Ueno

Shutei Juraku is an izakaya under the railway arches at the entrance to the Ameyoko market, one minute from JR Ueno Station. Fish is delivered every morning from Toyosu market, and large yakitori skewers are also on the menu. The restaurant has 100 seats in total, including tatami private rooms for groups of up to 40 people, and the website states that children are welcome. Most of its courses come with two hours of all-you-can-drink.

Good to know

• A cover charge (otoshi) is added for each person. The official pages give two different amounts, so confirm it at the table.
• There is no English menu, although the official website can be switched to English, Korean and Chinese.
• Orders are placed through a mobile ordering system.
• All seats are non-smoking. Smoking is allowed at the outside seats.
• You may be turned away when the restaurant is full.
• No Wi-Fi, no parking, no barrier-free access, and pets are not allowed.

Kushikatsu Tanaka serves Osaka-style kushikatsu, skewers coated in batter and deep-fried, three minutes from the North Exit of Okachimachi Station. Skewers run from ¥88 for a sausage to ¥352 for large prawn (tax included), and assorted sets of five or eight are also on the menu. The restaurant has 57 seats across counter, table, tatami and box seating, and a PDF menu printed in English, Chinese and Korean is available. The house rule is that the shared sauce must not be dipped twice.

Good to know

• Guests aged 20 or over pay a ¥319 (tax included) cover charge each, even without alcohol, and must order at least one drink.
• Do not dip a skewer in the sauce twice. The sauce is shared within your group and discarded afterwards.
• People under 20 can enter without an adult, but are not served alcohol. Staff may ask for identification.
• The all-you-can-eat-and-drink plan is only for Monday to Thursday arrivals before 18:00 and must be booked by the day before.
• There is no smoking booth at this branch.
• Reservations can be made online at any time, and walk-ins are accepted, but booked guests are seated first.
• No free Wi-Fi, no parking, and no lunch menu.

Chiba-chan is a taishu-sakaba, a large everyday drinking restaurant, on the third floor of a building in the Ameyoko market area about three minutes from JR Ueno Station. Small dishes start at ¥110 and chicken or pork skewers are ¥132 each (tax included), and the restaurant is known for its baka-mori portions, which it describes as three times the normal size, and dai-baka-mori at ten times. There are 180 seats with tables and sunken kotatsu seating, an English menu, and courses with 120 minutes of all-you-can-drink. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until 5:00 the next morning.

Good to know

• A table charge of ¥473 (tax included) per person is added to the bill, so the total comes to more than the listed prices.
• Each person is asked to order at least one drink.
• Orders placed after 22:00 carry a 10% late-night charge.
• Electronic money cannot be used. PayPay is the only QR code payment accepted.
• All seats are non-smoking, and there is a separate smoking room.
• The restaurant states that it does not use touts, and asks you to contact the shop if someone on the street claims to work for it.
• Food and drink orders stop at 23:00 on the days it closes at 23:30, and at 4:00 on the nights it stays open until 5:00.

Kadokura is a standing bar one minute from the Hirokoji Exit of JR Ueno Station, run by the Ueno Taishoen yakiniku group. Dishes start at ¥180 and drinks at ¥250 for a shochu highball, all prices tax included, and the shop lists five signature items: today's raw offal at ¥600, beef tendon stew at ¥300, mille-feuille ham katsu at ¥330, tonpei-yaki at ¥580 and a two-skewer set of rare wagyu cuts at ¥690. Besides the standing area there are partitioned tables, counter seats and chair seats. All seats have been non-smoking since April 2020.

Good to know

• In the standing area, drinks and dishes are paid for in cash as they are served, so carry coins and small notes.
• Chair seats (VIP seats) carry a ¥200 cover charge (otoshi) per person.
• All seats are non-smoking, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.
• Opening hours for Sundays and public holidays are not published on the official website, so check before going.
• Last orders are 30 minutes before closing: 21:30 on weekdays and 22:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and the day before a public holiday.
• The published menu images are in Japanese.

Torikizoku is a yakitori chain where every food and drink item costs the same, and this branch is one minute south of Keisei Ueno Station on the third floor of a building on Ueno Chuo-dori. Since the price revision of 1 October 2026 everything on the menu is ¥410 including tax, as printed in the October 2026 English menu. The grill menu includes momo and mune kizoku-yaki skewers, fried chicken and a griddled yam dish. There are 8 counter seats and 91 table seats, and the restaurant serves until 5:00 in the morning.

Good to know

• People under 20 cannot come on their own. They may enter with a guardian or someone aged 20 or over, on condition that no alcohol is served to them, and staff may ask for identification.
• Reservations are for two hours. Branches running an opening sale do not take reservations.
• There are no private rooms; tables are only divided by partitions.
• The official pages do not state whether there is a cover charge, nor whether the restaurant is non-smoking. The branch page shows no indoor smoking booth and no outdoor smoking area.
• No takeout, no baby chairs, no barrier-free access and no parking.

Isomaru Suisan is a seafood izakaya in the Ameyoko market area, three minutes from JR Ueno Station, and it is open 24 hours a day all year round. Its signature is isomaru-yaki, shellfish taken live from the tank and crab miso in the shell, grilled in front of you at the table. Sashimi and other small dishes are also on the menu. The restaurant has 154 seats on the ground floor, free Wi-Fi and a smoking booth, with all other seats non-smoking.

Good to know

• The restaurant states that it does not serve a lunch menu.
• Individual dish prices are not published for this branch; the chain notes that menu contents and prices differ by restaurant.
• Seating is non-smoking and there is a separate smoking booth.
• There is no parking.

Ichiran is a tonkotsu ramen specialist, and this branch inside Atre Ueno at JR Ueno Station is open 24 hours. The ramen that the company has served since it opened is 1,180 yen, with extra noodles at 210 yen, and you choose how your bowl is made by filling in a paper order sheet. All 36 seats are at the flavour concentration counter, which is divided into individual booths. There is an English version of the shop page and a subtitled video explaining how to order for first-time visitors.

Good to know

• A late-night charge is added between 22:00 and 6:00. The rate is not published.
• The restaurant is closed on the days Atre Ueno itself is closed.
• Seats cannot be reserved. The Fast Pass, booked through TableCheck, lets ticket holders enter through a priority lane but does not reserve a seat.
• You may not be let in even before last orders when the shop is busy.
• The company notes that seat numbers, opening hours or opening at all may change depending on staffing.
• The official page does not state whether prices include tax, nor what the smoking policy is.
• There is no parking.

Menya Musashi Bukotsu opened in December 2003 near the North Exit of Okachimachi Station, three minutes on foot. The shop builds its ramen on a pork bone soup and offers three versions: the basic white, a black made with squid ink, and a red made with a house spicy sauce. Chashu is pork belly steamed for a long time and simmered in a sauce, then cut in front of you as it is served. The menu covers ra-men and tsukemen, dipping noodles, in each of the three flavours, with the shop having only 12 seats.

Good to know

• The shop has only 12 seats, so you may have to wait.
• Prices and accepted payment methods are not listed on the official website.
• The shop is open every day with no regular closing day.
• The official site has an English version of this shop's page.

Bukotsu Soden opened in June 2011 one minute from the Shinobazu Exit of JR Ueno Station, carrying on the methods of Menya Musashi Bukotsu as a shop specialising in tsukemen, noodles served with a separate dipping soup. As at Bukotsu you choose between three flavours, black, white and red. For the black, aromatic vegetables such as garlic and onion are slowly fried in lard until charred, then squid ink is added for extra depth. The menu also includes ra-men, mazesoba and roast pork dishes, with 17 seats in the shop.

Good to know

• The shop has only 17 seats, so you may have to wait.
• Prices and accepted payment methods are not listed on the official website.
• The shop is open every day with no regular closing day.
• The official site has an English version of the Menya Musashi shop pages.

Izuei has been grilling eel in Ueno for around 300 years, carried on by more than nine generations. Umegawa-tei is the branch inside Ueno Park itself, five minutes on foot from the Park Exit.

Dinner runs from 17:00, with last orders at 20:00. Unaju — grilled eel over rice, with soup and pickles — starts at ¥3,960.

Good to know

• Closed on Mondays.
• Reservations are taken by phone only.
• Last orders are at 20:00, so arrive with time to spare.