The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series features many delectable dishes from countless restaurants and cafés across Japan, and even Hawaii. These are our top picks for the foods featured in Yakuza/Like a Dragon that we’d love to try in real life.
Honorary Mention #1: Ice Cream (Blue Seal)
You may be thinking that ice cream isn’t all that special. You can get ice cream from practically anywhere. But the Blue Seal Ice Cream parlor in Yakuza 3’s Okinawa is based on a real ice cream shop of the same name in the same prefecture. The Blue Wave flavor featured in Yakuza 3, which is ramune soda swirled with pineapple, is one of their most popular. The use and sugar cane flavors are also among their extensive lineup, one that may take more than a few trips to try everything we want.
Honorary Mention #2: Lobster Miso and Sushi (Sushi Gin)
This iconic sushi restaurant in Kamurocho, Tokyo (based on the real Kabukicho) is a perfect representation of the kind of sushi we’d like to try not just in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, but in real life, too. Besides appetizing sushi sets and tantalizing chirashi and rice bowls, Sushi Gin also serves lobster miso soup. After reading the in-game description of “Miso soup with the whole head of a Japanese spiny lobster in it,” we can’t help but say, “Yes, please.” And at only 600 Yen, we may even order seconds.
This honorary mention gets an honorary mention of its own because we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the higher-end Ganko Sushi in Yakuza’s version of Osaka. By the time we reach Osaka from Tokyo, we’ll definitely have room to order another sushi platter or two.
Honorary Mention #3: Vending Machine Drinks
Are drinks a food? We’d like to think so—and we’d like to grab some drinks from some Japanese vending machines while we’re at it. They’re everywhere in Japan, but that doesn’t make them any less great. Whether we want to try something new or grab an old favorite, we know Japanese vending machines will always have our backs.
Honorary Mention #4: Oyster Omelette (Oyster Shack)
Food in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is just so appealing that we had to add a fourth honorary mention to the list. Oyster isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but even we’d love to sink our teeth into the oyster omelette at Oyster Shack in Onomichi, Hiroshima at least once. The fried oysters, fisherman soup, and sashimi also look like great choices. If there’s any place to try oysters, it’s Onomichi.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #10: Chicken Wings (Sekai no Yamachan)
The Sekai no Yamachan restaurant in Yakuza/Like a Dragon’s version of Nagoya is a real chicken wing restaurant and one we’d absolutely want to visit ourselves. Japanese fried chicken is nothing short of fantastic, although we’re totally down to try their tasty non-chicken offerings, too, including fried quail eggs with miso and their croquettes. And while the video game location’s menu is impressive, the real restaurant menu has even more to choose from, making it well worth the trip.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #9: Ramen and Mizutaki (Nagasugawa Street)
To enjoy a bowl of piping hot ramen by the riverside in Fukuoka sounds like an absolutely wonderful experience. Through the power of Yakuza/Like a Dragon substories, an utterly divine mizutaki (chicken hot pot) can be unlocked on South Nagasugawa Street, giving us more options to enjoy should we get the chance to visit the real Fukuoka. Never underestimate the power of variety—or the appeal of a riverside stall.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #8: Special Shortcake (Café Alps)
Strawberry shortcake is very popular in Japan, and there isn’t a better place to pick up a slice than at Café Alps (or at a real café in the real Japan, so you can actually eat it). Everything at Café Alps is beautifully presented, from the shortcake to the parfaits. You can even pick your favorite coffee or Earl Grey tea to go with your order. We’re sure the sandwich set, original beef curry, and napolitan (ketchup spaghetti) taste good, too, but just make sure you save room in your stomach for the menu’s main star.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #7: Miso Stewed Udon (Yamamotoya Honten)
Yamamotoya Honten is one of many restaurants in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series that is taken from real life. If we were to visit Nagoya, this miso specializing restaurant is absolutely going on our must-visit list. There are plenty of tasty options beyond miso with udon noodles, including shrimp tempura, chicken, pork, and motsu (intestine). Whether it’s warm or cool out, we’ll be sure to enjoy some miso soup.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #6: Hawaiian Pancakes (Cream & Berry)
The Cream & Berry in Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth’s Honolulu is based on the real restaurant Waffle & Berry. Pillowy Hawaiian pancakes (or waffles, we’re not picky), sweet parfaits, and iced lattes to wash it all down sounds like a heavenly time—although the process of developing a second stomach to do so will be a lot more challenging. The real restaurant also serves açaí bowls, so you don’t have to stop at another place to pick one up like you do in Infinite Wealth.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #5: Convenience Store Food (Poppo/M Store)
Poppo and M Store are the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series’s generic convenience store (conbini) chains, but don’t let the fact that they’re convenience stores trick you into overlooking them. Japanese convenience store food is on a whole other level compared to what’s available in other countries. Taking a break from battling baddies to step into a Poppo or M Store and appreciate the lines of food on the back wall and in front of the register would be therapeutic if it didn’t make us so hungry for onigiri, sushi, beef bowls, melon bread, sandwiches, bento boxes, and fried chicken.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #4: Curry Soup (Curry Shop S)
Curry Shop S is yet another real restaurant featured in the Yakuza series. This Sapporo-style curry soup restaurant offers amazing options, including an enticing “Taste of the North” variant with local seafood. The lassi with Hokkaido honeyberry also sounds like a great addition to an order of curry. We can’t think of a better way to warm up from the Sapporo chill than with some warm and comfy curry soup.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #3: Takoyaki (Kukuru)
Takoyaki, or grilled octopus and tempura scraps in batter, is delicious anywhere you go, but we’d love to try some from Osaka, the place where it was popularized. Yakuza’s Sotenbori is based on the real Osaka’s Dotonbori, where you can find the real Kukuru and chow down on your choice of takoyaki. If you’re looking to try more than one filling and topping, bring a friend or two along, and each order a different kind to share amongst yourselves! Or just prepare your stomach for multiple servings; we won’t judge.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #2: All Sorts of Crab Dishes (Kani Douraku)
Deep-fried crab. Crab nabe courses. Even crab sushi—our mouths are watering at the mere thought of eating at Kani Douraku. Just like Kukuru, Kani Douraku is a real restaurant in Dotonbori, Osaka, making it an easy location to track down and try out (even if getting to Osaka isn’t the simplest of tasks). The only downside is that while our mouths will be watering, our wallets will be crying, as it’s understandably one of the pricier restaurants on this list.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Foods We Want to Try IRL #1: Buns and Mapo Tofu (Yokohama Chinatown)
Honestly, everything in Yokohama Chinatown looks delectable, so they can easily share this top spot. Our personal picks are the different kinds of buns from Full Belly Buns and the Mapo Tofu at Meng Wu. Full Belly Buns offers a welcome assortment of standard meat buns, shark fin buns, and even bean paste buns. The Mapo Tofu at Meng Wu sounds like it would add an excitingly spicy kick to any Chinatown visit, although the rest of the restaurant’s menu is also hard to say no to—as are the rest of the restaurants in Chinatown.
