Eat

Specialties

There are some unique traditional foods in Kumamoto.

• Karashirenkon辛子蓮根, deep-fried lotus root stuffed with mustard, is the most popular food for visitors. It's rarely found elsewhere in Japan.
• Ikinaridango is a famous sweet. This contains a slice of sweet potato and anko-bean paste. Visitors who come to Kumamoto buy it for a souvenir.
• The Dipper Dan nestled right next to Daiei is a popular ice cream and dessert parlor located in Shimotori. Perhaps not as unique, but appears to be a local favorite.
• Ringo no Ki is a cafe at Shimotori in downtown. You can eat apple pie and some bread. Especially, I want to recommend coffee and tea. The coffee beans are rare and the taste is really good. Moreover, you can drink the tea which tastes and smells apple.
• Basashi 馬刺し is raw horse meat.
• Taipi-en (太平燕), a noodle soup of Chinese origin.

Restaurants

• AzumaZushi (東寿司), 熊本市水前寺5丁目5-14 (between Suizenji Park and the Kumamoto Budokan), ☎ +81 96-383-2468. Probably the oldest and the best sushi restaurant in Kumamoto. The rice for the sushi is made according to the traditional recipe of the owner's family. Besides first quality sushi here you can find basashi (the tradition Kumamoto raw horse meat) and, during winter, mushizushi (literally "steamed sushi"; a famous original recipe of the restaurant) and a lot of great Japanese foods (both raw and cooked) and beverages (nihonshu, shochu,...). The place is very "Japanese", clean, and comfortable; the staff is nice, friendly and considerate. A must in Kumamoto!
• Kumamoto Ramen 熊本ラーメン. Kumamoto ramen is very famous
• Ni no ni 弐ノ弐. There are two of them downtown. One is just off of Shimotori on one of the side streets south of Ginza St. The other is on Kami-no-ura St. 上乃裏通り which runs parallel to Namigizaka St. 並木坂通り a couple blocks to the east (Namigizaka is the continuation of Kamitori after the arcade roof ends). Ni no ni is very famous for the gyoza 餃子. Try the tan tan men 坦坦麺and Taipei Karaage 台北風唐揚げtoo. 
• Yokobachi よこばち, Kami-no-ura St. 上之裏通り (Walk to the place where Kami-tori's roof ends, face North (away from the roof). Go to your right 2 (maybe 3) blocks, turn left, and look for a blue and white YOKOBACHI sign within 20m on your left-hand side. Across from one of the Ni no Ni). Open until midnight. This is a great Japanese restaurant. You can get many traditional foods and some local stuff too. They have outdoor and indoor seating. In the spring and fall its great sitting outside under the stars. The menu is in Japanese only, but if you can say the names of some local specialties or typical izakaya dishes you might be okay. Everyone in Kumamoto knows this place so if you can't find it just ask someone.
• Sri Lanka スリーランカ, Sannenzaka St. 三年坂通り. This place has some of the best curries in town. The curry is spicy but the taste is amazing. We recommend the noodle curry. Some of the side dishes such as the Sri Lanka Rolls are also good. You can try Sri Lanka beer if you want but I wasn`t a big fan. The lunch special is a bargain. This is just off of Shimotori and very close to Daiei Dept. Store.
• Star of India, Sannenzaka St. 三年坂通り. This is the best Indian food in town, it is just behind the downtown Tsutaya and between Shimotori and Kagomachi-doori St.
• Second Sight, Sakae St. 栄え通り. This building has various restaurants and places to have fun. The Swiss Bakery and Chinese restaurant are on the first floor. The second floor is a great Italian restaurant and the top two floors are themed karaoke rooms. You can sing in jail, on the beach, etc...When the weather is good Second Sight has a retractable wall that opens up and brings in the sun to the main lobby.
• Yayoiken, Shimotori, Kamitori. This place is open 24 hours and there are one in Shimotori and Kamitori. It is a great place to go when you have been out all night drinking and are sick of McD`s. The tonkatsu is good and the rice is all you can eat. 
• Goro`s. 4:30-10PM. this is the place with the best Turkish kebabs in Kyushu. Goro makes them fresh right in front of you from his van. Unfortunately, it isn`t downtown. If you take the tram towards Kengun it is between the Miso Tenjin Mae and Shin Suizenji Stops. It is an orange van behind the Mitsubishi gas station. Goro speaks English and welcomes foreign guests. He also recently opened up a kebab restaurant downtown near Kaminoura St. 
• Nikumaki, Ginza Doori (in the heart of downtown at the center of Shimotori Arcade and Ginza St. intersection). Nikumaki is a recent Kumamoto fad. It is an onigiri (rice ball) but instead of being wrapped in seaweed (nori) it is wrapped with meat (niku), you can add cheese too. It is awesome and pretty cheap. they are a good snack when you're drunk after midnight or you just gotta have that meat edit
• Okada おかだ, 1F, Lofty Nishiginza-kan, 1-11-21, Shimotori, Kumamoto-shi, ☎ +81 96-356-3883. Excellent seafood directly from local fishermen and from Hokkaido as well as a variety of local cuisine for the amazingly reasonable price! Good selection of Sake and Shochu, Japanese distilled spirit.
• Kōrantei (紅蘭亭) (In Shimotori arcade, above a Swiss pastry shop). This Chinese restaurant offers among others the taipi-en (太平燕) 

Drink

• Timeless is a cafe (not a chain) with an exceptionally nice old style atmosphere, usually playing jazz. It is on the right when you exit the Kamitori shopping mall. They have an international selection of coffees (though espresso could be added) and some European style cakes that are worth trying.
• Pronto is an Italian-style coffee shop located in (again) Shimotori. Aside from coffee, the selection includes various alcoholic beverages, pizza, and desserts.
• Sinh to is a stylish cafe looking down onto Shimotori street from the 2nd floor.
• Jeff's World Bar is a popular hang out with English speakers. This is the main expat bar in town. It is usually crowded on Friday and Saturday. It is located south of the Shimotori shopping area. It's about a block from the Daiei Department store. It's on the second floor, so you have to look up to see the sign.
• The Ginza district comprises many bars and clubs of the western style, it runs parallel to Shimotori, though be warned the area also houses some of the city's seedier attractions.
• Rock Bar Days, Sakaba St. 酒場通り. This is the bar with 5000 CDs. Mainly rock and alternative music from the 70s-90s. It is a little hard to find. Sakaba St. is just off of Shimotori. If you go down the side with the Sakaba St. gate about 100 meters, a sign will say DAYS in black and white. It's on the 3rd floor.
• Club Django, Fuji St. This is the main place for local rock, punk, and metal. Sometimes touring bands from the overseas play here. Fuji Street is just off of the Shinshigai Arcade新市街. Club Django is underground so it is easy to pass by it without seeing it. It is almost directly across the street from the Comfort Inn Hotel.

• Drum Be-９ (on the north side of downtown and just off of Kamitori on Oaks St). This is another place for local and national acts to be seen. Mainly rock and alternative music. The new building opened in March 2010. It is three stories and three stages with music most nights of the week.

• Shark Attack. Small foreigner bar just off of Kagomachi St. 鹿児町通り it's across from 7-Eleven on the 8th floor. The floor is covered in sand.
• Bar Sanctuary. This is a four-story bar with areas for dancing, pool, darts, karaoke, and just chillin`. The name recently changed but everyone still calls it by the old name. It is just off of Shimotori and behind the Taigeki (Bowling Alley) Building. City Hall is also very close. 
• Shotengai 商店街. In Japan new bars open and shut down every day. As long as you stay in the Shimotori/Kamitori/Shinshigai Arcade area you are bound to find something that looks interesting. There are thousands of places to go in that area.
• Good Time Charlie`s, Ginza St. 銀座通り. This bar is one of a kind. It is owned by Charlie Nagatani, the most famous country musician in Asia. From the 1960s-90s he played many times at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. His band has shows every night of the week at the bar. They serve Coors beer here. It's not very cheap but its worth experiencing Japanese cowboys at least once. The bar is on Ginza St. across from the Karaoke-kan カラオケ館building on the 5th floor.
• Crossroad`s, Nishi Ginza Doori. a recently reopened international bar. it has a nice atmosphere and sometimes can be crowded. it's in the Fujiichi building on the 7th floor right across the hall from Club Jail.
• Cowboy Bar, Nishi Ginza Doori. It's right across the street from the big Don Quixote store.
• Cowgirl Bar, Pools Court Rd. same owners as Cowboy Bar have one with only women serving on Pool`s Court Road, which is just one road over from Nishi Ginza.
• Retro Cowboy Bar, Nishi Ginza Doori. Another one owned by the Cowboy Bar folks. it's just down the street from Cowboy Bar but it's in the basement so it's easy to pass by. A little more expensive than the other cowboy bars but more things to do like free karaoke and darts. 
• Battle Stage, Kamitori, Kumamoto City. Another place to listen to live music in the city. It's a former movie theater transformed into a big live house. Many rock shows and DJ parties occur here. Many national touring bands and local bands can be seen here.