Japanese Food Spots in Nagano Area

  • Meijitei Komagane Main Store
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    4.0
    117 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Pref. Komaganeshi Akaho 898-6
    This is a particularly famous eatery serving Komagane specialty Sauce Katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl with sauce) in Akaho, Komagane City, Nagano Prefecture. It is a satisfyingly voluminous rice bowl topped with sliced cabbage, juicy pork meat with a crispy coating, and an original fruity sauce in perfect harmony. It is a shop specialty that draws a large number of fans from far and wide. The menu is full of other options including set meals and seasonal fish dishes. The Donman pork cutlet & sauce sandwich is a popular takeout choice.

    ソースカツ丼で有名なお店。遅くまで混んでいました。シンプルなロースソースかつ丼を注文。衣はサクサクで、とても美味しかったです!ご飯は大盛にしましたが、かなりのボリュームでなんとか食べきりました。ソースカツ丼の草分け的なお店で、有名店です。駒ケ根に来たら、立ち寄りたい場所ですね!

  • Chikufudo Obuse Main Store
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    973 Obuse-cho, Kamakitai-gun, Nagano Prefecture
    This famous Japanese confection shop uses Japanese chestnuts, a local Obuse specialty, in place of the more common sweet red bean paste. The shop on the first floor sells delicious sweets such as kuri yokan (chestnut jelly blocks), kuri dorayaki (sponge cake with chestnut paste), and kuri kanoko (chestnut paste with molasses). In the second floor restaurant, diners can enjoy fresh-made sweets, rice with chestnuts, and traditional Shinshu (Nagano) cuisine. The restaurant’s parking lot is free for customers for the first two hours.
  • Sukitei
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Pref. Naganoshi Minaminaganotsumashina 112-1
    "This restaurant in Tsumashina Minaminagano, Nagano City specializes in beef-based cuisine. They serve dishes such as sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, steak, roast beef, and beef sushi (by reservation). All their cuisine features ""Apple Raised Shinshu Beef,"" Japanese black beef from cattle brought up on fermented feed with apple. In addition to regular seating, they also offer private rooms with tatami mat floor seating and larger halls. They provide course meals when reserved in advance."
  • Marusei
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano prefecture Nagano-shi Motomachi 486
    This is a restaurant in the center of the path leading to the Zenkoji Temple. The restaurant’s sauce katsudon, topped with fried pork cutlets smothered in a homemade sauce and fried eggs, are made according to the same recipe as when Marusei opened after the end of the Second World War, providing Zenkoji Temple worshippers with a familiar flavor. Marusei also offers a set including its famous katsudon with stone ground soba (buckwheat) noodles.
  • Monzensaryo Yayoiza
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    4.5
    20 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano prefecture Nagano-shi Daimon cho 503
    This restaurant is housed inside a tatami wholesaler's built in the Edo period. Here diners can enjoy carefully prepared local cuisine which incorporates Shinshu (Nagano) and seasonal ingredients. Popular menu items include the steamed Shinshu beef and country-style usuyaki crepes made with 100% buckwheat flour and dressed with sweet miso and green onions. Located right next to the entrance to the road leading to the Zenkoji Temple.

    My boyfriend and I had an amazing experience. The food was so tasty and beautiful and the staff was absolutely amazing as well! I would definitely come here again!

  • Aoito (Hige no Tonkatsu)
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    4.0
    31 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Ina-shi Nishiminowa 7010-1
    "A long-established shop said to be the originator of ""Sauce Katsu-don,"" a deep fried pork cutlet rice bowl. They prepare this Nagano specialty by smothering the cutlet with their secret sauce and placing it on rice with heaps of cabbage. It's not cooked with egg like many kinds of pork cutlets, so you can really enjoy the pork's crispy texture and meatiness. Another popular item is their pork loin katsu-don, featuring a nice balance of flavor and fatty meat. The beautifully cooked cutlet is soft and juicy and bursts with flavor when you take a bite. They are also known for their soft and juicy pork fillet katsu-don as well as their deep fried shrimp and pork fillet katsu-don Japanese style meal sets."

    今回ご紹介するのは『青い塔』さんです。 伊那市にある元祖ソースカツ丼のお店で、地元のみならず全国の情報誌にも掲載されたことがあるお店です。 平日の12時に訪問しました。 駐車場は10台近く停められる余裕があります。 来た時にはほぼ満車状態で、これは並ばないといけないやつだなと思い 焦って入店すると意外に空いていてラッキーでした。 入店した後はお客さんが出ては入っての繰り返しで、常時お客さんが入...

  • Aokiya
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    4.5
    6 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Shimoina-gun Achimura Chisato 4224-1
    A restaurant located on the Nagano Prefecture side of the Mt. Ena tunnel on the Chuo Expressway. There you can dine on fish dishes made with amago trout and char raised in clear streams flowing from 2,191-meter Mt. Ena. Nothing beats eating the salt-grilled fish around the tables with built-in fire pits. You'll definitely want to order gohei-mochi rice cakes, an Ina Valley local favorite smothered in a secret sauce made with walnuts and Japanese pepper. They also have a fishing pond and you can grill or fry the fish you catch right at the shop. Of course, they'll clean them for you to take home, too.

    ヘブンス園原の更に車で上に登り、花桃の里を抜けたところにあります。 釣り堀で岩魚やニジマスを釣り、食事処で塩焼きか唐揚げにして食べることが出来ます。五平餅も自分で焼くのですが、とても柔らかくて絶品でした。 馬刺しもオススメです! 子供は絶対に喜ぶと思います。

  • Mine No Chaya
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    3.5
    4 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kitasaku-gun Karuizawamachi Nagakura 2131-2
    A restaurant at the starting point of the Shiraito Highland Way connecting Kita-Karuizawa and Kyu-Karuizawa. A veteran shop with a 100-year-plus history, it was originally a lodge for climbers on Mt. Asama. Today it's still a break spot for travelers, serving soba and udon noodles, cake, drinks, and other light fare. Some trails and trailheads are close by, so many people stop in for a break while checking their maps. It's about 30 minutes by car from Karuizawa Station and is a great place to unwind with a high ceiling and a modern atmosphere.

    メニューは多くありませんが、ちょうどお腹が空いた時に、ポツンとあるレストランで 助かりました。カレーをいただきましたが、美味しかったです。 お蕎麦等もあったようです。

  • Otokichi
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    4.5
    2 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kiso-gun Nagisomachi Azuma 1223-1
    This restaurant is on the Nakasendo Road in Tsumago-juku, which has been designated as Japan's first Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. They serve rustic yamaga-ryori cuisine as it's been made since the old days. You'll enjoy dining in this former post town while taking in the seasonal scenery. Their specialty is the Otokichi Teishoku meal set with Shinshu salmon sashimi, salt-grilled char, tempura, and side dishes. They also provide items like wild vegetable and matsutake mushroom dishes, as well as authentic soba noodles. You can visit their adjacent bonsai garden for free.

    妻籠宿近くにある和食のお店で信州蕎麦をと思い利用しました。お蕎麦自体特徴はありませんでしたがたっぷりの量があり、定食の小鉢が炊き合わせ等充実していて美味しくお値段以上のボリュームと内容でした。

  • Nakakichi
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    4.0
    1 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Komoro-shi Yoramachi 4-1-5
    A 10-minute drive from the Komoro Interchange and a 15-minute walk from Komoro Station. This creative cuisine and kushiyaki grilled skewer dish restaurant is situated a short distance north of the intersection between Prefectural Route 40 and the Jabori River. The restaurant is only open for lunch on Fridays through Sunday and for dinner on Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant operates out of a remodeled building which was used by a paper wholesaler from the Meiji to the early Showa periods. The interior combines the old fashioned with the modern and customers can enjoy entirely different dishes depending on whether they come for lunch or dinner. Focusing on using local ingredients, the restaurant's exquisite Shinshu Tateshina beef seiro meal is made with top quality Shinshu Tateshina beef and seasonal vegetables. Particularly recommended kushiyaki choices include the tsukune kushi with tare sauce, and the five skewer kushiyaki assortment.

    北国街道の古い町並みの中にある、年数の経った元商家を生かした落ち着いた雰囲気で内装も良いお店。ランチに行ったが、畳の上のテーブル席でいただいた。蓼科牛と季節野菜のセイロと花豆おこわを注文した。創作料理系であるが、地元の素材を使っていて、特に花豆おこわは美味しかった。料理全体としてはややおおまかな調理のように思われたが、心意気は伝わってきた。お店の方の対応は実に丁寧であった。何人かでくつろぎたいと...

  • Sakuraya
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    4.0
    28 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Matsumoto-shi Ote 4-9-1
    A two-minute walk from the Marunouchi bus stop and a five-minute walk from Matsumoto Castle. This long-standing eel restaurant was established in 1920 and can be reached by leaving from Matsumoto Castle's Kuromon gate, walking down Daimyocho-dori Street, and taking a left at the second intersection. The restaurant serves Kansai-style kabayaki charcoal grilled, un-steamed eel with a secret recipe sauce. The restaurant's eel meat is not fatty or greasy, enabling diners to enjoy the true flavor of the ingredients used. The restaurant is dedicated to giving customers the chance to enjoy the flavor of traditional kabayaki inexpensively and in a casual environment. The restaurant's signature dish is its eel sasa-mushi - kabayaki grilled eel served with rice rolled up in a bamboo grass leaf. The restaurant also offers eel donburi rice bowls and eel combo meals; some of the restaurant's menu is also available for takeout.

    This was a serendipitous find in the quiet town of Matsumoto, a gateway I suppose, to the Nagano Alps. We were greeted enthusiastically by the waitress who very gamely soldiered on despite my lack of...

  • Japanese Restaurant Kurabu
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    4.0
    67 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kamitakai-gun Obusemachi Obuse 807
    A Japanese restaurant which serves local regional cuisine. The restaurant serves a variety of dishes made with local ingredients, including char and other river fish; Nagano meats; and fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and beans from local farms. Offering colorful lunch combos, char takikomi gohan rice made with a real kama stove, kama stove-cooked white rice, and more, is the reason why this establishment is so popular is because its food enables the diner to enjoy the innate flavors of the ingredients used. The restaurant takes particular pride in its Shinshu Daio Iwana char grown in the pure rivers of Sakuho Town; many people love its delicate flavor. The restaurant's wines and renowned Nagano liquors such as Masuichi sake are also exceptional.

    Very nicely decorated inside with a nice bar area, and very attentive staff. Classical music playing in the background. We were surprise it was not more crowded on a Saturday night. They have a very...

  • Notochu
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    4.5
    6 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Suzaka-shi Suzaka 304
    A seven-minute walk from Suzaka Station. This premiums kaiseki course cuisine restaurant was established in 1882 and has five private dining rooms as well as a banquet hall. Paying particular attention to the ingredients and broth, what sets this establishment apart is its cuisine lovingly crafted one dish at a time with a focus on authentic flavor; and its luxurious private dining rooms where you can enjoy a relaxing, unhurried meal. The content of the restaurant's makanai-style lunch menu is determined the day of, and consists of dishes meticulously and individually prepared while incorporating an appropriate seasonal atmosphere. As the establishment only has the five private dining rooms, be sure to make a reservation by phone in advance.

    須坂市にある老舗の料亭です。店内の雰囲気も格式高く、また料理のクオリティもかなりのもの。接待、記念日などの食事にここを利用することが多いです。須坂随一の料亭だと思います。

  • Showaken
    rating-image
    4.0
    10 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Omachi-shi Omachi 3215 JR Shinano Omachi Ekimae
    A popular restaurant which serves Shinano-Omachi's famous sauce katsudon pork cutlet rice bowls. The casual, unaffected establishment sees so many frequent customers, during lunchtime it's packed. The reason for the establishment's popularity is the size of its portions. The restaurant's pork cutlets are thick yet tender, and the huge rice portions are also sure to please the hungriest of customers. In addition to sauce katsudon, the restaurant also offers miso katsudon, oyakodon chicken and egg over rice, tonkatsu teishoku breaded pork cutlet combos, katsu cutlet curry, and more.

    大町商店街の中ほど。しっかりソース味の乗ったトンカツには千切りキャベツが敷いてあって、これは駒ヶ根のソースかつ丼と同じタイプです。 このソースかつ丼ははっきりした味わいがとってもいい。価値ありのソースとんかつだと思います。

  • HONDA - Japanese EEL Restaurant in Iiyama
    rating-image
    4.5
    28 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Iiyama-shi Iiyama 1117
    An eel restaurant established in 1904. This popular establishment has served eel grilled over high grade ubame oak charcoal and slathered in a secret recipe sauce since the day it first opened its doors. Made according to an old fashioned method with soy sauce and mirin, the sauce's recipe has been handed down for generations and diners will be able to taste the tradition and dedication. The restaurant's basic menu consists of just unaju eel rice boxes and unadon eel rice bowls.

    Absolute gem of a place. Food was fantastic and satisfied my cravings for top quality eel. Place is around a 15 minute walk from the station so it will allow for some time to explore Iiyama.

  • Kajikatei
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    4.5
    8 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Iiyama-shi Tomikura 1769
    This soba noodle restaurant, recently remodeled in 2017, has been a favorite of many since it first opened in 1990. Dedicated to preserving and sharing local cuisine, the restaurant serves soba noodles and sasazushi, popular local Tomikura dishes. Tomikura soba noodles make use of thistle fibers to hold them together. The restaurant's sasazushi has a rich flavor that isn't too sweet. Both are simple dishes whose flavor you will not tire of no matter how much you eat.

    飯山に行ったら「笹寿司」は絶対に食べるべき! 特に「かじか亭」がオススメです。 料金は少々高いけど、お蕎麦と笹寿司がとても美味しく、一度食べたら忘れられません。 一時、閉店しましたが、2017年4月27日にリニューアルオープンしました! 新しくなった「かじか亭」、行ってみようかな・・・

  • Imamiya Hanbei
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    4.0
    5 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Iida-shi Imamiyacho 4
    This long-standing goheimochi broiled rice cake skewers restaurant was established in 1872. A local dish eaten in the Iida area in the southern part of Nagano's Ina Valley since ancient times, long ago the rice cakes were made by gatherings of local farmers to give thanks to the gods and pray for good harvests. From 11:00 to 14:00, the establishment operates as a teahouse serving soba, udon, ramen, goheimochi, and seasonal a la carte dishes. The restaurant's rice dishes require an advance reservation.

    平日夜に宴会でお世話になりました。 お風呂に入ってからお食事というコースにできるのでお風呂好きには嬉しいところです。 五平餅が美味しく、よい締めになります。 予約注文もできるので、重宝させてもらっています。

  • Sumibi Yakitori Komiyama
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    3.5
    11 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kitasaku-gun Karuizawamachi Karuizawa 196-10
    A yakitori grilled chicken skewer restaurant situated along Mikasa-dori Street in Karuizawa, Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County, Nagano Prefecture. The restaurant's slow-grilled skewers are made with choice renowned local chicken varieties such as Awaodori chicken from Tokushima Prefecture. During lunchtime, the establishment also serves several types of donburi rice bowls such as oyakodon chicken and egg over rice made with local chicken varieties.

    The staff was really rude, they don’t welcome foreigners at all!!! We were asked if we were foreigners and then driven away... Incredible!!!

  • Aburiya Fudo Karuizawa
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    5.0
    4 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kitasaku-gun Karuizawamachi Nagakura 746-33-B
    A charcoal grilled cuisine restaurant located in Nagakura, Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku County, Nagano Prefecture. Here you can enjoy local Shinshu yamaudo (mountain folk) charcoal grilled dishes made with seasonal ingredients such as Shinshu beef, local chicken, river fish, and edible wild plants, along with local liquors. The restaurant also serves seasonal nabe hotpots and iron pot jingisukan made with first-rate fresh lamb, and, during lunchtime, ramen and rice combo meals.

    夜はジンギスカン、焼き鳥。 ランチのつけ麺、ラーメンも最高です。 店内も綺麗で居心地が良く、いつもここに通っています。

  • Torikagi
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Nagano Kiso-gun Kisomachi Fukushima Kanmachi 5064
    A kappo Japanese restaurant located in Kan-machi Fukushima, Kiso Town, Kiso County, Nagano Prefecture. The restaurant is famous for its unaju rice boxes topped with eel meat washed in the underground spring water of Kiso, as well as its kamameshi rice dishes cooked to order. Customers can also enjoy dishes made with local Kiso ingredients such as edible wild plant cuisine.

Nagano Areas

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Nagano prefecture is an exciting mix of mountains, hot spring monkeys, and preserved Edo history. At the heart of the Japanese Alps, Nagano is one of the country’s most popular destinations, whether in winter for its snow sports and the much-loved Jigokudani Monkey Park or in the warmer months for discovering the undulating hills on foot. For fantastic Edo architecture, head to the Kiso Valley for a 60-kilometer stretch of quaint wooden buildings that marked the Nakasendo route 200 years ago.

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