Tokyo, known as a culinary capital, brings together carefully selected ingredients from across Japan and boasts the world’s highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants. However, its gastronomical appeal goes far beyond fine dining, extending to the many flavorful dishes that have developed as part of everyday life. In this feature, food-loving travel magazine editors introduce interesting and tasty dishes that have been closely woven into Tokyo’s history and lifestyle. By learning about foods rooted in the lives of local residents, you can experience a side of Tokyo that blends naturally into everyday life.

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Monjayaki

This dish is an icon of Tokyo’s traditional downtown areas known as “shitamachi.” Mix shredded cabbage and seafood into a wheat-flour batter, simmer it on a hot grill, then eat it with a small spatula. This “taste of the town” has long been enjoyed as an after-school snack for children and as a perfect pairing with drinks for adults. The Tsukishima area is especially known for its many specialty monjayaki restaurants. Rather than simply eating a finished dish, the unique appeal of monjayaki lies in savoring the flavors and textures as they change while cooking right before your eyes.
Tsukishima Monja Promotion Association(Multiple languages available)

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Edomae Sushi

Sushi is one of the most iconic dishes in Japanese cuisine. Among the many variations, “Edomae” sushi is considered the origin of the widely known type today, “nigiri” sushi. A defining characteristic of Edomae sushi is the meticulous preparation of toppings, whether marinating them in soy sauce or curing them with vinegar. These techniques were developed during the Edo period (17th–19th centuries), before the advent of refrigeration, as a way to safely and deliciously enjoy seafood caught in Tokyo Bay (then known as “Edomae”). What began as practical wisdom of preservation has since been refined into techniques to enhance flavor. This know-how has been passed down to the present day as a distinctive food culture unique to Edomae sushi.

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Tendon

Like sushi, tempura was a food-stall favorite among common people in the Edo period. When tempura is placed on rice and covered with a sweet-and-savory sauce, the combination becomes the offshoot dish known as tendon (tempura rice bowl). At the time, since seafood caught in Tokyo Bay was often used, sesame oil was used as frying oil as a practical way to reduce its fishy smell. The fragrant aroma of sesame oil remains one of the defining elements of Tokyo tempura. Besides tendon specialty shops and chain restaurants, tendon is also widely enjoyed at tempura restaurants as an easy, casual dish.

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Fukagawa Meshi

A dish of asari clams simmered in sweet-and-savory sauce, served with rice. There are two types: in one, the clams are on top of the rice, and in the other, the shellfish and rice are cooked together. This dish originated as a meal for fishing crews in the former fishing town of Fukagawa. Amid the urban development of the 1950s, it nearly disappeared but made a comeback locally around the 1980s, and today can be found in restaurants around Monzen-Nakacho and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. Though simple, this dish brings out the umami of asari clams.
Koto Travel Information Bureau (Multiple languages available)

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Dojo Nabe (Loach Hot Pot)

This hot pot dish is a classic flavor of Tokyo’s “shitamachi” areas. Whole, prepped “dojo” (pond loaches) are simmered in a sweet-and-savory sauce in a shallow iron pot. Meat consumption was prohibited in the Edo period, so loaches, highly nutritious and easy to obtain, were a staple that helped commoners get through the summer heat. Another popular dish, “Yanagawa Nabe,” is made by simmering open loaches with burdock root and finishing the dish with egg. It is served at restaurants in historic neighborhoods like Asakusa and Fukagawa.

Tokyo Local Flavor Rating
Chanko Nabe

Chanko nabe, best known as a sumo wrestler’s meal, is a hot pot dish that was developed in the world of sumo—Japan’s national sport. To build the strong bodies needed for their intense bouts, wrestlers at sumo stables have long eaten chanko nabe as an everyday, well-balanced meal packed with meat, fish, and vegetables. Seasonings vary widely, including soy sauce-based and miso-based broths. Around Ryogoku, where Ryogoku Kokugikan is located, there are many sumo stables, and a number of chanko nabe restaurants run by retired wrestlers, making it a well-established local specialty.