Restaurants to Try Japan's Unique Regional Dishes

Founded in 1954, this is the original honten of Sapporo's most famous jingisukan (grilled mutton) chain, tucked into the ground floor of the Crystal Building in the heart of Susukino. The room is small and unpretentious — just a 14-seat charcoal-grill counter where the same style of hospitality has grilled fresh mutton on specialty slit pans for seven decades, with staff proudly keeping the taste "unchanged no matter when you come." Guests grill fresh mutton first, then dip it in the house's secret sauce rather than ordering pre-marinated meat, alongside homemade kimchi and other Korean-style sides. Expect queues at peak hours, smoky clothes, and a genuine slice of old-school Susukino.

GARAKU Sapporo Main Restaurant is one of Hokkaido's best-known soup curry destinations, founded in 2007 under the mission of "energizing the world and families through spice." The relocated main shop (reopened at this address in October 2025) offers a stylish, calm dining room with counter and table seating for around 70 guests, with a warm, wood-toned interior. The kitchen simmers pork bone and chicken stock with over 30 ingredients, blends 21 original spices, and finishes with Japanese dashi for a rich, aromatic soup. Signature dishes include the tender bone-in chicken leg soup curry, the slow-braised pork belly kakuni, and the cheese-topped "GARAKU Special," a dish exclusive to this main restaurant.

Okinawa soba reimagined with tradition and innovation. Eibun started as a small standing-style soba shop in Naha's Tsuboya pottery district and has since grown into four locations across the neighborhood. Beyond classic Okinawa soba, the menu features modern variations developed in-house — like the signature BUNBUN Soba topped with four kinds of pork, mazesoba (mixed soba) with cheese or coriander, and a cold jelly-sauce bukkake style. Diners can choose between four house-made noodle types: standard EIBUN, yomogi mugwort, fresh, or squid ink. Order at the vending machine, hand the ticket to the staff. Cash only.