What should you eat in Tokyo? From my own 12 days there, my answer is: sushi, a proper set meal, cheap gyoza, a bowl of soba, Japanese-style pasta, matcha ice cream and, on the way home, a box of Royce nama chocolate from the airport. None of it needs a famous restaurant. What made it memorable was how carefully even simple food was made.
We went in December 2023, from 30 November to 11 December. I have been living in Brisbane for years now, and when I look back at that trip, I don't remember the sights first. I remember the meals. Every photo below is my own, taken on my phone at the table.
Is sushi in Tokyo really better?
For me, yes, and the reason is how simple it is. A piece of nigiri is just rice and a slice of fish, with no sauce to hide behind, so you can tell straight away whether it's good.
The detail I noticed most was temperature. The rice is slightly warm and the fish is slightly cool, and you feel that difference the moment you eat it. I rarely get that in Brisbane.
Some meals were a full board: salmon roe, sea urchin, fatty tuna, all in a row. Other times it was just two pieces of tuna, two pieces of squid and a cup of hot green tea, and that was enough.
Where is Toyosu Jogai Shokudo?
It isn't inside Toyosu fish market. The Toyosu Jogai Shokudo Uogin we ate at is on the first floor of LaLaport Toyosu, the shopping mall next to Toyosu Station.
The name means something like "outer market dining hall", which is why people assume it sits at the market. It's really a seafood izakaya, and it's handy after a walk around the mall. We had simple izakaya plates there: croquettes, fried chicken and buttered potatoes. Ordinary food, but every plate was done properly.
What is a Japanese set meal (teishoku)?
A teishoku is a set meal on one tray: a main dish with rice, miso soup and small sides. It's the easiest way to eat well in Tokyo without having to order much.
One set was grilled eel on rice with a bowl of soba. The eel was slightly charred on top, with a sweet sauce that soaked into the rice. The soba broth was clear, with spring onion, seaweed and fish cake. One cold, one hot, one rich, one light: a clever pairing.
At another restaurant, the eel came in a red lacquered box, a jubako. Then there was a fried oyster set with rice, miso soup, shredded cabbage and lemon, all laid out on one tray. That's what I like about restaurants in Japan: before you ask for anything, they have already thought of it.
Is cheap food in Tokyo good?
Yes. Some of my favourite plates were the cheapest. The gyoza were from a chain Chinese-style restaurant and cost a few hundred yen a plate.
On another night we had gyoza again: golden and crisp on the bottom, still soft on top. You don't need a booking or a big budget to eat well in Tokyo.
Why try Japanese-style pasta in Tokyo?
Because it was the surprise of the trip. Japanese cooks treat Italian food in their own way, with local ingredients.
One plate was whitebait pasta with shiso leaves and lime, very fresh and light. Another was oyster and spinach pasta in cream, with a wood-fired pizza and a basket of warm bread on the side. It isn't trying to be authentic Italian. It's Japanese, and it's good.
Is matcha ice cream worth it in December?
Yes. Tokyo was cold in December, and I still had matcha ice cream. The matcha was strong and a little bitter, and not too sweet.
Look out for the words "seasonal limited" at sweet shops too. We found strawberry daifuku and chestnut daifuku, each one neat enough to be a little artwork.
Where can you buy Royce chocolate in Tokyo?
The easiest place is the duty free shops at the airport. Royce is a Hokkaido brand, and most of its own shops are in Hokkaido, so on a Tokyo trip I buy it at Narita on the way home.
There's a second reason to wait. Royce nama chocolate has to be kept cold, so you can't leave it in a hotel room for days. Buy it last, just before you fly.
Each box is a tray of neat squares dusted with cocoa. You don't really bite it. It melts slowly, like cream. One last piece, and then we boarded the flight back to Brisbane.
What makes Japanese food so good?
Two years on, my answer is the same. It isn't price and it isn't fancy presentation. It's that the people making it take their work seriously, whether it's a plate of gyoza, a bowl of soba or one piece of chocolate.
If you're going to Japan, leave some room in your stomach, and leave some room in your suitcase for that box of chocolate.
For more Tokyo, see my Shinjuku Gyoen at night photo gallery. If you're comparing Japan with travel closer to home, read Is Australia worth visiting? Nature wins, for Japanese noodles back in Brisbane, try my Kajiken Brisbane abura soba review, and for a Gold Coast day out from Brisbane, Movie World's new Hero Parade. What's the best thing you've eaten in Japan? I'd like to hear it.
All photos are my own, taken in Tokyo from 30 November to 11 December 2023. Facts checked 4 November 2026: Toyosu Jogai Shokudo Uogin's location (Mitsui Shopping Park) and Royce' as a Hokkaido company (Wikipedia). Prices are from memory, with no receipts. AI helped me edit the English.
