Trip Report: Japan (Tokyo, Fukuoka) - October, 2025

[pomodoro]

@caleb

most of these spots reservation-only? and will lack of japanese hamper me?

generally, yes the above are reservation only and yes, lack of japanese may be difficult for walking-in. however, if you can successfully reserve online without a Japanese phone number, then you should be fine.

I see wide open availability for the rest of the month right now for both Beppu Hirokado or Tanakada.

often, restaurants that want Japanese speakers only will say so in their reservation policy before they treat non-Japanese as a no-show. we got along fine at Tanakada and I believe they had an English menu, though we knew what wanted already. i haven’t been to Beppu Hirokado but I’ve been to Ginza Shinohara from where the chef came, and they had good service.

of course there are many, many other places to try but it’s generally better to make reservations. on the first night of my last trip to Tokyo, I tried to walk in to 5 places (2 of which were casual pizza) and they were all too busy. perhaps Fukuoka is different. but if you want walk-in, then maybe some izakaya and a backup noodle or curry joint nearby is a plan.

[caleb]

very helpful, thank you! walk-in is always more of my vibe, but times they do change.

[J_L]

When I think of Fukuoka, I immediately recall all that great street stall ‘yatai’ food scene which makes this city so distinct…

[pomodoro]

please share some recommendations or good experiences!

[Sgee]

I like this spot. Broth is fairly light.

Chikae has a spectacular dining room, casual easy resy’s or walk in (late). Live seafood spot.

East (Hakata) or West (Tenjin) of the Naka river is the hub of the city. Convenient area to stay. Tenjin is the primary shopping district

Motsunabe is a popular local offal hotpot meal. I’m partial to the miso broth. Yamanaka is a good fancier chain, however you can find motsunabe practically everywhere in the city.

Also if you’re into chicken skin. Torikawa is a local crispy grilled style. There are some specialty places however many izakayas and most yakitori joints have it on the menu. I’m partial to shio - crispier.

[pomodoro]

@Sgee

Motsunabe is a popular local offal hotpot meal.

ah yes motsunabe, great stick-to-your-ribs dish for fall/winter. maybe tough for 1 but excellent for 2 people. at home, i like it with shochu (Satsuma Ohara) and soda or a crisp sake like Morishima’s omachi junmai daiginjo (great peppery finish would work well with a robust motsunabe in particular) or one by Yamagate Masamune.

[attran99]

Motsunabe is so terrific…especially as the weather is getting colder in Japan.

[caleb]

Still on the road in Japan, but can report that Fukuoka is awesome. What a great city. In Tokyo currently for work, and to be honest, I miss Fukuoka!

[caleb]

Ok, finally have a break to organize my thoughts. In short, everyone should try to get to Kyushu in some capacity (especially after witnessing what a bummer shitshow Tokyo has become post COVID/Olympics, but that’s another post).

Beppu / Hiji: Not much to recommend in dining but god the mountains are beautiful

Kamenos - a gorgeous coffee shop overlooking the bay nestled into the woods

Owadazushi - some of my favorite sashimi of the trip, incredible just-in-season seki saba cut thick. also very interesting soy sauce in Beppu, thicker, slightly sweet.

Fukuoka: only there for 48 hours but wished it could have been longer.

Oshige - ramen broth extracted through a siphon felt like a gimmick at first but dear god that dashi was just pure clean umami. great noodles too.

Yakitori to Irori Kurofune - pretty standard looking yakitori spot, but they did a whole nogoduro on a bamboo skewer, slow cooked over the coals for about 30 minutes that was transcendent.

Tacos El Puerco - shocking legit carnitas tacos cooked out of a little truck in Daimyo. Chatted with the owner in Spanish, they learned in Michocan and it shows. i’d put this up against 50% of LA’s carnitas, easily

Cicada - great vibes, all wood-fired, sourcing their beef from Saga i think, slightly fusion-ish? not a lick of english spoken and I may have been their first ever customer from LA but just lovely friendly folks

New Robata Katanashokudo Tenjinnishidori - lured in by their 188yen highball deal but stayed for the 300yen whole sardines (and bonito grilled over straw)

Also special shout out to Kieth Flack, where I stumbled across Yoshimi from Boredoms playing with her band OOIOO to about 100 people in a tiny room.

Overall, incredible energy in that city, everyone was genuinely nice despite my very clunky restaurant Japanese. Did see way too many lines of westerners waiting at IG hotspots (yatais, pretty much every single ShinShin ramen location) which was an ominous sign of what would await me in Tokyo. Thanks to everyone for their recommends!

[pomodoro]

@caleb

incredible just-in-season seki saba cut thick

lovely! seki saba is one of my favorites.

@caleb

a whole nogoduro on a bamboo skewer, slow cooked over the coals for about 30 minutes that was transcendent.

great way to enjoy nodoguro. you can also get this style at nodoguro course places - starting with sashimi and other small dishes while this cooks in front of you.

@caleb

Cicada - great vibes, all wood-fired, sourcing their beef from Saga

great

@caleb

way too many lines of westerners waiting at IG hotspots (yatais, pretty much every single ShinShin ramen location

in the IG age, this can be one of the difficulties of well-known places with a lot of character. they can get overtaken and the line : reward ratio might be a letdown. glad you ended up finding a nice robata

@caleb

to Kieth Flack, where I stumbled across Yoshimi from Boredoms playing with her band OOIOO to about 100 people in a tiny room

nice!

@caleb

Tacos El Puerco - shocking legit carnitas tacos

I’ve been hearing that Japan has been producing a lot of legit, serious tacos. tacos, and separately thai fusion, are the two cuisines i’ve been surprised to hear about lately.

[caleb]

Yeah, saw a few very legit looking Thai places in Fukuoka that I would have loved to investigate further.

And this trip really made me appreciate nogoduro, I’d only had it as sushi/sashimi before, but this prep made it feel more akin to turbot or any other long-flame-cooked fish.

[J_L]

Nodoguro possesses an oilier flesh than most other fish. This property lends itself to a marvelous release of flavor upon cooking/heating…