Fukuoka’s Best 5 Restaurants for Traditional Dining Only Known to Locals

① Celebrating 60 Years of Tradition: The Old-Timer

Fukuoka is a popular travel destination among Koreans. It’s an easy place to visit, with a flight time of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The city attracts tourists with its various attractions, gourmet restaurants, and cafes.

Yasube is an old-timer restaurant that has become popular among Koreans. It’s an izakaya where the main menu item is Oden, and the master is 83 years old.

From the entrance, you can feel the passage of time. It’s a traditional Oden restaurant that has been running for over 60 years.

Locals often visit to enjoy various types of oden with a glass of beer. Due to the owner’s age, the restaurant has additional closing days and regular days off. You can check the days off through the official Yasube Instagram account.

• Address: 2-17 Nishinakasu, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0002 Japan
• Operating Hours: 18:00 – 23:00, Closed on Sundays

Source: 4travel

• Address: 1 Chome-6-6 Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0801 Japan
• Operating Hours: 11:45 – 14:30, 17:30 – 22:00

② A Restaurant Loved by the Locals

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Miyake Udon is a famous udon restaurant in Fukuoka. This place was featured in the drama The Solitary Gourmet, which is also popular in Korea. Here, you can enjoy a bowl of udon with various toppings for approximately $4.50. You can choose between udon and soba noodles, and toppings include shrimp tempura, egg, seaweed, and fish cake.

It’s a place where you can enjoy tasty, reasonably-priced udon. The soup is rich, and the thick udon noodles provide a satisfying texture. Most Korean tourists who visited Miyake Udon expressed their satisfaction.

The restaurant may close earlier than the operating hours if they run out of ingredients.

• Address: 10-24 Kamigofukumachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0036 Japan
• Operating Hours: 11:00 – 17:00, Closed on Sundays

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Yoshizuka Unagiya has been serving eel dishes for over 140 years. Its signature dish is a grilled eel rice bowl served with rice and soup.

The menu includes Unagidon and Unaju. Unagidon is served with eel on top, while Unaju serves the eel separately. The restaurant has undergone remodeling and now boasts a clean interior.

The prices are on the higher side, with Unaju costing 4,280 yen (approximately $38.50) and Unagidon 2,860 yen (approximately $25.70), but they’re considered to be worth the price.

• Address: 2 Chome-8-27 Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0801 Japan
• Operating Hours: 10:30 – 20:00; closed on Wednesdays

③ A Highball Bar with a Great Atmosphere

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Highball Bar Nakasu 1923 is a 100-year-old highball bar that has been in business since 1923. It is one of the oldest highball bars in Japan. The exterior of the bar is eye-catching.

At Highball Bar Nakasu 1923, you can enjoy highballs made from various types of Japanese whiskey and whiskeys collected worldwide. A table charge of approximately $4.50 is applied when you pay.

Visitors left reviews such as “A comfortable atmosphere. You can enjoy various whiskeys. The strong carbonation and freshness. Not only whiskey, but various alcohols are also available. Unlimited self-refill nuts”, “I heard it was cheaper a few months ago, but being able to see and taste Yamazaki 18, Hibiki 21 is such a joy. This place is simply the best”, and “I was able to taste all the whiskeys I was curious about at a price I can’t have in Korea, and the bartender was so kind that I had a memorable time.”

• Address: 4 Chome-4-10 Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0801 Japan
• Operating Hours: Mon-Sat 18:30 – 02:00, Sun 18:30 – 02:30