Food is an essential part of travel. If you are traveling to Western Japan, the Kansai region of Japan offers delicious Japanese food. Travelife Magazine shortlists some of the best restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.

THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN KOBE

KOMAGO

This three-star Michelin restaurant is a hidden gem. Locals consider it one of the best restaurants in Kobe for Japanese food. It offers an intimate setting for serving exquisite Japanese dishes in traditional lacquer boxes.

LA MAISON DE GRACIANI

For travelers craving French food, this fine-dining Michelin-starred restaurant offers refined cooking and an extensive wine list.

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THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN KYOTO

KIKUNOI HONTEN

Kikunoi changes its flavorful menus of Japanese food. Even its flower arrangements and displayed artworks vary to suit the seasons.

KITCHO

Kitcho is rumoured to be the favorite restaurant of legendary former Japanese Prime Minister Yashuhiro Nakasone. He reportedly took many world leaders for a meal here. This reclusive establishment on the banks of the Arashiyama River serves the finest Japanese cuisine at correspondingly fine prices.

HYOTEI

Diners at this 400-year-old former Japanese tea house can enjoy delicate and elegantly presented dishes inspired by the sophisticated spirit of the tea ceremony.

KYO-RYORI NAKAMURA

This restaurant serves only the highest standard of Kyoto cuisine. It has long been considered one of the best restaurants in Kyoto. One of their specialties is the shiro-miso zoni, which is Japanese rice dumpling soup seasoned with white miso.

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THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN OSAKA

FUJIYA 1935

Owned by 4th generation chef Tetsuya Fujiwara, this is considered one of the best restaurants in Osaka. This Michelin three-star restaurant consistently serves contemporary Spanish dishes using fresh Japanese ingredients such as Spanish mackerel in chrysanthemum sauce.

KORYU

Small and intimate, Koryu seats 10 to 12 people. It serves varied delicious Japanese food based on seasonal ingredients.

KASHIWAYA

This Relais & Châteaux establishment is always on the gourmet list of the best restaurants in Osaka. Kashiwaya serves authentic Japanese cuisine in a traditional but modernized “sukiya” dining room, with fusumasliding doors, shoji paper screens, and tatamimats. One of the must-try specialties of Chef Hideaki Matsuo is the amadai. This is a grilled tile fish marinated in a flavorful salt shrimp “shiokara” dip.

Read more articles about the best restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe in Travelife Magazine.