Hungry in Ginza? Here are 5 lunch spots to try in the Tokyo district

Ginza may be best known as a luxury shopping district, but its lunch game is also impressively strong. The suburb offers plenty of dining options to suit all budgets, with lots of lunch specials that cater just as much to local workers as to tourists on a shopping spree. 

If you want to eat like a local, try these five Ginza restaurants with flavorful, authentically Japanese options.

Best lunch spots in Ginza 

Ichiniisan Ginza 

Hidden in the basement of Ginza Inz shopping complex, Ichiniisan specialises in Kagoshima Kurobuta. This premium Japanese black pork, descended from British Berkshire pigs, is served as shabu-shabu (hot pot) for dinner. Over lunch, however, it is prepared in many different styles, and almost all of them are priced under JPY 2,000 (approximately RM50.62). 

You can enjoy a filling kurobuta tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) set meal, served with rice, cabbage and the restaurant’s signature tonjiru (pork miso soup). For those eating clean, the steamed kurobuta pork and vegetable set is light yet flavorful. The portion is just as generous, complete with sushi rice and the aforementioned soup. 

Godaime Hanayama Udon Ginza 

Since this ever-popular udon specialist introduced an electronic ticketing system, it’s been much easier to eat here. You no longer need to stand in line; just grab a number, then wander around Ginza while waiting for your turn. 

Established more than a century ago in Godaime Hanayama Udon Ginza is widely celebrated for its extra-wide Oni-Himokawa udon. These slippery smooth ribbons, roughly five cm wide, are made using wheat from the restaurant’s home prefecture. The noodles are best enjoyed cold, either as zaru-style dipping noodles or with sauce poured over them. 

Get the outlet-exclusive Ginza set (JPY 2,100/approximately RM53.15). It includes a serving of cold Oni-Himokawa with soy sauce dip, a hot udon in broth and a side of tempura.

Hikinikuya Jintoku 

Hamburg is a yoshoku (Japanese Western) dish usually made from minced beef, pan-fried or grilled, and served with rice. Hikinikuya Jintoku, however, offers this meaty speciality in six protein options — beef, pork, mutton, a mix of the three, as well as tuna and sea bream — and they are all grilled over charcoal upon order. 

Big eaters will love the set meals (from JPY 1,850/approximately RM46.83) with free refills of miso soup and rice — and you get to choose two or three options from the selection. The all-beef patty is made from coarsely ground meat, the mutton hamburg is flavoured with cumin, and the sea bream version is light with hints of yuzu-miso.  

Shabu Shabu at Yamawarau Ginza 

Two things you need to know about shabu shabu: the Japanese hot pot is traditionally a communal affair, and since the meat is flash-cooked in just boiling dashi (broth), quality is paramount. 

Yamawarau Ginza has not only reimagined the dish for solo diners — with each person getting their own pot — but also sources premium produce for its menu. Here, there’s a variety of Japanese beef to choose from, including top-shelf Yamagata beef. Pork, on the other hand, is of the Yonezawa Buta Ichiban Sodachi breed, known for its fine texture and clean fat. Lunch sets start from JPY 3,080 (approximately RM77.96) for beef and JPY 1,980 (approximately RM50.15) for pork. 

Shibire Noodles at Rousokuya Ginza 

Mapo tofu is a staple at most Japanese-Chinese restaurants in the country. Here at Rousokuya Ginza, however, it has been reimagined as a noodle dish. 

“Mabo ramen” is exactly what its name suggests: in place of the usual broth, you get noodles swimming in a spicy, tongue-tingling mabo sauce with chunks of soft bean curd and plenty of Sichuan pepper. Aside from the regular version (JPY 1,400/approximately RM35.44), you can also have a bowl topped with grilled cheese (JPY 1,600/approximately RM40.50) or coriander (JPY 1,600/approximately RM40.50). 

Rounding out the menu are two more Chinese-style ramen: hot-and-sour noodles and dandanmen (spicy sesame noodles), the latter available with or without soup. 

Itadakimasu!

(Lede and hero photo credit: Yamawarau Ginza; “Sunset at Ginza Crossing, Tokyo, 20191102” by Gilbert Sopakuwa, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)