a tennis ball, prepared from ground Hokkaido venison and served on a bed of mashed potato with a rich jus.

Review excerpt: When Isoism, which focuses firmly on tsukemono (pickled vegetables), first opened in 2016 near Kyoto Tower, the long lines of people were impossible to miss.

Review excerpt: The dinner menus at Minshuku Miyagi are decided on a whim and by the seasonal availability of ingredients.

Review excerpt: Sakai Shokai is not a place you are meant to stumble into by chance. If you’re not with someone who’s been there before, you need to call ahead and then try to navigate your way there.

Review excerpt: Located on the seventh floor of a swish, modern building looking out over the Ginza rooftops, Imari Roaji is the big-city branch of an equally sleek, contemporary restaurant based in Imari, Saga Prefecture, in the far west of Japan.

Review excerpt: Kokushu Sakaba seems incongruous among the scuffed, old-school drinking holes that are Oimachi’s calling card.

Review excerpt: Morimoto will offer diners the “Morimoto experience”: staff that are at ease when dealing with an international clientele and can speak Japanese and English — as well as other languages — and a menu that’s flexible and modern.

Review excerpt: Chef Taka Nishimura’s lively, homey and cozy tachinomiya (standing bar), Yanagi Koji Taka, in central Kyoto is crowded into an alleyway that’s only as wide as a vending machine.

Review excerpt: Wakon is the first offshoot in Tokyo of Sushi Masuda, whose chef, Rei Masuda, trained for nine years under legendary sushi master Jiro Ono — the eponymous star of that documentary.

Review excerpt: The specialty here is craft shōchū, from small companies that follow traditional methods of brewing and distilling.

Review excerpt: Takumi Shiraishi owns three lively craft beer pubs across Kyoto, including Beer Pub Takumiya, where he encourages customers to commune over a good pint and plates of locally grown food.

Review excerpt: Although Tokyo has one of the best restaurant scenes in the world, sometimes you’d rather eschew the high-end and complex for simple, nourishing dishes, the kind you’ll find at Tiny Peace Kitchen.