[Special] Find Your New Favorite Restaurant with “Ota City’s Best Gourmet Foods”!

There are three search methods you can use on the website.

1. “地図から探す (Search by map location)” (Two types of searches are available: search by map and search by train line.)
2. “カテゴリー・ニーズから探す (Search by category/need)”
3. “お店選びに迷ったら (Can’t decide where to go?)”

These search methods will allow you to find a restaurant according to your situation.


Now, let’s actually use the website to find your new favorite restaurants!

Let’s start by trying the map search method, which is generally used when you want to look for a restaurant. For example, we will now search for one near Omori Station. Click “地図から探す (Search by map location),” and zoom in on the vicinity of Omori Station.

The award-winning restaurants are displayed with round icons on the map, and you can easily find which ones are near the station as you zoom in. Pictures on each icon show the food from the restaurant, so look for anything that catches your eye.
We were mesmerized by the delicious-looking yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) picture, so we clicked that icon.



Then the introduction page of Chicken Dishes – Torijin opened. Scrolling down gave us the basic information such as the address, hours, and map.

Let’s visit Tori Ryori Torijin.

Torijin is located past the Omori Ginza Shopping Street (Milpa) that continues from the east exit of Omori Station. The owner, Mr. Hitoshi Akiyama, who trained at a long-established chicken restaurant on the coast of Omori, opened Torijin in 1986. The restaurant has been beloved by the locals ever since.


Mr. Hitoshi Akiyama, the owner (left). Torijin has a counter as well as a tatami room, creating a relaxing atmosphere that can only be found in a local restaurant (right).
Mr. Akiyama is dedicated to chicken cuisine. “What I am most particular about is the freshness of the chicken, and when it comes to grilled dishes, I use charcoal. In particular, I insist on using Binchotan (charcoal produced from ubame oak trees) from Kishu,” he says. One dish that is full of these details is his signature dish, “Kiji-don,” a bowl of rice topped with marinated grilled chicken.


Mr. Akiyama insists on cooking grilled dishes such as kijiyaki (marinated grilled chicken) and yakitori with charcoal. He orders Kishu Binchotan (right) from Wakayama Prefecture.

Kiji-don (comes with soup and pickles)
1,000 yen for lunch, 1,100 yen for dinner (tax included for both)
The kijiyaki is the specialty of Torijin. Kijiyaki is named as such because of the way it is cooked. The chicken thigh meat is carefully stripped of sinew and marinated in a seasoned sauce (the chicken is called kiji, the base, at this point) before being grilled. The chicken is then served on top of rice with a generous amount of Omori’s famous nori. This is Torijin’s Kiji-don.



The chicken thigh with the sinew carefully removed is crispy and tender at the same time and is popular because of how easy to eat and tasty it is. The secret soy sauce-based sauce, which was inherited during his training period, has been used for the past 36 years by continually adding fresh ingredients, and is rich in flavor with the depth and savoriness of the chicken.



The soup that comes with the Kiji-don is based on broth made by cooking fresh raw chicken bones. You can enjoy the delicious taste of the chicken with the Kiji-don and soup.
Torijin allows you to enjoy delicious chicken cuisine for a reasonable price. How about dropping by for lunch when you visit Omori?

There is another search function in “地図から探す (Search by map location),” which is to search by train line. The search is available for the JR lines, Keikyu lines, Tokyu lines, and Toei Asakusa Line.



First, choose the option of the train line you would like to search for. Here, we will use the option of the Tokyu Ikegami Line as an example. The award-winning restaurants along the Tokyu Ikegami Line are displayed with icons on the map. Let’s take a look at the icon near Nagahara Station.



STIVALE is an Italian restaurant located very close to Nagahara Station. The picture on the icon looks amazing! Let’s go visit the restaurant!

Located right outside the ticket gates of Nagahara Station, STIVALE was opened in 2005 by a chef who trained for 4 years in Verona and Mantova, Italy, and then worked as a chef at a famous hotel. The three-story restaurant has a kitchen on the first floor and seating on the second and third floors, and has been loved by the community as a locally famous Italian restaurant.


The second and third floors are seating areas. (Right photo is the third floor.)
Across the street from the restaurant is a shop space dedicated to takeout service. STIVALE also focuses on takeout sales with the goal of allowing the local community to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine at a reasonable price.



The baked ziti is a popular lunch staple at STIVALE.


Baked Ziti (only available during lunch, comes with salad, focaccia, and coffee): 870 yen (including tax)
STIVALE’s baked ziti is a Bolognese cheese gratin made with thick, short pasta, and is a classic dish in Italy.
This dish reflects the owner and chef, Mr. Yasuo Moriya’s commitment to providing a full meal of Italian home cooking at a reasonable price.


The baked ziti features the deep richness of Bolognese made from flavorful meat ground right in the restaurant’s own kitchen and simmered for 5 hours before being combined with al dente pasta, cheese, and white sauce. It is the signature dish of STIVALE and is also offered on the takeout menu. One of the secrets behind its popularity is the portion size that really fills you up.


Mr. Yasuo Moriya, the owner and chef (left), his wife, Kimie (right in the right photo), and their eldest daughter, Tomoe (left in the right photo)
STIVALE has a wonderful and cozy atmosphere created by the family staff which consist of the owner and chef Mr. Yasuo Moriya, his wife Kimie, and their eldest daughter Tomoe.

Among the search functions, “カテゴリー・ニーズから探す (Search by category/need)” is particularly suitable for narrowing down the search.



Search conditions such as categories of food and various services are displayed. Choose whatever conditions you like and narrow your search down! Let’s try it out.



We are looking for a Japanese restaurant that has an English menu and is preferably open for lunch, so we chose the options displayed above. As you can see, multiple options can be selected.



This is the result of our search. It is very convenient as the name of the area where the restaurant is located is displayed next to the restaurant name. We were looking for a restaurant in Haneda this time, so we chose Shokutsu Yutaka. Let’s go visit them!

Shokutsu Yutaka has been serving the taste of fresh ingredients from Tokyo Bay for nearly 50 years near Anamori-inari Station on the Keikyu Airport Line. It is a well-established restaurant where you can enjoy fresh seafood caught in Tokyo Bay with tempura and eel making up the core of the menu.



The walls of the restaurant are decorated with autographs from celebrities who have visited the restaurant.



In addition to the four-language menu (English/Korean/Simplified Chinese/Traditional Chinese), Shokutsu Yutaka also provides customer service using a translation machine.
Without further ado, let’s order the most popular dish off of the lunch menu, Lunch Anago Tenju (conger eel tempura on top of rice).


Lunch Anago Tenju: 1,150 yen (including tax)
The thick conger eel was, of course, freshly caught that morning in Tokyo Bay! The entire conger eel is then fried as tempura and served in the style of tendon (tempura on top of rice). The oil to fry the tempura is a blend of Shirashime oil and sesame oil, and the tempura ends up crispy with a rich aroma.


The crispy texture of the batter is followed by the delicious taste of fresh, fluffy meat . The tempura with their secret sauce goes perfectly with the rice.


Mr. Tamotsu Muraishi, the owner (middle), Ms. Midori Shimoyashiki, staff (left), and Ms. Sachiko Murata, staff (right)
The owner of the restaurant grew up with fresh seafood from his hometown, Haneda, and is a dedicated gourmet. We hope you will enjoy his fresh seafood dishes straight from Tokyo Bay.

The most unique search function on the website is “お店選びに迷ったら (Can’t decide where to go?).”



You can choose a restaurant to match your mood by selecting from 11 keywords that embody the kind of food you want to eat and the kind of restaurant you want to visit when you are looking for a restaurant. For example, let’s pick the option “世界旅行気分が味わえる店 (Restaurants where you can feel like you are traveling the world).”



Then, the restaurants that match the criteria are displayed. For this part, we decided to go to Yıldız Turkish Restaurant & Bar.

Yıldız Turkish Restaurant & Bar offers authentic Turkish cuisine cooked by a former chef of the Turkish Embassy. As we went in, we felt like we were transported to Turkey! The pottery, Turkish lamps and other decorative items displayed in the restaurant, the tiles used on the walls, and even the tableware are all from Turkey according to the owner. It feels like you have entered a local restaurant while traveling in Turkey.



Mr. Kerem Kargi, the Turkish owner, came to Japan for the first time as a student to study. Afterwards, he gained experience by working in Japanese restaurants. When Kerem decided to open a restaurant, he invited his father Mustafa, a former chef from the Turkish Embassy in Russia, to join him in creating Yıldız with a focus on authentic Turkish home cooking.


Mr. Kerem Kargi, the owner (middle), Mustafa, his father and head chef (right), and Ramazan, a well-known celebrity chef in Turkey (left)
It has been five years since the restaurant opened, and Yıldız Turkish Restaurant & Bar is already a popular restaurant with many fans for its authentic food prepared by a former Turkish Embassy chef.


Kuzu Şiş : 1,700 yen (including tax)
This is kuzu şiş, a lamb kebab dish. When you hear kebab, you might think of a kebab sandwich where meat and vegetables are sandwiched with pitas that you see at food stands. We heard that when kebab is served as a home-cooked dish, it is usually served on skewers, as shown here.


The spices draw out the flavor of lamb, and it is absolutely delicious! The accompanying rice is Turkey’s famous butter rice with pasta, which goes perfectly with the meat.


Ispanaklı Pide: 1,500 yen (including tax)
This is an ispanaklı pide, spinach Turkish pizza. Turkish pizza is characterized by its long, thin, chewy dough. Inside it is filled with Turkish white cheese made from goat’s milk, and lots of spinach! The flavor and richness of the spinach and the mild white goat cheese make the perfect balance of flavors.

In a time where it is difficult to travel abroad, this restaurant offers the next best thing to the feeling of traveling.

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Although as we have demonstrated, the “Ota City’s Best Gourmet Foods” specially established website has a suite of search functions, you can still download pamphlets that introduce the list of award-winning restaurants so far. It would be a great idea to print one out to accompany you on your dining journey in Ota City.


Click the “パンフレットダウンロード (Download Pamphlet)” button at the top right corner of the screen, and this page will be displayed.
Let us emphasize that you can also obtain these pamphlets at the OTA Tourist Information Center right outside the ticket gates of Kamata Station on the Keikyu Line as well as libraries in Ota City.

We only introduced a fraction of the award-winning restaurants. There are tons more out there for you to explore.
Why not give “Ota City’s Best Gourmet Foods” a try and enjoy gourmet cuisine in Ota City?