When it comes to cuisine few countries hold a candle to Japan, and the street food scene is properly insane. I cannot get enough of the place, so I have decided to put together my 20 best Japanese street food dishes.
This was no easy task. I could have made it 50 dishes long. Oh and the drinks? That is a whole separate article.
Rules are simple. I have to have actually tried the food myself and I will tell you the best place to grab it. We are counting down from 20 to 1 because that is how this works.
Best Japanese Street Food Dishes 20 to 11
20. Korokke – Tokyo (Ameyoko Market Ueno)
Potato and minced meat, coated in breadcrumbs, deep fried until your fingers are greasy. You grab it hot, stand in the middle of Ameyoko Market, dodging tourists and shouting vendors, and bite down. Crunch. Soft potato inside. Meat juicy. Hot enough to burn your mouth. Cheap, satisfying, and dangerous if you eat two too fast.
19. Taiyaki – Osaka (Dotonbori)
Fish-shaped cake stuffed with sweet red bean or custard. You watch the guy pour batter into the mold, fill it, slam it shut. When it comes out it is piping hot and slightly crispy. Bite through the tail first, scoop out molten bean, burn tongue, regret nothing. Street food perfection that makes you feel like a kid again.
18. Yakisoba – Yokohama (Chinatown Night Market)
Noodles frying on a huge flat griddle with cabbage, pork, and a thick sweet sauce. Smoke and sauce hits your nose before the food hits your mouth. Tangy, salty, sticky, full of fried bits. Vendors toss it like it is choreography. You grab a plate and eat standing, slurping noodles while chaos of the market swirls around you.
17. Menchi Katsu – Tokyo (Asakusa)
Fried meat patty. Crunch outside, juice inside. Simple. Dirty. Delicious. Stand at the stall near Sensoji Temple, hand greasy, meat dripping, bite into it and instantly understand why Japanese people queue for this every day.
16. Oden – Kyoto (Nishiki Market)
Radish, tofu, eggs, fish cakes simmering in dashi. Steam rises into your face. Pick your stick, scoop broth into tiny cup, drink, chew, repeat. Cold day, warm broth, smells of smoke and soy. It is simple, sloppy, and exactly what you want when wandering Kyoto markets.
15. Takoyaki – Osaka (Dotonbori)
Octopus balls. Messy. Gooey. Bonito flakes dancing on top. Bite one, molten batter, chewy octopus. Sauce and mayo everywhere. Street crowded, lights blinding, sauce on your shirt. You do not care. Osaka knows how to make this addictive garbage and I love it.
14. Karaage – Fukuoka (Yatai Stalls)
Japanese fried chicken. Crispy shell, juicy inside. Lemon or mayo on the side. You eat it standing on the riverbank at night, smoke from charcoal mixing with frying oil. Hands greasy. Bite. Crunch. Repeat. Endless. Fukuoka does this better than anywhere else.
13. Nikuman – Nagasaki (Chinatown)
Steamed buns stuffed with pork. Hot, soft, slippery. Bite and juice floods mouth. Eat walking, dripping down your fingers, ignored by locals. Streets full of lanterns and chaos. Perfect snack to keep exploring Nagasaki. Cheap, greasy, and totally worth the mess.
12. Yaki Imo – Sapporo (Winter Markets)
Roasted sweet potatoes on coals. Smoky, sweet, sticky hands. Buy from little trucks, peel off burnt skin, bite into soft gold inside. Cold winter streets, steam rising, little old ladies selling from vans. Bliss. Only simple food can feel this good in the freezing cold.
11. Gyoza – Utsunomiya (Tochigi Prefecture)
Dumplings fried on one side, steamed on the other. Pork, cabbage, garlic. Dip once into shared sauce, eat fast, hands greasy, sauce dripping. Streets lined with tiny shops. Locals queue. You queue. Bite. Crunch. Juicy filling explodes. Heaven. Utsunomiya deserves its gyoza rep.
Top 10 Japanese Street Food Dishes
10. Okonomiyaki – Osaka (Mizuno Dotonbori)
Savory pancake stacked with cabbage, pork, seafood. Cooked in front of you on a hotplate. Sauce, mayo, everything slathered on top. Bite through, soft inside, crispy edges. Messy, sticky, greasy, delicious. Osaka owns this.
9. Kushikatsu – Osaka (Shinsekai)
Skewers deep fried in batter. Shrimp, pork, lotus root, anything. Dip in sauce once. Only once. Crunch, juice, grease. Street full of smoke and neon. Your hands covered in crumbs. Pure Osaka street chaos.
8. Onigiri – Tokyo (FamilyMart or Lawson)
Rice balls. Tuna mayo, pickled plum, salmon, kombu. Cheap, convenient, perfect on trains or streets. Tear off wrapper, bite, sticky rice, filling, nothing fancy but done right it is addictive.
7. Yakitori – Tokyo (Omoide Yokocho Shinjuku)
Charcoal grilled chicken skewers. Salt or tare sauce. Hot, smoky, sticky hands. Alleys cramped, smells insane. Eat standing, drink beer, ignore everyone. Crunchy, juicy, perfect street food.
6. Ikayaki – Osaka (Dotonbori)
Grilled whole squid on a stick. Brushed with soy sauce. Chewy, smoky, messy. Bite, chew, chew, chew. Street smells of frying and smoke. Pure chaos, pure flavour.
5. Tai Meshi – Tokyo (Tsukiji Outer Market)
Rice cooked with fresh fish chunks. Soy sauce soaked, juicy. Eat walking, steam rising, fish smell hits first, taste hits harder. Simple, messy, impossible to ignore.
4. Age Manju – Kyoto (Stalls near Kiyomizu Temple)
Deep fried sweet bun with red bean paste. Hot, sticky, sugar everywhere. Bite, messy fingers, gooey filling. Perfect for wandering temple streets, people staring, locals laughing. Sweet street chaos.
3. Monjayaki – Tokyo (Tsukishima)
Runny savory pancake cooked on tiny table griddles. Gooey, sticky, messy. Eat with small spatula, scraping bites into your mouth. Tourists confused, locals expert. Tokyo special, weird, addictive.
2. Ikayaki Okonomiyaki Combo – Osaka (Street Vendors)
Octopus balls with okonomiyaki piled high. Sauce dripping, mayo everywhere, smoke, neon lights. Bite one, chew, repeat. Streets alive, sauce on your shirt. Absolute madness. Yeah I like Osaka.
1. Lopez Okonomiyaki – Hiroshima
Hiroshima style okonomiyaki stacked with cabbage, noodles, egg, pork, seafood. Layered, messy, dripping sauce, grease on fingers. Bite, chew, taste every layer at once. Greasy, salty, smoky, perfect. This is the peak of Japanese street food. FYI perhaps my favourite restaurant in Japan.
Honorable Mentions
I have not been far enough north to try whale, dolphin, or bear sashimi. Hokkaido and northern Japan are a different beast entirely. When I get there, this list will expand, but for now these twenty are my absolute must try Japanese street foods.
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