Kani Kani Land Kyoto Gion

The name of this restaurant is hilariously literal: Kani Kani Land translates to “crab crab land”. But the crab at this restaurant is no laughing matter. Kani Kani Land’s newest venture may be in the middle of Gion, Kyoto’s most famous historic geisha district, but it originates from Niigata Prefecture, one of the regions in Japan best known for its crab, thanks to its frigid waters making for fertile breeding grounds every winter. Just like its main store, the Gion branch of Kani Kani Land spares no effort at sourcing its crab — or any of its seafood for that matter. It’s an equal opportunist in that regard: so long as it’s the freshest possible crab, Kani Kani Land will take it, whether it’s from the restaurant’s favored suppliers back in its home of Niigata, or the nearby ports in Osaka, or wherever else seasonal seafood is in its prime. Visitors to the restaurant can personally lay eyes on the catch of the day as they make their way to the all-private room seating tables, thanks to massive glass tanks in the corridors, each filled with magnificent specimens of the colossal red king crab that made the restaurant so famous in the first place. In the restaurant’s course menus, these take on many different forms, from tempura to sushi to simply grilled inside the shell. And with course menus that include premium seafood like abalone, ise-ebi spiny lobster and blackthroat seaperch, seafood lovers visiting Kyoto (even if they’re not headed to Gion) owe it to themselves to give this restaurant a shot.