The 10 Best Places to Eat in Akihabara, Tokyo

Akihabara, known to be the center of Japan’s otaku population, is one of the shopping districts that rapidly developed after the war. As well as being known for its anime and manga related shops, it’s also famous for its electronic market. As for food, most people might mainly imagine a maid cafe, but Akihabara also competes with Ikebukuro with its delicious ramen. But this time around, popular gourmet that have gathered the most attention will be introduced.

1. Gundam Cafe

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The Gundam series that have continued until today have fascinated people all over the world. This place where you could enjoy the feel of the anime masterpiece is the “Gundam Cafe”.

Even from dish names like RX-78–2 Gundam(Penne Gorgonzola), you could easily relish in the playful atmosphere. And not just in the dish naming, the dishes themselves have numerous details to humour the audience.

2. N3331

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Introduced by the overseas Youtubers, the worldly famous “N3331” is a progressive cafe where trains run the perimeter. These trains are not artificial, but real JR trains, so for people who don’t know this cafe, it may seem surprising. This cafe is not a stand-up restaurant in a station, but an open space surrounded with glass complete with tables and chairs.

The meals eaten while watching the trains run will definitely give you a very unique experience! The most popular dish is a curry rice cooked with not only spices, but Japanese sake, which makes this a healthy dish. The soft taste is surely worth tasting.

3. Komaki Shokudou

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Eating seasonal ingredients each season. This seems like an obvious thing, but now in the time of satiation, all ingredients are available in all seasons, so it’s a surprisingly difficult concept. At “Komaki Shokudou,” the storekeeper buys ingredients straight from acquainted farmers, so you can enjoy the seasonal ingredients in season.

Vegetarian dishes may sound out of range, but the store is in shokudou style. Not menus but real meals are shown, so you can enjoy the feeling of choosing what to eat. There are curry rice and set meals, but none of these use any meat or dairy products. Won’t you try these casual vegetarian foods?

4. Owl no Mori, Owl Cafe

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Hand-reared owls greet visitors at the “Owl Cafe.” Cat cafes are so popular in Japan that they became a trend. But this “Owl Cafe” is popular amongst its foreign tourists, introduced frequently in guidebooks and on the Internet. There are many rare owls like the Bay Owls and Eurasian Eagle Owls.

With their cute, round eyes and soft, fluffy feathers, these owls give city people who can’t interact with nature daily a moment of comfort. The menus are drinks only, but vending machines complete with high-quality coffee are available throughout the store, so come adore these owls.

5. Marugo

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The characteristic of “Marugo” is moist and tender pork used for the tonkatsu. The store’s popular menu, tonkatsu, has two types, hire and rosu. These two types are both crunchy on the outside with juicy meat on the inside, so for tonkastu lovers this dish will be the one.

The price is 2100 yen for the tokuhire katsu and 1850 yen for tokurosu katsu, a little pricey, but the taste is guaranteed by numerous gourmet sites and Michelin. It’s definitely worth the wait. By the way, the rice, red miso soup, and condiments come as a set menu with an additional 450 yen.

 
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6. Tankiyo

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“Tankiyo” is a yakiniku restaurant built in an alley a little ways away from the main street of Akihabara. This store’s recommended dish is jyotan, special beef tongue. Just looking at the price seems expensive, but being able to eat 8 slices of thick special beef tongue at this price is quite the cost performance.

Also, the most popular menu is the beef tongue stew. This very rare menu which appears at lunch maybe once or twice a month takes pride in its taste that sells out every time. If you want to try the beef tongue that can be cut with just chopsticks, you could check the shop’s Twitter for more information.

→The Best 10 Yakiniku Restaurants You Must Eat in Tokyo

→The 10 Best Yakiniku Restaurants You Must Eat in Shinjuku, Tokyo

→The 10 Best Yakiniku Restaurants You Must Eat in Ueno, Tokyo

7. Ikinaissyou

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“Ikinassyou” is the ramen restaurant that gained its wide popularity in Akihabara. A 6 minute walk from the Akihabara station, this store has a unique retro exterior. The popular menu is miso ramen with lots of corn on top. This store is very particular about its soup.

Just the fact that they use Chintan, Paitan, and seafood-based soup is amazing, but they change the ratio to fit each ramen! There is a full selection available, also with its standard ramen like shiyo (salt) and shoyu (soy sauce). There’s a small rice to go with the lunch, so it’s a well-versed way to enjoy ramen.

→The Best 10 Ramen Shops You Must Eat in Tokyo

→The 10 Best Ramen Shops You Must Eat in Shinjuku, Tokyo

→The 10 Best Ramen Shops You Must Eat in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

8. Kappou Tanaka

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“Kappou Tanaka” is a little difficult to spot, located at the far end of the building. Being able to taste a hearty seafood meal, the lunch hour is sure to be crowded. The seafood rice bowl and tuna rice bowl, both for 950 yen, are by far the most popular menus. It’s so popular that they sell out before the lunch hour is over!

The rice bowl has fat tunas and other seafoods with several side dishes at this price, so it has outstanding cost performance. It is definitely worth waiting in line, so please visit when you have the time.

9. Magurojin Akihabara

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When it comes to Japan gourmet dishes, sushi may be the first thing to come to mind. “Magurojin,” set on the 8th floor of the recently renewed Yodobashi Akiba building, provides a well explained English menu for foreign tourists.

You can enjoy fresh sushi at a competitive price, from just 120 yen. The tuna, as named in the store brand, starts at 240 yen and the exclusive tuna is 420 yen. This restaurant has other fried dishes besides sushi, so you can eat them while savoring the sushi.

→The Best 10 Sushi Restaurants You Must Eat in Tsukiji Market

10. Niku no Mansei Akihabara main restaurant

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“Niku no Mansei” has shops all over Japan. Not many people know that the Mansei building, with its 10 floors of food-related facilities, is the headquarters. The 3rd and 4th floor of this building in Akihabara has delicious meat dishes cooked only in “Niku no Mansei,” like Salisbury steaks.

The popular menus are the Salisbury steak on an iron plate, and Mankastu sandwich that you can take out. Once you eat it, it will be addicting for all meat-lovers. There are also other meat-related facilities like steakhouses and stock farms in the Mansei building. It’s a place especially for meat-lovers.

Let’s Eat Delicious Local Foods in Akihabara!

How was the list? Akihabara is known for its otaku population and electronics, but many gourmet restaurants also reside in Akihabara. There may not be enough time on the trip, but if you could visit even then, you’ll be sure to be satisfied. Have a walk around, and try finding the restaurant fit just for you.