10 Best Local Restaurants in Shirahama

Kirinya is a famous restaurant that everyone in the area knows. It offers a wide range of standard teppanyaki dishes (dishes prepared on a hot steel plate), including yakisoba (fried noodles) and okonomiyaki (a Japanese savoury pancake dish). There’s also a good range of snacks that go well with beer, shochu, and locally brewed sake, so it's ideal if you want to try the izakaya (Japanese-style pub) experience.

As well as seafood options, you can try different types of okonomiyaki featuring the delicacies of Shirahama, such as the meat of the Inobuta Tama boar-pig hybrid from Susami in Wakayama Prefecture. In winter, oysters are also on the menu and are popular not only as okonomiyaki ingredients, but also deep-fried or grilled with butter. If you're coming for lunch, try the hearty set meals.

Miyuki Sushi is popular for its nigiri (hand-shaped sushi), with fresh seafood carefully selected by the owner-chef and generously sliced into large pieces. Seasonal seafood particular to Shirahama is also served as sashimi, tempura, and simmered dishes. Visitors also love the restaurant for its hospitality and reasonable prices.

Don't miss the special sushi rolls with plump ikura (salmon roe) and creamy sea urchin. The quality of the squid, tuna, bonito, and greater amberjack are also top-notch.

Chokyu Sakaba was once introduced as one of Japan's 3 best izakaya (Japanese-style pubs) by izakaya explorer Kazuhiko Ota. With seasonal seafood that the owner-chef has purchased that day from the local market, served so that you can grill it yourself just before you eat it, you’re guaranteed a fresh dinner here. The menu features seafood that’s unique to Shirahama, including moray eel, scabbard fish, and tentacles of the bigfin reef squid.

On the sashimi menu, there’s tuna, mochigatsuo (bonito with a mochi-like texture), filefish, and more. You can also have freshly-boiled shellfish such as tsumebai (tiger conch), kurobe (Pfeiffer's Top Shell), and kamenote (goose barnacle). To finish, try the handmade sanma (Pacific saury) sushi.

Wakayama Ramen Hachihi Senjojiki was renovated to incorporate a branch of the Hiraku izakaya (Japanese-style pub), producing a ramen izakaya crossover where you can enjoy a variety of dishes. With its own car park lot and an excellent lunch menu, it's a popular spot not only with locals, but also with Shirahama tourists and beachgoers.

The Wakayama ramen served here has a modern, light flavour and is available in shoyu tonkotsu (pork bone broth with soy sauce), shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt), and shio tonkotsu (pork bone broth with salt) versions. Other popular choices include salads, rice bowls, and set meals prepared with fresh seafood.

Sangosyou is well-known for its rich selection of multi-course and set meals offering luxurious seafood such as longtooth grouper, lobster, kutsuebi (blunt slipper lobster), abalone, and sea bream. It's in an excellent location, too, with views of the Shirahama Sea and Engetsu Island from every seat in the house.

There's an old-fashioned resort vibe here combined with some luxurious touches. The sashimi prepared form live fish, still moving before it's prepped, is plump and brings out the full flavour of the ingredients.

Mamenoyu (Tsukumo Bettei) is a café where you can relax in a tasteful space in a renovated Showa-era building. There’s always jazz playing in the background, and the stylish interior design shows careful attention to detail, right down to the interesting objects placed all over the room. Pick up a book from the café’s library and you'll be tempted to stay here much longer than you expected.

The coffee is roasted by photographer Bishin Jumonji, who’s also known as a coffee bean roaster, and is served with a flannel drip. For meals, the speciality is grilled curry with an irresistible aroma of spices. The baked cheesecake and other sweets are also delicious.

Marumasa Ramen is famous for its long queues of visitors and has been featured in the media many times. It’s a cosy family-run restaurant that quickly becomes packed. With its signature thin noodles and light, tasty soup, the ramen is a must.

There’s a wide variety of ramen to choose from, but if you want a hearty meal, try the various types of chashu-men, noodles with a generous helping of handmade chashu (braised pork belly). You can also order chashu as an individual plate or as a rice bowl topping.

Fukuju is a friendly sushi restaurant that has been in business for more than half a century. Fresh seasonal seafood from Shirahama is served in a variety of ways, including as sushi, sashimi, tempura, grilled and simmered seafood, as well as in hot-pot dishes.

It’s a restaurant that’s suitable for any occasion, with counter seating ideal if you’re visiting alone and private rooms and tatami (rush-covered straw mat) rooms for parties and celebrations. Don't miss the excellent lunch deals, available only on weekdays.

Shirahama kappou kawanishi is a stylish restaurant that does things a bit differently, making it a perfect choice if you want to enjoy creative dishes using Shirahama’s seafood. The young owner-chef is really pushing the envelope with his innovative cuisine, so you can look forward to some new gastronomic discoveries if you choose to dine here.

The restaurant serves fine ingredients from Kishu such as natural longtooth grouper, black abalone, sea urchin, Kumano beef, and Kishu Umedori (fresh local chicken butchered that morning). From multi-course meals to lunches with excellent cost performance, this is your chance to enjoy a taste of haute cuisine.

Ramen Bakumatsu Nanki Shirahama Branch is a popular ramen restaurant that expanded from Wakayama City to Shirahama in 2019. The tonkotsu (broth made from pork marrow) soup is matured and has a rich yet mild aftertaste, perfectly matching the thin, homemade noodles.

The tender chashu (braised pork belly) is melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Also make sure you try the mini Bakumatsu-don (small rice bowl with chashu). You can even take away a portion of chashu. Note that there’s no private parking.