3 Best Restaurants in Ise, Nagoya, Ise-Shima, and the Kii Peninsula

This traditional restaurant in a replica warehouse in the Kawasaki area does not open unless there is a delivery of fresh fish, which indicates how seriously the cooks take their food. As well as a wide variety of fresh fish dishes, there are also plenty of meat and izakaya staples on the menu, all served in haphazardly shaped pottery dishes.

If you love beef, make a pilgrimage to Matsusaka, one express train stop north of Ise. Wadakin claims to be the originator of Matsusaka beef's fame; the cattle are raised with loving care on the restaurant's farm out in the countryside. Although dinnertime is extremely expensive, with the priciest courses an eye-watering ¥30,000, lunchtime bentos offer a more affordable way to try the famed Matsusaka.