Unagi / Anago (Eel) Restaurants(39)

At Unafuji, only the best quality blue eels are used, chosen for their high fat content and creamy livers. These are then cooked over a blue-hot charcoal flame to seal in their natural flavor, then coated generously with Unafuji’s secret sauce.

Lunch: $64.92-72.13

Dinner: $64.92-72.13

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TOKYO

Hitsumabushi Nagoya Bincho Marronnier Gate Ginza 1

The increasingly popular Aichi unagi specialty of hitsumabushi (freshwater eel over rice prepared three ways) finds itself in the heart of Tokyo’s Ginza district, prepared flawlessly in Kansai style.

Lunch: $72.13-79.34

Dinner: $72.13-79.34

Grilled eel sizzling on a barbecue with a smoky glaze

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TOKYO

Nyorosuke Roppongi

At Nyorosuke, you can experience authentic Kansai-style charcoal grilled eel dishes such as grilled eel skewers, unaju and unagi-don. Unlike most Tokyo-style eel restaurants, the eel here is not steamed—meaning it’s bursting full of flavor!

Lunch: $72.13-86.56

Dinner: $72.13-86.56

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Grilled eel skewers over charcoal embers in a restaurant setting

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TOKYO

Unagi Kappo Ooedo

Unagi Kappo Oedo repeatedly immerses whole pieces of eel within jars of their secret sauce, letting its flavor suffuse the meat entirely. It is then paired with sticky Yumegokochi rice for maximum texture.

Lunch: $266.88-274.10

Dinner: $266.88-274.10

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Grilled eel on a traditional Japanese serving tray with chopsticks

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TOKYO

MARUICHI FUJI AKASAKA (formerly Nyorosuke Akasaka)

Rather than steam the eel first in Kanto style, this famed Akasaka unagi specialist upholds Kansai tradition by going straight into grilling the eel for a crispier, crunchier texture.

Dinner: $72.13-86.56

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Traditional Japanese meal with grilled eel and side dishes

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TOKYO

Azabujuban Hanabusa

This Tokyo restaurant sources its eels from unagi farmers in Isshiki Town, who have raised them in an all-natural environment for over 100 years. The unagi are then coated in a secret sauce, before being grilled Kansai-style over a charcoal flame.

Lunch: $86.56-180.33

Dinner: $86.56-180.33

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Traditional Japanese meal with savory dishes on a dark wooden table

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KANAGAWA

Toshima Manryo Ichigetsuan

Enjoy traditionally-prepared unagi dishes in this Odawara restaurant, housed in a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Toshima Manryo Ichigetsuan uses exclusively blue-backed “ao-unagi” eels, said to account for only 10 percent of mature eels.

Dinner: $79.34-137.05

Grilled fish with cucumber served elegantly at a gourmet restaurant.

SEAT RESERVATION

TOKYO

Unagi Komagata Maekawa Marunouchi Branch

Located in the Shin-Marunouchi Building, Maekawa’s unagi is a delicacy that has been passed down for generations. The pairing of Spanish wine and sweet sauce-glazed unagi makes for a combination found in no other restaurant.

Lunch: $36.07-72.13

Dinner: $72.13-108.20

Modern Japanese restaurant facade with welcoming entrance

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GUNMA

Umaimon Yakiissho

This Gunma unagi restaurant not only sources its eels from Aichi Prefecture, but also grills them in Kansai-style, resulting in an extra-crispy texture not easily found around eastern Japan.

Lunch: $43.28-79.34

Dinner: $43.28-79.34

New Restaurant

Traditional Japanese grilled eel dish served in lacquered bowl

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AICHI

Unagi Washoku Shirakawa Meieki

Unagi Washoku Shirakawa Meieki is a welcoming unagi restaurant in Nagoya offering Aichi prefecture’s specialty dish, hitsumabashi, just steps from Nagoya Station.

Lunch: $50.49-72.13

Dinner: $50.49-72.13

SEAT RESERVATION

TOKYO

Ishibashi (Bunkyo)

Enjoy a taste of traditional Japanese food culture at a Tokyo eel restaurant with over 100 years of history.

Lunch: $158.69-209.18

Dinner: $158.69-209.18

Fresh sashimi platter with garnishes on a blue ceramic plate

SEAT RESERVATION

NARA

Unagino Toyokawa

If the saying holds true: three years to master the art of skewering the unagi, eight for the splitting and a lifetime for the grilling — then the chef of this restaurant is a true devotee.

Lunch: $36.07-72.13

Dinner: $36.07-72.13

SEAT RESERVATION

HIROSHIMA

Takotsubo

Capture the authentic and traditional character of Hiroshima with every bite.

Lunch: $28.85-36.07

Dinner: $108.20-144.26

SEAT RESERVATION

TOKYO

Nodaiwa Azabu Iikura Honten

Centuries of honing cooking technique has resulted in this storied unagi restaurant receiving a Michelin star — and a reputation for being difficult to reserve.

Lunch: $50.49-57.70

Dinner: $86.56-93.77

Elegant Japanese tamagoyaki sushi roll on stylish ceramic plate

SEAT RESERVATION

TOKYO

Unagi Komagata Maekawa Asakusa Main Branch

Time travel with your taste buds to Komagata Maekawa, Tokyo’s legendary eel restaurant. Having been present in Asakusa since the Bunsei era, Maekawa serves up unagi perfection, each bite bursting with flavor thanks to a 200-year-old secret sauce.

Lunch: $36.07-72.13

Dinner: $108.20-144.26

Japanese eel dish served with rice and pickles on a wood table.

SEAT RESERVATION

KYOTO

Kanesho

A small establishment with a big legacy: Kanesho is the inventor of kinshidon, an unagi rice bowl dish topped with ribbons of egg omelet.

Lunch: $7.21-36.07

Dinner: $7.21-36.07

Grilled eel donburi with soy glaze in a Japanese restaurant

SEAT RESERVATION

NARA

Ike Edoyakiunagi Asahitei

From its Edo-style unagi on Koshihikari rice to heirloom cedar furniture, every bit of this award-winning unagi restaurant in Nara breathes excellence and decades of legacy.

Lunch: $36.07-43.28

Dinner: $36.07-43.28