If you’ve been to Japan, you probably already know that most fine dining restaurants there do not allow children—here meaning kids under 12. As a serious foodie, restaurant research becomes a major part of trip planning every time we go to Japan. This post is a roundup of restaurants we’ve actually visited with our child.

The restaurants in this post are mostly reservation-based, and most are not that hard to book. I hate waiting in line, so there are very few places here that require long queues. This list is especially useful for younger kids who can’t handle the same full-course portions as adults.

This post does not include onsen ryokan dining or hotel breakfast.

Disclaimer: this is purely subjective and based on a small sample size, so I can’t guarantee that restaurant quality stays consistent over time. My bar for food is fairly high, but tastes do vary. If you’re also a foodie with high standards—especially if you don’t have to dine with kids—I’d actually recommend doing your own restaurant research, starting with [Updated 2024.4] Japan Guide You’ll Regret Not Reading.

Kanto

Tokyo

“I think it’s good”
Restaurant: ふぐ倶楽部 miyawaki 別邸

  • Type: Fugu cuisine
  • How to book: tablecheck
  • Why I recommend it: This wasn’t my first time eating fugu, but it was my first time doing a full fugu meal. Not a single miss from start to finish. There’s also a kids’ set, and my child liked it too. Service was great.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The flavors are fresh, delicate, and light—skip if you prefer bold, heavy seasoning.

Restaurant: すぎ乃 麻布十番

  • Type: Oden, pork shabu-shabu
  • How to book: tabelog
  • Why I recommend it: Both the oden and the pork shabu-shabu were the best I’ve ever had; the setting is nice too.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The menu is handwritten in Japanese, which makes ordering a la carte for a child extremely difficult; also note that the Google Maps address is incorrect.

Restaurant: 銀座 きた福

  • Type: Crab cuisine
  • How to book: tablecheck
  • Why I recommend it: Crab lovers, go for it. Depending on the season, they offer king crab, hairy crab, Matsuba crab, and more. Multiple preparations, with live crab handled on site. Fully private rooms; kids’ set available.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: Expensive—your wallet will definitely feel it.

Restaurant: 岡半

  • Type: Sukiyaki
  • How to book: tablecheck
  • Why I recommend it: Classic and delicious Kanto-style sukiyaki; multiple premium wagyu options; sauce isn’t overly sweet; good service.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: Portions are small (a common sukiyaki issue); you can skip the braised beef tongue; location is just okay.

Restaurant: 新宿うな鐵

  • Type: Unagi specialty restaurant
  • How to book: tabelog
  • Why I recommend it: They offer a grilled eel course featuring 9 different parts of the eel; the unagi rice bowl is reliably good, though maybe unagi rice bowls are hard to mess up in general?
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The grilled eel course is fairly slow, and some parts are a bit bitter.

Restaurant: ビーフキッチン 恵比寿店

  • Type: Yakiniku
  • How to book: tablecheck
  • Why I recommend it: High-quality meat and dipping sauces; the dining environment is much nicer than the average yakiniku spot.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: A few dishes in the set menu felt a bit puzzling; service was so-so.

“I think it’s average”
Restaurant: すし処 宮葉

  • Type: Sushi
  • How to book: tabelog
  • Why I recommend it: Food comes out very quickly, and the sushi quality is okay.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: There was almost nothing for my child to eat; the lunch set sushi wasn’t made fresh, and it arrived cold.

Restaurant: 廻転鮨 銀座おのでら 本店

  • Type: Conveyor-belt sushi
  • How to book: Walk-in, off-peak hours, no line
  • Why I recommend it: Fresh ingredients; tablet ordering and self-made matcha were fun for my child; there’s a fish filleting performance.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The shari (sushi rice) and shaping were both fairly average; there’s no food actually moving on the conveyor belt, so everything has to be ordered.

Restaurant: @Home Cafe

  • Type: Maid cafe
  • How to book: Walk-in, off-peak hours, short wait of a few minutes
  • Why I recommend it: A fun life experience; the food is incredibly cute and tastes decent too; the maids are adorable; my child had a great time as well.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The food is basically standard light fare; desserts are large and quite sweet; not ideal if you’re socially anxious.

Restaurant: 东京迪斯尼海洋 Sakura

  • Type: Japanese casual dining
  • How to book: Tokyo Disney official website
  • Why I recommend it: The only Japanese restaurant inside Tokyo DisneySea; decent enough for filling up and not a total miss.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The plating is better than the food itself.

“I don’t think it’s good”

Restaurant: ミゲルズ・エルドラド・キャンティーナ (Miguel's El Dorado Cantina)

  • Type: Mexican restaurant
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why I recommend it: They have a LinaBell set meal, and it looks great.
  • Why I don’t recommend it: Other than looking cute, it doesn’t really have any strengths.

Kawaguchiko

“I think it’s average”

Restaurant: Fujiyama Cafe

  • Type: Food Court
  • Reservation method: Walk-in
  • Why recommended: Inside Kawaguchiko Station. It’s decent for a station restaurant. The black fried chicken was better than expected, though a bit salty.
  • Why not recommended: Fine if you just need a quick bite before catching a train, but not worth making a special trip for.

Kinki (Kansai)

Osaka

“I think it’s good”

Restaurant: 天ぷら 大坂屋 草哲

  • Type: Tempura
  • Reservation method: tabelog
  • Why recommended: Kids can sit at the counter; kids can order based on ingredients; the batter is very light, tasty, and not greasy.
  • Why not recommended: Be careful with the final carb course—the tempura rice cake ochazuke was a miss.

Restaurant: 寿司 赤酢（本店）

  • Type: Sushi
  • Reservation method: tablecheck、tabelog
  • Why recommended: A rare find. It’s very unusual to find a place where you can bring kids and still sit at the counter. They prepare a separate meal for children; kids can sit at the counter or at the small side table; there are children’s books in the restaurant; great value for money; nice atmosphere; the sous-chef and staff speak Chinese; the head chef is very friendly.
  • Why not recommended: On the second visit, both the seasoning and temperature of the sushi had declined.

Restaurant: けとばし屋チャンピオン 福島店

  • Type: Horse meat cuisine
  • Reservation method: hotel concierge
  • Why recommended: Even for someone from Xinjiang who grew up eating smoked horse meat, this was my first time trying horse sashimi. The horse meat and horse liver sashimi are both worth trying. Some cuts of grilled horse meat were also pretty good.
  • Why not recommended: Ordering is done item by item, so if you don’t speak Japanese you’ll need translation help; the restaurant is fairly noisy.

Restaurant: まぐろ屋ゑびす 伊丹空港店

  • Type: Seafood rice bowl
  • Reservation method: Walk-in, no line
  • Why recommended: Inside Itami Airport (ITM); kids can eat eel rice; not amazing, but better than expected; ingredients were fresh.
  • Why not recommended: The fishy smell inside the restaurant was fairly strong.

Kyoto

“I think it’s good”

Restaurant: 室町和久傳

  • Type: Kaiseki
  • Reservation method: restaurant website
  • Why recommended: My favorite among the kaiseki places I’ve tried; generous portions; great service.
  • Why not recommended: The spring menu had way too much bamboo shoot—left me a little traumatized.

Restaurant: くちばしモダン

  • Type: Yakitori
  • Reservation method: hotel concierge、AutoReserve (not recommended)
  • Why recommended: A rare find. “How can they make such ordinary chicken taste this good?” Kids can order a la carte; great value for money.
  • Why not recommended: Small space with cramped seating, and on the second visit there was suddenly a lot of smoke (possibly just a one-off incident).

Restaurant: 焼肉矢澤 京都

  • Type: Yakiniku
  • Reservation method: tabelog
  • Why recommended: Delicious, delicious. Each cut of meat came with a different dipping sauce.
  • Why not recommended: Service was average.

Restaurant: 御料理 はやし

  • Type: Kaiseki
  • Reservation method: hotel concierge
  • Why recommended: Service was excellent, and they had toys for kids; the food was above average, especially the raw dishes.
  • Why not recommended: Good, but not amazing; not as good as 室町和久傳.

“I think it’s average”

Restaurant: Gibier MIYAMA

  • Type: Game restaurant
  • Reservation method: tablecheck
  • Why recommended: Huge portions; every course was decent.
  • Why not recommended: Good, but not amazing; the meal lasted nearly 4 hours, which was just too long; service was mediocre and the staff’s English was the worst I’ve ever encountered; the spring menu had very few game options.

Restaurant: 山元麺蔵

  • Type: Udon
  • Reservation method: takeout
  • Why recommended: The noodles had great chew; the portions were huge; the sauce was decent.
  • Why not recommended: Still, it’s just udon and didn’t wow me; dine-in requires booking well in advance; waits are long.

Restaurant: 祇園 末友

  • Type: Kaiseki
  • Reservation method: hotel concierge
  • Why recommended: Across from Kennin-ji; beautiful setting, with one or two standout dishes.
  • Why not recommended: Overall too ordinary, poor value for money, and one female server was expressionless.

Restaurant: 麺匠 一粒万倍 寺町店

  • Type: Ramen
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Known for its distinctive shrimp dipping noodles and chicken broth ramen; not overly salty; good for a casual meal while passing by
  • Why we don’t recommend it: You need to use a machine to get a numbered ticket, which is not very friendly if you don’t know Japanese

Restaurant: 嵯峨野湯

  • Type: Cafe, light meals
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: The curry rice is pretty distinctive; food comes out quickly
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The pasta runs sweet; best as a convenient stop if you’re nearby

Restaurant: 御土産処 京紫陽

  • Type: Japanese cuisine
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Right by Kifune Shrine; the eel rice bowl is decent
  • Why we don’t recommend it: Fine for a quick meal if you’re nearby, but not worth making a special trip

“Wouldn’t recommend”

Restaurant: 京都铁道博物馆

  • Type: Bento
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Big on atmosphere and sense of occasion
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The bentos are all served cold; it’s mostly about the experience

Nara

“Worth trying”

Restaurant: 㐂つね

  • Type: Sukiyaki
  • How to book: tabelog
  • Why we recommend it: Nice setting; all of the small dishes were good; the sukiyaki comes in three different styles; portions are fairly generous
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The server seemed a bit inexperienced; the classic sukiyaki style tasted best

“Just okay”

Restaurant: すぎ乃 新大宮店

  • Type: Pork shabu-shabu
  • How to book: tabelog
  • Why we recommend it: The shabu-shabu is tasty; within walking distance of the JW hotel
  • Why we don’t recommend it: You can tell each dish is pretty good, but everything leans a bit salty

Restaurant: 鹿音

  • Type: Cafe, light meals
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Next to the Kasuga Taisha National Treasure Hall; the ramen set is decent.
  • Why we don’t recommend it: Desserts are on the sweet side

“Wouldn’t recommend”

Restaurant: あぜくらや

  • Type: Noodle shop
  • How to book: Walk-in, around a 20-minute wait
  • Why we recommend it: Right by Todai-ji Nigatsudo
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The noodles are plain and salty; barely good enough to fill you up

Kobe

“Worth trying”

Restaurant: 満月

  • Type: Yakiniku
  • How to book: Hotel concierge
  • Why we recommend it: Very good meat quality; the ventilation is excellent; great value; recommend the salt-cured meat
  • Why we don’t recommend it: Small shop with a pretty average setting; marinated meats are just okay

Restaurant: 王国レストラン「花のキッチン」

  • Type: Japanese-style light meals
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Located inside Kobe Animal Kingdom; the food is better than expected; the wait is shorter than at the Western restaurant
  • Why we don’t recommend it: Somewhere between “worth trying” and “just okay”; for an attraction restaurant, there’s not much to complain about

“Just okay”

Restaurant: 神戸プレジール 本店

Type: Kobe beef restaurant

How to book: tabelog

Why we recommend it: We ordered the steamed beef set, and the Kobe beef itself was excellent; portions were solid too

Why we don’t recommend it: The accompaniments felt a bit monotonous, and the meal got a little boring toward the end; the vegetables really weren’t very good

Uji

“Worth trying”

Restaurant: 中村藤吉（平等院店）

  • Type: Matcha shop
  • How to book: Walk-in, around a 20-minute wait
  • Why we recommend it: The parfait is delicious and nicely layered; great views
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The other limited items we ordered were just okay

“Wouldn’t recommend”

Restaurant: 京料理 宇治川

  • Type: Matcha cuisine
  • How to book: Walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: Good location; they have matcha ramen
  • Why we don’t recommend it: The tempura is a bit greasy; seasoning runs salty; didn’t feel great after the meal

Hokkaido

Sapporo

“Worth trying”

Restaurant: みえ田

  • Type: Kappo cuisine
  • Reservation method: hotel concierge
  • Why we recommend it: kids can sit at the counter; the food was consistently excellent throughout the meal; the kamameshi was still delicious the next day after packing it up and taking it back to the hotel; our kid also loved all the cooked dishes; there was a young Taiwanese staff member in the restaurant who spoke Chinese
  • Why we don’t recommend it: hard to book; communication before the meal was not very smooth

Restaurant: ステーキ＆ワイン いしざき

  • Type: teppanyaki
  • Reservation method: TableCheck
  • Why we recommend it: kids can sit at the counter; after communicating our preferences, the food was all very good; the vegetables were delicious too; service was good; child-sized utensils available
  • Why we don’t recommend it: it was a bit too salty at first, but after mentioning it to the chef, it was fixed right away

“I thought it was just okay”

Restaurant: 郷土料理 おが

  • Type: local cuisine
  • Reservation method: Tabelog
  • Why we recommend it: lots of choices; very fresh ingredients; fairly distinctive; good service
  • Why we don’t recommend it: even though the ingredients were good, the final result tasted pretty unremarkable
  • “I don’t think it’s worth it”

Restaurant: 田久鮓

  • Type: sushi
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: no complaints about the ingredients; the female server spoke decent English
  • Why we don’t recommend it: seasoning was too salty; with a child, you can only sit in a private room

Restaurant: カフェ・バトラーズワーフ

  • Type: cafe, light meals
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: inside Shiroi Koibito Park; kiosk ordering with pictures; kids’ meal available
  • Why we don’t recommend it: food was very mediocre; the Shiroi Koibito ice cream was extremely sweet

Otaru

“I thought it was good”

Restaurant: 泽崎水产

  • Type: seafood rice bowl
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: the seafood bowl was tasty; good value
  • Why we don’t recommend it: still not as good as Hakodate; the shop is really tiny, so our kid had to stay outside in the stroller, separated by just one door

Hakodate

“I thought it was good”

Restaurant: うに むらかみ 函館本店

  • Type: seafood rice bowl
  • Reservation method: last-minute walk-in right before closing, with no wait
  • Why we recommend it: the uni rice bowl was excellent; good value
  • Why we don’t recommend it: there may be a wait during regular meal times

Restaurant: 阿佐利 本店

  • Type: sukiyaki
  • Reservation method: called to book directly; English was okay
  • Why we recommend it: the beef was sliced thin, so it was less rich/heavy; tasted good; good value
  • Why we don’t recommend it: service was average

“I don’t think it’s worth it”

Restaurant: すし蔵

  • Type: sushi
  • Reservation method: Tabelog
  • Why we recommend it: ingredients were fresh
  • Why we don’t recommend it: because we had a child, we sat in a private room, and all the sushi was served at once rather than piece by piece as it was made; the whole meal felt very ordinary

Restaurant: 史実

  • Type: seafood rice bowl
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: located inside Hakodate Morning Market; seafood was fresh and portions were generous; open even outside standard meal times
  • Why we don’t recommend it: the seasoning didn’t do the ingredients justice

Noboribetsu

"I thought it was just okay"

Restaurant: 北の匠 回転寿しクリッパー しらかば

  • Type: conveyor-belt sushi
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: fresh ingredients; the sushi was decent overall
  • Why we don’t recommend it: handwritten ordering; no food was actually circulating on the conveyor belt

“Avoid!”

Restaurant: あけぼの

  • Type: ramen
  • Why we don’t recommend it: there was a sign at the entrance saying, “Travelers from China are not allowed to enter. Thank you for your understanding.”

Lake Toya

"I thought it was just okay"

Restaurant: Lake Hill Farm

  • Type: ice cream shop, light meals
  • Reservation method: walk-in
  • Why we recommend it: the farm itself is an attraction, and this is its on-site restaurant. It was a pretty standard light meal, but quite tasty.
  • Why we don’t recommend it: you may have to wait in line for ice cream.

Furano/Biei

"I thought it was good"

Restaurant: お食事とご宴会の店 くまげら

  • Type: local cuisine
  • Reservation method: walk-in; expect a wait
  • Why we recommend it: we went back a second time because there really weren’t many other good food options in town; the raw wagyu rice bowl was delicious; the sukiyaki was decent
  • Why I don’t recommend it: You can only stand and wait in line at the entrance; the menu has more misses than highlights; they don’t take AMEX, and the elderly woman at checkout doesn’t speak English; dining options in this village are pretty limited, so don’t set your expectations too high

Restaurant: Furano Cheese Factory

  • Type: Ice cream shop, light meals
  • Reservation method: Walk-in
  • Why I recommend it: The milk soft serve has an amazing texture! The pizza is fairly distinctive and tastes decent
  • Why I don’t recommend it: You have to wait in line for the ice cream; the made-to-order pizza takes a long time; ordering is done through a numbered ticket machine, which isn’t friendly if you don’t know Japanese; it only gets an “okay” because of the ice cream

“I think it’s just okay”

Restaurant: Coffee Mori no Tokei

  • Type: Cafe, light meals
  • Reservation method: Walk-in
  • Why I recommend it: A popular sightseeing spot; the setting is beautiful and unique
  • Why I don’t recommend it: The curry rice is pretty average, fine if you just need something to eat