Everyone who comes to Kyoto probably passes by Kyoto Station at some point of their trip. You can find many restaurants in the basement floors of the station. Because of the extremely central location of the station, many people also have their lunch around here. But which restaurant should you go? Don’t worry; Vanessa has picked out the five best restaurants near Kyoto Station for you to enjoy, from ramen noodles to Kyoto’s haute cuisine, kaiseki. There’s even a conveyor belt sushi restaurant on this list!
On the 11th floor of the Kyoto Isetan department store, you can find Kyoto Wakuden, one of the most famous kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto. They have seats by the window with a great view of the city below. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect!
This restaurant offers you Japanese haute cuisine, so you’re in for a full course, but the lunch prices are not too expensive, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is very welcoming. If you want to try kaiseki cuisine but don’t want to use up all your budget for it, this restaurant is a great choice.
The restaurant is only a 5-minute walk from Kyoto Station, and there’s almost always a line in front of it. They deep-fry their famous Japanese beef in only 30 seconds. This results in beef that is both crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside; this, in turn, is the reason for this restaurant’s popularity.
Kyoto Style Beef Cutlet on Rice, on the other hand, is a menu item that is served with an ample amount of green onion, Kyoto’s specialty, which adds to the taste of the beef. The rice the beef is on is all grown in Japan, and I’m sure that this dish will leave you satisfied!
On Asty Road which is located close to the Hachijoguchi exit of Kyoto Station you can find restaurant Kurama among the many souvenir shops of the area. The food here is colorful, and they use seasonal ingredients from Kyoto, so these boxes are full of Kyoto-goodness. You can taste almost every kind of Kyoto cuisine in just one lunch meal!
This ohitsu-set comes with tempura and a rice bowl topped with green onion and chicken, and you also have an “onsen tamago” to mix into the rice too, an onsen tamago being an egg that is cooked in a low temperature.
Although this ramen joint is a 12-minute walk from Kyoto Station, and you have to sometimes wait in line for around 30 minutes, the taste of their ramen is still worth it. Their soup is a seafood soup with miso, and the noodles have just the right amount of chewiness and they suck up the flavors of the dipping soup really well.
They also have a traditional Chinese noodles version of their ramen with a soy base and a more elegant taste. This bowl is ramen is like manna from the heaven for those who like their ramen a bit more delicate.
Everyone from old to young loves conveyor belt sushi, and there’s a very nice on also on Asty Road, Sushi no Musashi. They use fresh ingredients and have sushi artisans make their sushi right in front of your eyes. If you’re into sushi, you can have around 50 different ones here at Sushi no Musashi.
If you happen to be in a hurry, they also have sushi to go, so you don’t have to worry about missing the Shinkansen. Conveyor belt sushi is easy for everyone to enter, as there’s no dress code and you can decide what to eat piece by piece. These are the reasons why there are always many people waiting in front of this restaurant to get in and taste some delicious sushi on the cheap.
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Vanessa[ Sharing Kyoto Staff ] | STAFF DETAIL |
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