The 8 best Japanese restaurants in Canberra

Named after a Japanese style of pottery, Raku blurs the lines between art and sustenance. The menu is extensive, showcasing seafood in all its glory. You can have it raw in the kingfish served with truffle yuzu, cold in a spanner crab sushi roll, or hot as king prawns doused in XO butter. Masters of the blades, the chefs expertly slice up fresh snapper, tuna belly and scallops into sashimi or nigiri; add crunch with popcorn shrimp on the tempura menu; and grill high-grade Wagyu on a robata charcoal grill. From the express lunch to the royal tasting degustation, Raku will leave you wishing you lived in Canberra (almost).

If you are moseying through the National Triangle, take an equally luxurious long lunch at Koto Dining. Housed in the iconic Lobby building, the restaurant's recently launched Kento Bento features seven cubicles where you can savour the best locally sourced produce in peace and quiet. Chef Shinya Nakano, who until recently guarded two-hatted Kisumé in Melbourne, serves his fluorescent plates in the kaiseki discipline (a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner). Whether you’re guided through their tasting menus or grazing through a bouquet of self-selected platters, every bite ends with an appreciation for simple, fresh ingredients. If you’re a sucker for lunch dessert, order their lychee paburoba, featuring lychee and matcha meringue with kabosu (Japanese citrus) jelly.

From nigiri to sashimi – Inka is truly a raw fish playground. Located in Canberra Centre, a macrame-rope chandelier sets the scene for a feast of endless Japanese-Peruvian share plates. Here, the already decadent Hokkaido scallop is kissed with charcoal and drenched in rich nori butter. Crudo favourites are playfully paired with jalapeño and mustard salsas, while acid makes a notable return with ponzu and pepper-infused ceviches. And of course, the classics must make a cameo. With a signature lomo saltado (a traditional Spanish stir-fry) and a quick whiff of weeping Wagyu on the robata grill, all purist concerns are sure to melt away.

Follow the big city lights to this hip and happening late-night eatery on Lonsdale Street. Play your cards right by starting with Lazy Su’s infamous wagyu cheesesteak spring roll. It wraps Japanese, American and Korean cuisines all into one crispy package and serves as a bite-sized taste of how the night will unfold. Going straight for the set menu is your best bet, where you’ll sample all of Lazy Su’s greatest hits, including donburi nori tacos, spicy wontons and fluffy bao buns. Pump up the pan-Asian party with soju, local beers and a Japanese Spritz.

There are “leave it up to me” friends and “leave it up to Mu” friends. With an 18-course omakase experience at its heart, the part-time specialists, part-time therapists at Mu are a perfect antidote to the effects of menu conundrum. Settle into an intimate 12-seated theatre, where expert craftsmen carve recently-caught seafood into decadent dishes. Start with traditionally cured New Zealand snapper enveloped in refreshing lemon apricots, followed by luscious flakes of Australian toothfish paired with plum wine-soaked tomatoes. End with a savoury finale of Wagyu flank grilled over binchotan coals. The effortless transition from dish to dish becomes so captivating, you can’t help but call it a performance.

Every umami-crazed foodie has a sushi joint up their sleeve. This longstanding tea hut – where chef Mamoru Aizawa drew inspiration for its name  – embodies the charm of authentic Japanese hospitality that is loved by locals. As soon as you walk through the pictured curtains, you’ll be invited to dine either tatami-style (shoes off and cross-legged) or at the sushi bar, where the sight of bonito broths and bento boxes will seduce you. Front-seat diners experience expert itamae (sushi assembled in front of patrons) craftsmanship, where every bite is perfectly tailored to each slither of sashimi. For first-timers and loyal combination diners alike, Iori is unmissable for its timeless classics and a heartfelt homage to chef Mamoru Aizawa’s family traditions.

Let’s hear it for the ramen bar finally getting the choose-your-own-adventure treatment. Fuss is left to the tonkotsu specialists as carousels of char siu pork, soy-infused eggs, pickled mustard leaves and the regular fixings are effortlessly assembled. What’s surprising is that every slurp is met with an even more singular interest in Japanese loose-leaf tea (talk about a brothy business). But even as a pork-fat-atarian, the veggie option featuring savoury soy milk, seasoned bean curd and freckles of golden garlic oil, leaves only more to be desired. If this is the ramen call to gelato culture, you won’t want to miss the specials board at Ramen O before you return to try their signature flavours.