About Bento.com

The award-winning Bento.com restaurant guide is the only bilingual source for unbiased, expert advice on where to eat and drink in Tokyo and throughout Japan. Reviews and listings are compiled by an experienced team of food critics who review restaurants anonymously and impartially, seeking out each city's best dining experiences. There is never a charge to restaurants for listings, reviews, or news items, and we don't accept advertising from restaurants.

The "Eating and Drinking in Tokyo" listings include over 2000 carefully selected restaurants, izakaya and bars in Tokyo and Yokohama, and the Kansai section includes around 500 restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara. Other sections of the site include extensive recipes, articles on Japanese cuisine, and travel-related features.

In addition to the site for smartphones, tablets and desktop devices, Bento.com is available in a version for Japanese feature phones from DoCoMo, au and Softbank. An RSS feed is available, and RSS autodiscovery is supported.You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the links on every page.

The Bento.com website has been published from Tokyo since 1994. The website has been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, Time magazine, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Berlingske (Denmark), The Daily Yomiuri, the Japan Times, and Tokyo Journal.

Contact Us

Bento.com is published in Tokyo by Lobster Enterprises and Yamato Tomato Planning.

If you have complaints about unsolicited email (spam) from bento.com accounts, please follow this link.

Contributors

Tokyo reviews and listings: Melinda Joe, Bryan Harrell, Hikaru Okabe, Karyn Woo, Pam Castle, Bjorn Katz, "Camel" Scott Cooper, Robb Satterwhite

Bar editor: Melinda Joe

Kanazawa Editor: Rachel Belle Krampfner (emeritus)

Ramen Editor: Brian MacDuckston

Kansai listings: Justin Ellis, Tim Eustace, Robb Satterwhite.
Thanks to Melissa Rinne, Mr. and Mrs. Ryoichi Kasae.

Editor: Robb Satterwhite

Copyright and trademark notices

The contents of Bento.com and the Tokyo Food Page are protected by international copyright law, and may not be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the copyright holders (see below).

Cap'n Crunch is a trademark of The Quaker Oats Company. Pocari Sweat is a tasty soft drink, and is a trademark of Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. Worcestershire sauce is a trademark of Lea and Perrins, Ltd. Edge is a registered trademark of S.C. Johnson & Co. Campbell's is a registered trademark of Campbell Soup Co. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. "Tokyo Food Page", "bento.com", "Where In Tokyo.com" and "shinkansen.com" are service marks of Lobster Enterprises.

Brews News is copyright (c) 1997-2012, Bryan Harrell and contributors. "Looking for the perfect crunch - Japanese sembei crackers" is copyright (c) 2004 Yukari Pratt. The following recipe is copyright (c) Robb Satterwhite: "Takoyaki". The following recipes are copyright (c) 1996, Susan Fuller Slack: "Grilled miso chicken", "Okinawan sweet fritters", and "Autumn chestnut rice". "Okonomiyaki", "Tempura", "Unagi", "Yakitori","Sushi Multimedia Page", "Oden","Convenience Store Oden Menus", "Nabemono", "Takoyaki","Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum", "Wine-tasting in Katsunuma", "Japanese Microbrewery Beers", "Ohmicho Market, Kanazawa", "Dept. Store Specialty Vendors", "Dept. Store Fresh Food Vendors", "Entertaining Restaurant Signs", and "Okinawan Regional Cuisine" are copyright (c) Robb Satterwhite. "Aquabar" is copyright (c) 1995, Giles Richter. "Mama's Miso Soup", "The Pickle Pot", "What's in a Name", "An Pan", "A Taste of Culture" event schedule and all other "A Taste of Culture" materials are copyright (c) Elizabeth Andoh. "Sake Newsletter" is copyright (c) John Gauntner. Text and photos from Tokyo architecture columns are copyright (c) Max Bolstadt. "Tokyo Record Stores" is copyright (c) Robb Satterwhite. "Sushi Vocabulary" is copyright (c) Lobster Enterprises. "Restaurant Telephone Directory" is copyright (c) 1997-2020, Lobster Enterprises. All Bento.com restaurant listings are copyright (c) Lobster Enterprises. Photos are copyright (c) 1995-2014 Robb Satterwhite and contributors. Line drawings copyright (c) 2001-2004 Eri Nakada.
Thanks for the useful open-source software from Ralf Junker (UTF-8 conversion) and Mike Williams (EInserts and other Google map code).

Search-engine plug-in (Firefox)

Search Tokyo restaurants in the Bento.com database right from your browser's searchbox, with our Firefox search-engine plug-in.

Click here to add Bento.com Tokyo search to your browser

GPS mobile restaurant locator

When you're out on the town, our GPS-based locator can help you find restaurants, cafes and bars that are nearest to your current location. Our main coverage areas include Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nagoya.

Most GPS-enabled feature phones from DoCoMo, AU and SoftBank can access this service, as can most smartphones and other GPS-enabled devices.

API service for web developers

Use our API to find and display the nearest restaurants, cafes, and/or bars from any location in our coverage area (Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe).

Results are available in plain HTML or JSON format, tailored for web or mobile platforms, with or without thumbnail photos, in Japanese or in English. Check our API page for more details.