Unlike Indian or Thai cuisine, Japanese curry features a mild flavor coupled with Japanese ingredients like chicken katsu and ebi shrimp.
1. Coco Ichibanya (All Japan)
It’s called Coco Ichibanya for a reason, because it truly is the best curry restaurant in Japan! This is Japan’s staple curry restaurant franchise that you’ll find in every prefecture, from the busiest cities to the rural farmlands. Coco Ichibanya is more than a restaurant; it’s an experience.
Using an ordering tablet or the physical menus, you can customize your curry with an abundance of spice/sweetness levels, toppings, curry bases, and more! My favorite curry dish of all time is the beef curry base with chicken katsu filling and toppings of soft-boiled egg, garlic bits, tartar mayo, and cheese, a match made in heaven!
2. Lake Kawaguchi Curry (Mt. Fuji)
Unlike Coco Ichibanya, this restaurant is quite difficult to get to or even find! It is located somewhere on the coasts of Lake Kawaguchi, a short bicycle ride from Mt. Fuji station. A washoku restaurant of sorts, they have a diverse menu of options, but their signature dish is indeed the chicken katsu curry! The quality of the chicken cutlets was unlike any of its kind, featuring a deeper crisp and more satisfying crunch than most curry restaurants, including, dare I say, Coco Ichibanya.
The curry is also a richer flavor and thicker texture than most other restaurants offer, and it comes in a cool Aladdin-style pouring cup. While the quality of this restaurant is perhaps the best of the best, they do not offer the variety of toppings and spice customization of Coco Ichibanya, hence making it the second-best overall in my opinion (not to mention how difficult it is to get to!).
3. Hiri Hiri Soup Curry (Sapporo)
While not strictly a “curry dish” due to its more soup-like texture, I still thought I’d put this Hokkaido classic on the list for its memorable and iconic taste! Hiri Hiri Soup Curry is a popular restaurant in Sapporo that features one of the region’s local delicacies known as soup curry. This dish is features a light flavor and is made with whole vegetables such as potato, broccoli, eggplant, and pumpkin. There are many variations of this dish, most commonly eaten with a crispy piece of chicken and side of steamed rice. Other popular options include prawn or just plain vegetable toppings.
4. Sukiya (All Japan)
Sukiya may not be what you’d expect to see on this list, but hear me out! This 24-7 beef bowl chain offers a vast menu of gyudon varieties, but they also have a permanent curry dish menu too. While the curry base is somewhat bland, the combination of curry with gyudon-style beef and cooked onions is a winner! It’s also fairly customizable, with offerings of toppings including egg, sausage, fried chicken, cooked garlic, vegetables, and more!
5. Grill Fukuya (Kyoto)
A humble little restaurant known as Grill Fukuya offers delicious Japanese-Western cuisine by Kyoto’s Kamo River. One of the most unique curry dishes I’ve had in Japan was right here, a soothing, soul-warming hashed beef curry made with a unique combination of vegetables including onion, peas, and even a cherry tomato! This restaurant has an awesome vibe that is comforting and nostalgic, with simple wooden furniture and beautiful, natural framed paintings of mountains and rivers on the walls.
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