What to Eat in Nara, by Japanese Diners: Legendary Dango, a Ramen Rivalry, and Persimmon-Leaf Sushi
奈良の地元民が本当に通う店：伝説のきなこ団子・天理ラーメン二強・柿の葉寿司の食べ比べ
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
The most-liked comment (260 likes) under this 2024 Nara food rundown isn't from a fan; it's the owner of Sushi no Kitahachi, thanking the video because customers keep walking in saying “I saw you on YouTube.” Below it, Japanese commenters built out the real eating map. The kinako dango at Dango no Sho is treated as “a given” (100 likes), and if you can't get out to Kashihara, an apprentice's shop called Tamausagi sells dango every bit as good in Nara City. The thread also settles the Tenri ramen question (two rival chains, with branch-level advice), compares the four persimmon-leaf sushi houses by name, adds a cult tonkatsu spot and a café pilgrimage site, and drops one closure notice for a beloved old udon shop.
These comments are from a video published in 2024. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.
“This is Okada, owner of Sushi no Kitahachi. 😃 Thank you truly for making a video featuring our restaurant among Nara's recommended spots. 😃 Lately we've had a surge of customers telling us “I saw you on YouTube” — I got curious, searched around, and found this video. 😃 Thanks to you we've welcomed so many new guests. 🎉 I'm sorry my thanks has to come as a comment, but please accept my sincere gratitude. ✨😌✨”
寿しの喜多八代表の岡田と申します😃この度は当店を奈良のおすすめ名店としての紹介動画を作成、投稿して下さり誠に感謝しております😃ここ最近スゴくYouTubeを見て来ましたというお客様が増加しており、不思議に思い検索させてもらったところ、こちらの動画に行き着きました😃お陰様でたくさんのご来店者様とご縁をいただく事が出来ました🎉メッセージでのお礼になってしまう事が申し訳なく思いますが、感謝の言葉とさせていただきます✨😌✨
Places named in this article
- Dango no ShoBojo, Kashihara
The kinako dango the thread treats as “a given” (100 likes). The rule repeated here: eat it the day you buy it.
- Kinako Dango TamausagiNear Amagatsuji Sta., Nara City
Opened by a Dango no Sho apprentice; the commenter who named it says you can now eat dango “every bit as good” without the trek to Kashihara (36 likes).
- Shiratamaya Eiju (Mimuro monaka)By the great torii of Omiwa Shrine, Miwa
The mimuro monaka in front of the Miwa shrine — “refined sweetness in the bean paste, wonderfully fragrant crisp shell” — offered as a gift pick alongside the dango (100 likes).
- Chujodo Honpo (Chujo-mochi)Taimadera Sta., Katsuragi
The mugwort-and-anko chujo-mochi a 56-like reply calls the image of Katsuragi, by Taimadera Station.
- Saika RamenTenri (multiple branches)
One half of Nara's ramen rivalry — a local's pick, specifically the yatai, Kashihara and Yamato-Koizumi branches for the old-school taste.
- Tenri Stamina RamenTenri (multiple branches)
The other half of the rivalry — the thread splits between the two, with newer shops Mitsuba and NOROMA also named (12 likes).
- MarukatsuNara (now also in Osaka)
Tonkatsu with a light batter and plum sauce that “stays refreshing” — a local favorite that recently expanded to Osaka.
- Kurumi no KiNara City
“A pilgrimage site for café lovers,” per the comments (16 likes).
- Sushi no KitahachiKawai, Kitakatsuragi
The shop whose owner left the thread's most-liked comment (260) — a reply also vouches for the brother shop by Koryo-kita Elementary, where the old master does the pressing.
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- What food is Nara actually known for?
- Per the Japanese diners in this 255-comment thread: kakinoha-zushi (persimmon-leaf sushi — a Gojo/Yoshino specialty with four houses worth comparing: Tanaka, Izasa, Hiraso and Yamato), kinako dango from Dango no Sho, chujo-mochi near Taimadera, Miwa somen noodles, and Tenri ramen.
- What is Tenri ramen — and which chain should I pick?
- Nara's signature spicy, cabbage-heavy ramen, split between two rival chains: Saika and Tenri Stamina (a 12-like reply adds that newer shops Mitsuba and NOROMA now split the popularity too). One Nara resident's advice: go Saika, and specifically the yatai, Kashihara or Yamato-Koizumi branches, which keep the old-school taste and atmosphere.
- Can you try the famous dango without leaving Nara City?
- Yes — a 36-like comment points out that a Dango no Sho apprentice opened Kinako Dango Tamausagi near Amagatsuji Station in Nara City, and says the dango there is every bit as good as the Kashihara original. Either way, eat kinako dango the day you buy it; a 21-like reply is firm on that.
Nara Beyond the Deer: The Hometown Chains Nara's Regulars Grew Up On — Tenri Ramen Rivalries and All
“Fun fact: the founders of Saika Ramen and Tenri Stamina Ramen are actually brothers. And their eldest brother ran Oji Ramen — all three serve ramen topped with napa cabbage stir-fried in doubanjiang, which is a fun detail.”
Read this roundupThis is one of 5 local roundups for Nara. See them all →
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 60 of 255 comments
Kitahachi goes without saying — but the sushi and obanzai at the brother shop next to Koryo-kita Elementary, where the old master does the pressing, are superb too!
喜多八はもちろん、おやっさんが握る広陵北小学校横の兄弟店のお寿司、おばんざいも絶品ですね！
Dango no Sho is a given, but I'd also recommend the Mimuro monaka in front of the Miwa shrine as a gift — refined sweetness in the bean paste, wonderfully fragrant crisp shell. Delicious.
だんご庄は鉄板だけど、三輪神社前のみむろの最中も手土産としてお勧めします。 上品な甘さのあんこに香ばしい皮。おいしいですよ
Dango no Sho's dango is the shop KinKi Kids' Tsuyoshi Domoto once described on TV as “the place I want to recommend but can't name — every Nara native will know it.” Normally you have to go out to Kashihara for it, but an apprentice went independent and opened Kinako Dango Tamausagi near Amagatsuji Station in Nara City — now you can eat dango every bit as good without leaving town.
だんご庄のだんごはKinKi Kidsの堂本剛さんがとんねるずの番組で 紹介はしたいけど、名前は出せないお店で奈良県民なら絶対わかる店として 紹介してもらったことがあります。 橿原に行かないと食べられない物ですが、奈良市の尼ヶ辻駅付近に お弟子さんが独立した、きなこだんご たまうさぎという店があります 奈良市でもだんご庄のだんごと遜色ないものが食べられるようになりました
I seriously love Dango no Sho. If you like kinako dango you absolutely have to try it — and absolutely eat it the day you buy it.
だんご庄はほんまに好き〜 きなこ団子好きなら絶対食べてほしい 絶対買った当日に。
For Katsuragi, the image is Taima's chujo-mochi. And persimmon-leaf sushi is really a Gojo and Yoshino specialty. 😅
葛城市といえば、当麻の中将餅のイメージですね。柿の葉寿司は五條、吉野の名物でしょ😅
With persimmon-leaf sushi you have Tanaka, Izasa, Hiraso and Yamato; with Miwa somen there's Yamamoto, Ikeri, Yamakatsu and Konishi — every house has its own character, so tasting them side by side is half the fun.
柿の葉寿司は「たなか」や「ゐざさ」や「平宗」や「ヤマト」、三輪そうめんは「山本」や「池利」や「山勝」や「小西」など、会社ごとに味やコンテンツにそれぞれ個性がありますから、食べ比べをすると楽しいですよ。
Nara's signature ramen shops are Saika and Tenri Stamina, but lately Mitsuba and NOROMA have been splitting the popularity between them — I'd recommend either.
奈良を代表するラーメン店は彩華と天理スタミナですが此処に来てラーメン家みつ葉とNOROMAさんが人気を二分しているので何方もお勧めです。
For visitors from outside Nara: “Tenri ramen” actually means two chains, Tenri Stamina Ramen and Saika Ramen — and I want you to try Saika. The branches differ, and the yatai stall, Kashihara and Yamato-Koizumi FC branches keep the old-school taste and atmosphere in the best way. That's the locals' safe bet!
県外の方、天理ラーメンと言っても｢天理スタミナラーメン｣と｢彩華ラーメン｣があるのですが、私は彩華を食べて欲しいです。 何店舗かあるのですが違いがあって、屋台店・橿原店・FC大和小泉店が良い意味で昔ながらの味・雰囲気を伝えていて県民的に鉄板です！
Kurumi no Ki is basically a pilgrimage site for café lovers.
くるみの木とかカフェ好きの聖地だよね
For katsu I'd also push Marukatsu (they recently expanded into Osaka too) — the light batter and their special plum sauce keep it refreshing for a tonkatsu.
(最近大阪にも進出したけど)かつなら まるかつ もオススメしたい 軽めの衣と特性梅肉ソースのおかげでとんかつなのにさっぱりしているんだ
I was honestly gutted when Bikkuri Udon Miyoshino — my favorite since childhood, across from the Nanto Bank head office on Sanjo-dori — closed down. The site is now a steak-bowl place, Nikuya Kurokawa's Nara branch.
三条通の南都銀行本店の向かいにあった子供の頃からのお気に入り店だった「びっくりうどん 三好野」が閉店した時は正直ショックで凹みました。跡地は今はステーキ重店「肉屋黒川 奈良店」になっていますね。