Milan.

The purest kaiseki proposition in Milan outside of the IYO group, Hazama is the solo project of Satoshi Hazama — who began training in kaiseki in Japan at age 16 and opened in Navigli in 2020. His seven-course kaiseki (€130) and four-course tasting menu (€80) apply Japan's five fundamental cooking techniques to strictly seasonal Italian and Japanese ingredients.

Milan's only Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant, IYO Kaiseki delivers a modern take on Japan's most codified culinary tradition inside the sleek Torre Solaria tower. Head chef Katsumi Soga and Travelling Chef Takeshi Iwai guide diners through sashimi, carpacci, and traditional hot preparations rooted in Japanese seasonal philosophy.

Chef-owner Yoshikazu Ninomiya — the force behind the acclaimed Fukurou — operates Milan's most authentic kappou counter from a spare twelve-seat room near the Gambara metro, where dishes are cut and cooked directly in front of diners in the tradition of the best Ginza restaurants.

SACHI occupies a stunning rooftop perch on the fourth floor of Palazzo Cordusio, offering panoramic Duomo views alongside a Japanese menu that blends kappo precision with izakaya informality. The kitchen is led by Head Chef Anthony Calò under the SACHI international Japanese culinary program.

Pioneered by Nikkei chef Roberto Okabe — Brazilian-born to a Japanese family, trained across Japan and Brazil — Finger's Garden has defined creative Japanese fusion in Milan since 2004, earning Michelin listing and cult status for an ever-evolving menu that blends Edomae sushi craft with South American energy. Co-owned with former AC Milan legend Clarence Seedorf.

Hatsune Ronin is the first permanent restaurant outside Japan by Katsu Nakaji — fourth-generation owner-chef of the historic Hatsunezushi in Tokyo — delivering Edomae omakase for ten guests at a time from a dedicated counter within the House of Ronin complex on Via Alfieri, at €250 per person.

The restaurant that changed Italian fine dining, IYO Experience has held its Michelin star continuously since 2015 — the first Japanese restaurant in Italy to earn one. Under Culinary Director Takeshi Iwai, the menu fuses edomae sushi craft with creative Mediterranean influences in a freshly renovated Sempione dining room.

One of Milan's most coveted sushi experiences, IYO Omakase seats just seven guests at a counter in a private room adjacent to IYO Kaiseki. Under the direction of Takeshi Iwai, the edomae-influenced omakase changes daily with Japan-sourced fish and seasonal Italian ingredients.

The Milan outpost of Nobu Matsuhisa's global Japanese-Peruvian empire, Nobu Milano occupies a prime corner of the Armani Hotel on Via Pisoni. Signature dishes — black cod with miso, yellowtail jalapeño, toro tartare with caviar — are all present, served in an expansive dining room with high fashion energy. Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025.

Chef Niimori Nobuya trained under Nobu Matsuhisa himself before leading the kitchen at Sushi B Brera; now he brings his own vision — Japanese precision with Italian seasonal produce — to a heritage palazzo near Cadorna. Michelin-listed and Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025, Nobuya's eight-course omakase at €130 is anchored by his mastery of dry-aged fish.

Opened inside the luxurious Casa Brera Marriott hotel steps from La Scala, Odachi delivers an omakase experience supervised by legendary chef Haruo Ichikawa and executed by his direct disciple, resident chef Mario Jim Shizukuishi. The name — meaning 'great sword' in Japanese — signals the precision and discipline of the counter experience.

Japanese-owned and operated in the heart of Brera, Sushi B offers a refined blend of Japanese sushi counter dining and teppanyaki in an elegant setting on Via Fiori Chiari, backed by the same group behind the Michelin-starred Sushi B Paris. Japanese chefs Tetsuaki Maruyoshi and Takashi Shimazu lead the sushi programme.

Chef-owner Wicky Priyan — trained in Tokyo under sushi master Kan and at Nobu Milan — delivers a singular tasting counter experience blending Edomae precision with Mediterranean terroir. Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025 and Michelin-listed.

Born in Osaka, trained in Japan and Germany, then forged at Nobu Milano before opening his own restaurant, chef Yoshinobu Kurio visits the fish market at dawn every day to personally select the finest catch. The result is an à la carte menu built on uncompromising ingredient quality — with some of the best nigiri and fresh eel in Italy. Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025.

Chef-owner Haruo Ichikawa is the chef who put Italian Japanese cuisine on the Michelin map, earning IYO its historic first star in 2015. At his intimate Porta Romana restaurant, he presides over a six-seat omakase counter serving edomae sushi, sashimi, and personal family dishes rarely found elsewhere in Italy.

Milan's most tenured authentic Japanese restaurant, Osaka has upheld the washoku tradition since 1999 under founder Naoko Aoki, a co-founder of Italy's Japanese Restaurants Association (AIRG). Chef Ikeda's kitchen pivots from traditional ramen and sukiyaki to sashimi platters and seasonal set menus, recently relocated to a new home near Brera. Michelin-listed and Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025.

Co-founded in 2006 by Akita-born sushi master Hide Shinohara and Italian entrepreneur Marcello Binda, Zero Milano has anchored Corso Magenta as Milan's definitive Japanese fine-dining address for nearly two decades. The menu balances sushi purity with contemporary Japanese cooking, served by a team that includes two additional Japanese sushi specialists.

The original Poporoya is simultaneously a Japanese grocery store and an intimate walk-in sushi counter — the first of its kind in Milan, founded in 1987 by Osaka-trained chef Minoru Hirazawa. No reservations, brisk pacing, and outstanding quality-to-price ratio make it a beloved neighbourhood institution for locals seeking genuine Japanese food without ceremony.

Milan's founding sushi counter, opened in 1989 by Minoru 'Shiro' Hirazawa after training at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka — the first 'sushi-ba' in the city. Now the gourmet sister restaurant to the adjacent Poporoya grocery and sushi bar, Shiro Poporoya serves the full spectrum of traditional Japanese cooking at a counter where authenticity has never been compromised. Gambero Rosso Tre Bacchette 2025 and JETRO-certified.

Milan's sole specialist Kuroge Wagyu yakiniku restaurant, Yazawa brings the Tokyo original's precision beef culture to Brera with Japanese chef Tsuyoshi Noikura overseeing marbling selection, cooking technique, and guided service. Critics call it 'few ethnic restaurants in Italy serve preparations this authentic.'

Sakeya is Milan's definitive sake destination — a Japanese-owned house with 150-plus premium labels, a kitchen guided by Japanese chef Masaki Inoguchi drawing from Kyoto's Obanzai tradition, and the backing of Japan's prefectural authorities. Winner of Gambero Rosso's special Sake award 2025 and listed in the Michelin Guide Italy.

Kanpai is Milan's quintessential no-sushi izakaya — a rare beast in a city where Japanese equals rolls. Head chef Jun (Japanese) declined four starred-kitchen job offers to open this Porta Venezia institution in 2018, and his technique-driven menu of karaage, kakuni braised pork, and signature black cod has kept it packed ever since.

Mogo is the most ambitious project yet from the Kazoku group of Japanese-Italian chef Yoji Tokuyoshi: a 400 m² Hi-Fi bar and restaurant in Isola that pairs a 8–10 dish Japanese-Italian-French menu with a state-of-the-art audiophile sound system. Opened April 2025.

Sumire is a small, reservation-only Japanese trattoria near Moscova — one of the few in Milan certified as 'real Japanese' by the local Japanese community. Chef Taka San's home-style menu spans nigiri, uramaki, ramen, gyoza, and donburi, with desserts imported directly from Japan.

Born in Tottori and forged under Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana, chef Yoji Tokuyoshi earned his own Michelin star before reinventing his restaurant as Bentōteca in 2020. The current concept — 'Japanese dining meets Italian wine' — blends horsemeat tataki in pizzaiola sauce, barbecued fish neck, and top-quality sushi in a warm, informal room.

Opened in 2017 by the Japanese Yamamoto family as Italy's first Japanese gastronomia, this Duomo-area gem presents washoku home cooking — gyudon, unadon, curry rice — prepared by Japanese chef Daisuke Seki from recipes passed down through the Yamamoto household. Beloved by Identità Golose and Milan's Japanese community alike.

Owner and chef Hiromi Arai — a Japanese national who came to Tuscany to study Italian cuisine and then opened her own Tokyo-style home kitchen in Milan in 2006 — runs J's Hiro as a warm neighbourhood restaurant where traditional family-style Japanese cooking takes precedence over trend. A member of AIRG (Association of Italian Restaurant-Goers).

One of Milan's oldest continuously operating Japanese-owned restaurants, Oasi Giapponese has been anchored by the Oshima family from Osaka since 2002 — mother runs the room, son Keita (winner of Italian TV programme 'Cuochi d'Italia') cooks. A stronghold of Japanese community dining and one of the few places in Milan to serve proper Osaka-style street food.

Born as a lockdown delivery project by Michelin-starred chef Yoji Tokuyoshi, Katsusanderia is a compact Japanese street-food counter in Isola dedicated to the art of the katsusando. Expect flawlessly fried tonkatsu or chicken katsu nestled in pillowy shokupan bread with tonkatsu sauce.