Utsunomiya

Utsunomiya is most famous for its gyōza 餃子 dumplings, available sauteed, deep-fried, boiled, or and steamed with all sorts of stuffings all around the city. You can find gyoza just about anywhere, but here are some key areas.

PASEO, Utsunomiya main street, between Utsunomiya JR 10 min and Tobu 5 min, across from Pargo department store). B1 several restaurants, reasonably priced.

Utsunomiya Station Stores, level one. Look next to the grocery store for long queues.

Orion Dori, various. There are several gyoza specialty restaurants throughout the stretch.

In addition, there are plenty of other restaurants elsewhere.

La La Square Ramen Town

la la square, b1, directly across the street from utsunomiya jr station. several “kippu” ramen shops specializing in several types of ramen and gyoza. the atmosphere is actually rather nice for “kippu” ramen. purchase your meal by buying a ticket from the automated machine, then presenting it to the staff. bowls start at about 700 yen.

Dragon Fish Café

10f, pargo department store, 10 minute walk straight down utsunomiya main street from utsunomiya jr station. due to the location in a department store, the caf㩠closes at 11pm, much to the disappointment of it’s customers. it serves a very good selection of pastas and varied japanese-fusion entries. best tacos in utsunomiya. the drink menu is also quite good; there is a fully functioning bar that will not make a “sitting charge,” that many japanese bars partake in. there is also an 8-course, all-you-can-drink dinner option for 3500 yen great for drinks, but the courses vary in quality. manager is an r&b fan.

Wired Café

pargo 2nd floor, 10 minute walk straight down utsunomiya main street from utsunomiya jr station. a popular tokyo chain restaurant. the main attraction of this cafã© are several computers set up for customer use while waiting for food, as well as the wi-fi in the restaurant. food is a mix of western entries, dishes are moderately to high prices for a cafe.

C'est La Vie Restaurant Bar

Mageshi-cho 1-chome near the hotel new asahi between åŒ-dåri and orion-dåri; opens onto the alley that meanders alongside the tiny kamagawa, tel. 028-632-0402. open w-m closed tu 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, 5:00 to 10:30 pm. offers a variety of interesting hors d'oeuvres, including carpaccio of ham, bonito katsuo, or horsemeat 馬肉 baniku. the early bird 5-7 pm set menu, with choice of either pasta or paella, costs â¥1890. house wines cost â¥350 per glass, wines of the month â¥600 per glass, bottles â¥2500 and up. start with a shot of bittermelon elixir at â¥250.

For Starbucks fiends, there are Starbucks coffee shops located in Utsunomiya Station with Wi-Fi, Pargo Department Store, and Bell Mall. There are also plently of fast food chains, such as a Mr. Donut located directly across from Utsunomiya Station outside the main entrance, left side, Mos Burger inside Utsunomiya Station, first floor, and a McDonalds outside the main entrance, right side. For those wishing to stay on a budget, the grocery stores located in La La Square B1 and Utsunomiya Station 1 are your best bet.