The 7 Weirdest, Best, and Most Unique Places to Eat in Tokyo, Japan

Updated February, 2023

If you’ve read our full 2-week Japan itinerary and listened to our Tokyo-inspired playlist, you should already know that we’re pretty much obsessed with Japan. Out of all the places we’ve visited, it’s one of the ones we’d go back again in a heartbeat.

One of the biggest reasons we fell in love with Japan was the food. The variety, quality, flavor, pride and artistry behind Japanese cuisine is unlike anywhere else in the world, and we happily planned our days around sushi, ramen, udon, yakitori, curry, katsu, and more.

Another reason behind our Japan obsession is the endless array of unique experiences you can get yourself into. While traditional Japanese culture is marked by modesty and respect above all else, in modern times, Japan is also known to embrace the futuristic, somewhat sexual, and downright strange.

This post is where next-level food and weird, wacky culture cross paths. Enjoy our 7 weirdest, best, and most unique places to eat and drink in Tokyo, Japan — some simply delicious and enjoyable, and others verging on uncomfortably strange.

Tsukiji Fish Market

5 Chome-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo City, Tōkyō-to 104-0045, Japan

Yum-meter: 10/10

Weird-meter: 0/10

A must in Tokyo! At the time of our visit, the 4am giant tuna auctions had been moved to a different location, so we didn’t go for that. Not that we would have been able to wake up at that time anyway. We do highly recommend going in the morning to sample all of the best food vendors. We had tamago (sweet egg omelette), yellowtail yakitori, tuna sashimi, and so much more.

10/10 on the food. This was our first stop on our first day in Tokyo and it’s what made us instantly fall in love. Especially the giant sashimi boat we got for what would be considered a bargain price in the U.S.

0/10 for weirdness. I’m sure you could find some strange food there but this is not a place for freaky vibez.

Convenience Stores (FamilyMart, 7-11, Lawson)...yes, seriously

Yum-meter: 5/10

Weird-meter: 2/10

Unlike most convenience store chains in the U.S., those in Japan don’t skimp on quality while still offering quick and easy service. Faced with sometimes long and multi-leg train rides to our first chosen destination every morning, we would stop at a convenience store first thing every day to grab drinks and snacks to hold us over.

Favorites included hundreds of varieties of bottled tea (including Sam’s favorite milk teas), easy to-go iced coffee, onigiri (fresh rice balls with veggie or fish filling), tons of yummy packaged snacks, egg salad sandwiches (which convenience stores are somewhat famous for in Japan), cheap but good sake to take on the go, and even fried chicken! Thanks to convenience stores on every corner, you’re never more than a couple blocks from fresh and delicious snacks in Japan.

This one gets a 5/10 on the yum-meter, simply because these are all pre-made, packaged foods. For comparison sake, most convenience store food in the U.S. would probably get a 2/10 from us (sorry, nacho cheese and 7-11 chili dog lovers!). The convenience store food in Japan is astoundingly more fresh with better ingredients.

2/10 on the weird meter because honestly it’s weird that convenience stores are actually known for being so good there. Plus, they get fun at night with partiers rolling through to pick up drinks.

Making friends at Japanese convenience stores.

Golden Gai

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Yum-meter: 5/10

Weird-meter: 5/10

You’ve probably heard of the Japanese tiny bars, but man are these even tinier than we expected and are some of the most unique bars in Tokyo! Golden Gai is made up of six streets connected by little alleyways and all lined with tiny bars that only fit anywhere from a handful to 20 people. Most of the tiny bars charge a cover fee, so first we wandered until we found one that didn’t, and it happened to be one of the biggest ones (still only fit 20 people max). Next we tried Albatross, which is accurately described on Google as an “intimate bar with a Gothic vibe, chandeliers & eclectic artifacts.” Each bar has its own little vibe or theme.

5/10 for yumness because we only tried drinks. However we’ve heard of some late night yakitori in the area that could easily bump this score up to near perfect.

5/10 for weirdness because sharing pricey drinks shoulder to shoulder with fellow patrons you just met in an on-theme tiny ass room is a strange concept in and of itself...and this is a whole area dedicated to just that.

Gyukatsu Motomura

Japan, 〒150-0002 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya City, Shibuya, 3-chōme−18−10 2号館地下1階大野ビル

Yum-meter: 8/10

Weird-meter: 1/10

As its name suggests, Gyukatsu Motomura is a katsu restaurant located in the heart of Shibuya. This isn’t your regular ol’ katsu though. No, no. At Gyukatsu Motomura, you grill your own high-quality beef cutlet on stone burners. This place is small and super popular with the lunch crowd, both locals and tourists, so we had to wait in line for almost an hour...but the food was well worth it. The lunch entrees are served with a side of soup, rice, cabbage slaw, tea, and sauces, and everything is so delicious — plus we’re always down for a fun interactive dining experience.

8/10 for taste. This was one of our most memorable meals in Tokyo for the food alone, and definitely makes our “best places to eat in Tokyo” list that we recommend to friends.

1/10 for weirdness. Grilling your own food is a little out of the ordinary, but nothing else too wacky going on here.

We love a good interactive dining experience and Gyukatsu Motomura is well worth the wait.

Ichiran

Multiple locations

Yum-meter: 9/10

Weird-meter: 6/10

You’ve most likely heard about the famed chain, where every ramen enthusiast is placed into a “flavor concentration booth” to truly appreciate the hearty, spicy soup to the fullest. Ichiran takes away any need to interact with other humans. You order via vending machine, pass your card through curtains to the chefs, and then your steaming bowl appears magically before your eyes — you can just slightly see the server bow behind the curtain to wish you the best in your ramen-savoring adventure.

9/10 on yumness. Despite being a chain, Ichiran was actually one of our favorite bowls of ramen in Japan. Everything from the spiciness to the noodle texture to the richness of the broth are customizable, resulting in pretty much your perfectly customized bowl of goodness. After first trying it in Kyoto, we went back in Tokyo for our last Japanese meal before flying home! Maybe there’s something to that “flavor concentration” after all…

6/10 on weirdness. The focus on having your own solo ramen adventure is hilarious here. Definitely a unique dining experience we’ve never had elsewhere!

Dying to try Ichiran but can’t make it to one of their locations? The good news is they also sell packages of their most popular Tonkotsu ramen instant noodles so you can try it at home!

It wasn’t hard to concentrate on this beautiful bowl of ramen.

Heart of Hearts Maid Cafe

Japan, 〒101-0021 Tōkyō-to, Chiyoda City, Sotokanda, 4-chōme−6−2 いすゞビル 7F

Yum-meter: 1/10

Weird-meter: 8/10

While wandering Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood which is known for manga, anime, video games, collectibles, and electronics, we decided we wanted to try out one of the notorious maid cafes. We had heard about maid cafes and looked one up on the map, but despite knowing it’s exact location we still couldn’t find it! They seemed like they were hidden away, random rooms in tall multi-story office buildings that you could only find if you knew where you were going.

Luckily, there were women dressed up as maids on the street beckoning passersby into the cafes. We were pretty apprehensive, but eventually allowed ourselves to be led by a maid around the corner to a building’s back entrance, up a tiny elevator, and into a strange, strange world.

The maid cafe we ended up at was called Heart of Hearts. Each maid cafe seems to have its own theme, but we’re honestly not sure what this one’s theme was. The maids were wearing kitten and bunny ears, so maybe it was animals?

Anyway, despite what you might think due to traditional maid costume connotations, there is really nothing sexual going on at the maid cafes. In fact, from what we saw, the maid waitresses aim to act as cute as possible rather than the slightest bit of sex appeal.

They call patrons “master” and “mistress.” Our server asked us to call her “kitten.” Ok, now this is sounding sexual...but it really wasn’t. It was just weird.

There was only one other group of super hammered Japanese dudes in there, and the maids get up in front of the tiny room and enthusiastically sing poppy karaoke songs with choreographed dances every 10 minutes or so.

1/10 for yumitude. We only had beer. These places have snacks which I’m sure are good (because all food in Japan is above standard) but from what we could tell it’s not really about the food.

8/10 on weird level. Everything from finding a maid cafe to interacting with the maids to the other patrons was an incredibly strange experience, and uniquely Japanese.

Kagaya

Japan, 〒105-0004 Tōkyō-to, Minato City, Shinbashi, 2-chōme−15−12 花定ビルB1

Yum-meter: 6/10

Weird-meter: 10/10

Saved the best for last because never in our lives will we have another dining experience like this one...and I don’t know that we would want to.

Before heading to Tokyo, we asked a friend who lives there if he could recommend any “weird” experiences. Besides the crazy but touristy robot restaurants famous in Tokyo, which we didn’t end up doing, Kagaya was his number one suggestion. We knew we had to go and made a reservation right away (which is required if you want to pay this tiny spot a visit).

At its core, Kagaya is a small izakaya serving homestyle Japanese fare. What makes it truly unique is the owner, Mark Kagaya. He’s seemingly totally off his rocker, and does everything in his power to ensure that no part of your dining experience verges on normal.

The menus are written in crayon and rather than listing any food or drinks, they feature poetic verses that you’re required to sing to Kagaya to submit your order. He puts on a whole act with a stuffed bear when bringing out the drinks. He serves the food to each table in choreographed dances and skits modeled after different countries. He makes everything incredibly sexual...verging on what could be considered assaulting his guests. And all the while, an older woman does the cooking in the back, gazing on stone-faced no matter how many antics are going on up front — which is perhaps the funniest part.

6/10 for food. According to the reviews from some folks who know homestyle Japanese cooking well, Kagaya should be considered Michelin-level fare. Everything is delicious and made with love, but I think for us it was just a different type of Japanese food than we had ever had before and was a little unexpected. Dishes were very simple in nature including cold soba noodles, chicken, yams, etc. All great but not what made the experience stand out for us.

10/10 on oddness. We’re convinced Kagaya is one of the weirdest restaurants in Japan, or maybe even the world. Probably the strangest dining experience we will ever have...unless of course we go back to Japan and something else takes the cake!

2023 update: Google now reports that Kagaya is temporarily closed =( Some travelers on Reddit have mentioned that Kagaya is planning to relocate, but since we haven’t seen any news on a new location, it looks like this is still the case.

If you’re heading to Tokyo, we 100% recommend all of the unique experiences listed above, some for the food and others because they are a once-in-a-lifetime, truly Japanese dining adventure.

Comment below or on our latest IG post with your questions! Got your own unique food or drink experience in Tokyo? Let us know! We definitely want to return and will add more to our list!

Keep it weird!