10 best restaurants inside Tokyo Station: sushi, ramen, unagi, dessert and more

Boasting an enviable location smack in the middle of the Gransta shopping area in the centre of Tokyo Station, this seafood restaurant is backed by the prestige of Osaka’s Kindai University, the first institution in the world to successfully raise bluefin tuna entirely on a farm.

All the fish served at Kindai University Fisheries Lab Hanare in forms including sushi, grilled and steamed has its origins at Kindai. Fry (baby fish) born from eggs in the university’s tanks are transferred to fish farms throughout the country, where they’re raised into plump and delicious adults before being shipped here for Tokyoites’ consumption.

For a luxurious taste of the university’s most famous product, go for the Maguro Zukushi Teoke Sushi (¥3,480), in which three cuts of bluefin tuna – lean akami, fatty otoro and balanced chutoro – are served over rice in a lacquered wooden bowl. The restaurant’s most popular dish, however, is the Kohaku Teoke Sushi (¥2,700), where tuna is paired with Kindai-raised sea bream and striped jack for a pretty harmony of red and white. These and all other set meals come with miso soup and a few sides, but you can also order sushi rolls and other small dishes separately.

Hanare’s sushi rice is brought to you by Kindai researchers as well: flavoured with mellow red vinegar, this Kinsho Kenkomai cultivar was developed by the university together with a grain company to pair ideally with the eco-friendly seafood on offer. And speaking of sustainability, all orders of fully farm-raised fish come with a little card thanking you for making an environmentally conscious culinary choice.

Culinary magazine Dancyu runs this casual canteen that puts a gourmet spin on hearty Japanese comfort food – think nutritious meals consisting of rice, soup, pickles, and a fish or meat dish like karaage fried chicken, ginger pork or grilled mackerel.

The chefs never stray far from orthodoxy when it comes to cooking techniques and seasonings, instead centring quality ingredients such as juicy Aritadori heirloom chicken from Saga, Chiba’s Takumi brand pork, and mellow Takata no Yume rice from Iwate, cooked to perfection in a hagama clay pot. All teishoku lunch sets include a bowl of the restaurant’s signature miso soup, in which three types of miso paste are combined with mackerel- and sardine-based dashi for an eye-opening depth of flavour.

In the evening, the menu expands to encompass a variety of izakaya-style dishes from potato salad and shumai dumplings to booze-compatible seafood bites, making Dancyu Shokudo well worth a stop for post-work beer and nibbles. Note that since the eatery has fairly limited seating – a 17-seat counter plus a handful of small tables – you’ll often need to queue to get in.

We’re confident calling Tsukiji Sushiko Nagomi the best sushi restaurant at Tokyo Station, and after tasting your way through their 14-nigiri omakase set you're bound to agree. The seafood is brought in fresh from Toyosu Market every morning, and it shows – especially in the tuna selection, which ticks all the various boxes of fat (otoro, chutoro and so on) while placing particular emphasis on lean, mouthwateringly smooth akami. A full selection of tuna cuts, including relative rarities like tail, cheek, collar and noten (forehead), can be sampled for dinner.

Besides nigiri sets, the lunch menu features a number of kaisendon (bowls of rice topped with sashimi) and chirashi (sashimi trimmings, egg slivers, vegetables and nori over rice), plus Nagoya-style hitsumabushi, or grilled eel served with rice, veg condiments and green tea. Those catching an early train can power up with a traditional Japanese breakfast (¥770) consisting of rice, miso soup and pickles as well as a main dish of your choice, available here from 7am daily.

There’s plenty of seating inside the restaurant, but if you’re short on time, consider ordering and eating at the standing-only counter next to the main entrance.

Flavours from across Southeast Asia get paired with a diverse selection of Japanese craft beer on tap at Noodle House Laundry, a standout among the eateries along the ‘gourmet street’ that is Tokyo Station’s Kurobei Yokocho. A somewhat unlikely Southern California-inspired interior accentuates the fusion vibe, but this is no random mishmash of influences: the three elements of food, beer and decor are brought together harmoniously, resulting in a relaxing eatery that you’ll want to keep going back to.

The menu lists around a dozen bowls of noodles and five rice dishes, plus a number of intriguing sides like the Ebi Toast, in which the marriage of humble shokupan bread and shrimp surimi seasoned with herbs produces a supremely beer-compatible appetiser.

On the noodle front, Laundry makes competent pho, available in chicken, beef and asari clam versions and appropriately topped with essentials such as lemongrass and lime. Our favourite, however, is the Thai-style tom yum noodles (¥950), a colourful concoction in which sour and spicy exist in perfect balance. As for the brews, the day’s beers on tap – around 15 at all times – are listed on a blackboard, with the selection often including contributions from cult favourites like Yamanashi’s Uchu Brewing.

Lunch sets, offered from 11am to 2pm, come with a serving of mango pudding to sweeten the deal. Travellers preferring a meal to go will be happy to hear that most menu items, including the beers, are available for takeout.

Originally from Nagoya, oden purveyor Samon has become a fixture in Nakameguro since setting up shop under the railway tracks in the trendy neighbourhood back in 2016. The massive oden pot outside the eatery, from which aromatic steam rises enticingly on cold days, is a big part of the attraction, and they’ve replicated that stunt at this Tokyo Station sister location.

Shamon specialises in oden simmered in mizutaki broth, made by boiling Tokyo-sourced chicken and veg in water for several hours, resulting in a full-bodied and rich taste. The ingredients range from the conventional (kamaboko fish cakes, tofu, daikon, soft-boiled eggs) to the unexpected (seasonal Western vegetables, skewered chicken), all of which can be spiced up with a dollop of their proprietary chilli miso or yuzu kosho paste.

Pair your oden with some sake from the tightly curated menu, which features contributions from some of the best breweries around the country, and also consider exploring the innovative selection of sides; we love the potato salad seasoned with oden dashi. The amount of seating in the wood-heavy, down-to-earth space is just about sufficient, and you can usually find space along the standing counter even when the tables are all taken.

Ankake yakisoba, or stir-fried noodles, veg, meat and seafood drenched in a thick and starchy clear sauce (an), is a beloved staple of chuka, the down-to-earth fusion deliciousness that is Japanised Chinese food. While the dish can be found on the menu of pretty much every chuka eatery in Tokyo, you’ll want to check out Tokyo Station’s Nangoku Syuka for one of the best takes on ankake yakisoba anywhere in the city.

At this yakisoba-focused offshoot of the Harajuku restaurant of the same name, the an is served separately in a clay pot, from which you can pour it over the crispy deep-fried noodles little by little, thereby avoiding a soggy mess on your plate at the end. And the sauce sure merits such special treatment: loaded with shrimp, squid, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage and more, the restaurant’s signature an is an aromatic, moreish concoction that’ll warm you up to the core.

Experienced ankake yakisoba fans may want to explore the quirky selection of alternative sauces, including one featuring seasonal Western vegetables and thick chunks of bacon.

Narita-based eel wholesaler Shinkawa specialises in sourcing the finest and fattest Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) from a network of trusted farmers on the Mikawa Bay coast in Aichi prefecture as well as China. Their Tokyo Station outpost, housed in the underground Gransta Yaesu shopping centre near the JR station’s Yaesu Central Exit, serves up premium unagi cooked in seven different regional styles to cater to travellers from every part of Japan.

If you prefer your eel soft, go for the Kanto-style Edoyaki unaju, in which the fish served in a lacquer box over rice has been steamed in between two grillings for a feather-light mouthfeel. That texture combines nicely with the savoury tare sauce that’s a fixture of Kanto-style unagi. For a crispier consistency and stronger aroma, on the other hand, choose a Kansai-style dish such as hitsumabushi, in which the steaming part is skipped entirely and the grilled eel is lathered in a mildly sweet sauce.

Befitting the refined food, Unagi Narita Shinkawa offers a soothing, minimalist dining experience in a space that’s as close to being intimate as you can possibly achieve inside a hectic train station.

T’s Tantan, an offshoot of Jiyugaoka eatery T’s Restaurant, boasts the distinction of having been one of the first places to sell proper vegan ramen in Tokyo. A feature inside Tokyo Station for well over a decade now, they specialise in Chinese-style dandanmen, served in a broth flavoured with sesame and peanut oil and available with a range of toppings.

There are three versions of the dandan noodles – the white, black or ‘gold’ (it comes with peanuts) sesame, all of which have a creamy enough finish to trick you into thinking there were animals involved in the process. If you’re calorie-conscious, know that konjac noodles can be substituted for the regular wheat noodles. On the other hand, you can add a side of vegetable gyoza or soy char siu if you're feeling particularly peckish, or opt for a non-noodle main in the form of a massaman curry with beans and mushrooms or a bowl of multigrain rice topped with the aforementioned gyoza and char siu, plus miso-flavoured soy meat and vegan cheese.

T’s Tantan can be found at the very end of the Keiyo Street shopping arcade on the way to the Keiyo line platform. Note that you’ll need to buy a platform ticket to get to the shop unless you’re already travelling on JR lines.

Noodle joints inside transport hubs and shopping centres can be hit and miss, but Tokyo Station bucks the trend by offering its own little piece of ramen paradise. At Ramen Street, eight shops, including vegan (and gluten-free) ramen purveyor Soranoiro Nippon, shio (salt) specialist Hirugao and tsukemen (dipping noodles) favourite Rokurinsha, are on hand to entice noodle fans.

Among the newer additions to the lineup, we’d be remiss not to highlight Kakushinya Tokyo, ramen innovator and Soranoiro founder Chihiro Miyazaki’s reimagining of the rich, tonkotsu-based Yokohama ie-kei style, and the first sister shop of Nogata miso masters Hanamichian.

Warning: the queues can get very long at lunchtime.

Sitting down for tea inside historic Tokyo Station is always a smart choice, and this café run by venerable wagashi (traditional confectionery) purveyor Toraya never fails to satisfy. Tucked away on the second floor of the Tokyo Station Hotel and decorated with old bricks from the station’s original facade, it serves both seasonal sweets and light meals.

While the pretty rice dishes and artisanal pork cutlet sandwiches hold their own, when at Toraya, you’ll want to try one of the shop’s signature sweets. Two time-honoured favourites are yokan, a jelly-like but somewhat firmer sweet red bean dessert best enjoyed with green tea, and anmitsu, a mix of anko bean paste, mitsumame jelly cubes and fruit drizzled with kuromitsu (black sugar syrup). The yokan can be purchased to go, too, and buying a slab here comes with the added bonus of getting it packaged in a gorgeous Tokyo Station-themed box.