A handwritten menu at an izakaya. Photo: Ryohei Noda from Tokyo, Japan / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) At restaurants in Japan, the menu does not always say whether a dish contains pork or alcohol. And when you try to ask, the staff may not speak English. This article gives you a short note in Japanese that tells restaurant staff you are Muslim and cannot eat pork or drink alcohol, and asks them...
Yakiniku cooking over charcoal. Photo: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) Yakiniku is mostly about beef, but being beef does not make meat halal. At a yakiniku restaurant, it is worth checking the sauce and the rest of the menu as well as the meat itself. This guide explains what to check when you eat yakiniku, and what to look at on Halal Gourmet Japan listing pages. Yakiniku...
Ginza, Tokyo, has two shops serving halal-friendly tendon, the tempura rice bowl. This article introduces both branches of Tendon Ginza Itsuki: one in Tokyu Plaza Ginza and one in the Ginza Inz building. About the shops As the name suggests, Tendon Ginza Itsuki specializes in tendon. What makes it stand out is that you can have halal-friendly tendon right in the middle of Ginza, between shopping...
In the heart of Dotonbori, Osaka, there is a yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) restaurant that uses halal meat. This article introduces Dotonbori Mitsuru Main Store. About the restaurant Dotonbori Mitsuru is a long-time favorite yakiniku restaurant in Dotonbori. After its original shop was renovated, it reopened as the Main Store. The appeal here is that you can enjoy a wide range of cuts from the...
The great torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima. Photo: Jakub Hałun / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) Halal Gourmet Japan lists 20 restaurants and shops in Hiroshima Prefecture (as of October 2026). Most of them are in central Hiroshima City or on Miyajima. Where you eat depends on whether you are visiting the Peace Memorial Park or taking the ferry to Miyajima. This guide covers Hiroshima...
National Mart & Halal Yataimura Yashiostan in Yashio, Saitama. Photo: 赤猫法師 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Living in Japan, sooner or later you will want halal meat, or the spices and sauces you used to cook with back home. The same goes for travellers who cook for themselves or are looking for gifts to take home.But searching for “halal shop” in a maps app does not always turn...
Odori Park and Sapporo TV Tower. Photo: ノボホショコロトソ / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Halal Gourmet Japan lists 40 restaurants and shops in Hokkaido (as of October 2026). About half of them are in Sapporo. The rest are spread across the island, in places such as Otaru, Asahikawa, Obihiro and the Tokachi area, as well as resorts like Niseko and Rusutsu. Hokkaido is large, so it helps to look for places...
Sukiyaki. Photo: ajari / CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)Tokyo has more than 500 restaurants listed on Halal Gourmet Japan (as of October 2026). With that many to choose from, it helps to start from what you feel like eating.This article sorts Tokyo restaurants by what you want to eat — wagyu, ramen, sushi and other Japanese food, international food, burgers and Western food, and places for a break — and...
Tori paitan ramen. Photo: *_* / CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)Tonkotsu ramen tells you up front that the broth is made from pork. The harder part is everything the name leaves out. The tare, the flavored oil, the chashu and the seasoned egg can all involve pork or alcohol.This article walks through where pork and alcohol can turn up in a bowl of ramen, and what to look for on a Halal Gourmet Japan listing...
Yudofu (simmered tofu). Photo: cobacco / CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)Osaka and Kyoto together have more than 200 restaurants listed on Halal Gourmet Japan (as of September 2026). With that many to choose from, it helps to start from what you feel like eating.This article sorts Osaka and Kyoto restaurants by what you want to eat — wagyu, ramen, Japanese cuisine, international food, and places for a break —...