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Start a Top 5 for JapaneseEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in CTbites and CT Bites. Updated August 2026.
Menya-Gumi · Ninth Square
A ramen shop on Orange Street from chef and owner Angel Cheng. CTbites (Brian Lance) centers the shoyu chintan, a clear soy-based broth with torched pork belly and an ajitama marinated egg. Round it out with the katsu-don and the Kewpie egg sando, a soft milk-bread sandwich. The bowl-and-sando focus keeps it in the cooked-Japanese lane, separate from the city's sushi rooms.
Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar · Ninth Square
An izakaya and shokudo on Orange Street from a team including Yuta Kamori and Gen Hashimoto, opened in May 2022. Per CTbites, the cooking is the draw: Shio Koji Tora Kara fried chicken, miso black cod, and agedashi tofu, backed by a 35-bottle sake list. The cooked, small-plates focus keeps it distinct from the sushi counters, a place to graze and drink through a long list.
Otaru Sushi Bar · Downtown
An omakase counter tucked beneath the Temple Street garage downtown, opened in 2018 by chef Sunny Cheng and his wife Kathy after his stints at Morimoto and Nobu. CT Bites' Chloe Zale described the sushi as sophisticated yet playful, and noted the kitchen stays approachable and relatively affordable without compromising on quality or execution. Order the omakase and let the counter set the pace.