Japan Nabe Guide 2026
Shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, chankonabe — Japan's hot pot culture and the best restaurants to try it
Plan Your Japan Food Trip — FreeShabu-shabu, sukiyaki, chankonabe — Japan's hot pot culture and the best restaurants to try it
Plan Your Japan Food Trip — FreeNabe — Japanese hot pot — is not one dish but a family of communal cooking traditions that gather people around a bubbling pot in winter. Swishing thin wagyu slices in kombu broth for three seconds at a shabu-shabu restaurant. Cracking a raw egg and dipping sukiyaki beef into the golden pool. Ladling out the first bowl of chanko broth the way retired sumo wrestlers do in Ryogoku. The shime — finishing the pot by cooking rice or noodles in the now-rich broth — is the quiet conclusion shared by every variety. Nabe is not fast food; it is a meal designed to be taken slowly.
One of Tokyo's most famous shabu-shabu chains, with a Ginza flagship that has served premium wagyu shabu-shabu for over 50 years. The wagyu course (A4–A5 grade, ¥6,000–12,000/person) includes 2 types of dashi broth, ponzu and sesame dipping sauces, seasonal vegetables, tofu, and noodles to close the pot. The slow, meditative pace of shabu-shabu — swish, dip, eat — is a quintessentially Japanese dining experience. Private rooms available for groups. Reservations recommended for dinner.
Established in 1895, Imahan is Tokyo's most storied sukiyaki restaurant and the definitive place to experience this cooking style. The Asakusa honten (main store) occupies a classic Japanese townhouse. Wagyu sukiyaki courses: ¥7,000–20,000/person depending on beef grade. The ritual: a server cooks the first piece of beef at your table, seasons the iron pan, and instructs on dipping technique (raw egg in small bowl, swirl, dip). Closed Wednesdays. Counter and private room seating.
Chankonabe restaurant run by former sumo wrestlers in the heart of Ryogoku — the sumo district. The chanko pot here is the genuine article: chicken-based broth packed with tofu, burdock root, leeks, fish balls, and daikon, designed to build body mass. Course meals ¥2,500–4,500/person. The restaurant decor features sumo memorabilia and autographed ring-names (shikona) of famous wrestlers. Ryogoku in November–January is sumo tournament season — combine a dinner here with a tournament ticket.
Hakata mizutaki is a Fukuoka-style nabe where chicken on the bone is simmered in a collagen-rich broth until the meat falls away. Unlike most nabe, the broth at Uoshin is served first as a soup (poured into individual bowls and seasoned with ponzu), then the chicken and vegetables are eaten, and finally udon noodles or rice porridge (zosui) are added to absorb the remaining broth. The sequence is very specific — miss it and you've missed the dish. Uoshin brings authentic Hakata mizutaki to Tokyo. Courses: ¥4,000–7,000/person.
Kyoto's version of nabe centers on yudofu — silken tofu gently simmered in kombu stock and eaten with ponzu, grated daikon, and spring onions. At Nanzen-ji temple's surrounding restaurants (Junsei, Okutan), the tofu is made fresh that morning from locally-grown soybeans. Yudofu is the most delicate and minimalist of all Japanese hot pots — a meditation on simplicity. Multi-course kaiseki versions add seasonal vegetables, fu (wheat gluten), and a side of steamed rice. Courses: ¥3,500–8,000.
Motsu nabe (もつ鍋) originated in Fukuoka and features beef and pork intestines (offal) simmered in a rich miso or soy broth with burdock, leeks, and chili. The dish became a national phenomenon in the 1990s and every major city now has dedicated motsu nabe restaurants. Osaka's Shoryu serves the Fukuoka-style version — soy-based broth, generous portions, and the required chanpon noodles added at the end. Courses: ¥2,500–4,000/person. A deeply satisfying winter comfort food for adventurous eaters.
Shabu-shabu: thinly sliced meat swished in light dashi, dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce. Sukiyaki: beef cooked in sweet soy sauce, dipped in raw egg. Chankonabe: sumo wrestler stew with chicken, fish, and vegetables in soy or miso broth. Mizutaki: chicken on the bone in collagen-rich broth (Hakata specialty). Yosenabe: "everything goes" pot with seafood, chicken, vegetables, tofu — the most common home-style nabe. Motsu nabe: offal hot pot in miso or soy broth. Yudofu: Kyoto-style tofu-only nabe in kombu stock. Ishikari nabe: miso-based with salmon (Hokkaido specialty). Kiritanpo nabe: cylindrical rice cakes in chicken broth (Akita specialty).
Set up: two dipping sauces in small bowls (ponzu on left, sesame on right). First: place a piece of kombu in the water and bring to simmer. The broth is deliberately light — you are not meant to add seasoning. Pick up one slice of beef with chopsticks. Swish gently in the simmering broth for 3–10 seconds (thin wagyu slices take 3 seconds; pork takes 8–10). Dip immediately in your chosen sauce. Eat. Vegetables go in throughout the meal and cook longer. At the end: add noodles or rice to the now-flavored broth for the shime (closing) course.
Chankonabe is designed for mass and protein: a single sumo wrestler eats 5,000–10,000 calories per day, with two large chankonabe meals as the core. The dish always includes chicken (never four-legged animals on principle — a superstition about maintaining balance). Standard ingredients: chicken meatballs, whole chicken pieces on the bone, tofu, burdock root (gobo), leeks (negi), daikon, shirataki noodles, fish cakes (kamaboko), and seasonal greens. Broth: soy (Tokyo style) or miso (some stables prefer miso). In Ryogoku, several chankonabe restaurants are operated by former wrestlers using their stable's actual recipe.
Kombu dashi: the lightest base — kelp only, delicate umami, used in shabu-shabu. Chicken broth: richer, collagen-heavy, used in mizutaki and chankonabe. Miso: hearty and warming, common in Hokkaido and cold-weather nabe. Soy sauce (shio+shoyu): clean and clear, versatile. Kimchi broth: Korean-influenced, spicy-sour, popular since the 1990s. Sesame milk broth: newer style, creamy and mild. Tomato broth: Italian-influenced yosenabe, popular at shabu-shabu chains. The broth style determines what proteins work best — light broths suit delicate fish and wagyu; miso and chicken broths suit stronger flavors.
In Japanese nabe culture, one person typically manages the pot — usually the most senior person at the table, or the designated "pot manager" (nabe bugyō). At restaurant shabu-shabu, each person cooks their own beef — this is a rare case of individual pot management. At home or izakaya nabe, the manager adds vegetables in staged batches (sturdy vegetables first), monitors the broth level (add dashi stock as it reduces), and ensures the shime (closing course — noodles or rice) is added at the right time. Do not stir the pot continuously — let items simmer calmly.
Budget nabe (¥1,000–3,000/person): convenience store nabe kits, family restaurant chains (Denny's Japan has a winter nabe menu), izakaya nabe sets. Mid-range (¥3,000–7,000): dedicated shabu-shabu chains (Shabuzen, Mo-Mo Paradise), chankonabe restaurants in Ryogoku, mizutaki restaurants. Luxury (¥10,000–30,000+): wagyu A5 shabu-shabu at ryokan restaurants, kaiseki-style yosenabe with seasonal seafood, private room sukiyaki with Matsusaka beef. The biggest quality jump is in the beef — A5 wagyu at a luxury shabu-shabu restaurant melts within 3 seconds of entering the broth.
Shabu-shabu: thin beef swished in light kombu dashi broth, dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce. The broth stays clear and mild. Sukiyaki: beef cooked in a sweet soy-sugar-sake sauce, dipped in raw egg. Both use premium wagyu at quality restaurants — shabu-shabu emphasizes the beef's natural flavor, sukiyaki adds sweetness and richness through the sauce.
Chankonabe is the high-protein hot pot eaten by sumo wrestlers — chicken, fish, tofu, and vegetables in a soy or miso broth. You can eat it at restaurants in Ryogoku (Tokyo's sumo district), many run by retired wrestlers using actual stable recipes. Chanko Edo, Chanko Tomozuru, and Chanko Kirishima are popular options near Ryogoku station.
Yudofu (Kyoto tofu hot pot) is naturally vegetarian and often vegan when the kombu stock contains no bonito. Most other nabe styles are meat-based. At shabu-shabu restaurants, ask for a "vegetable course" — many offer vegetable and mushroom shabu-shabu. Tofu, yam noodles (shirataki), and vegetables can replace meat in most nabe styles at home-style restaurants.
Nabe is primarily a winter dish (October–March) when warming hot pots are in season. Many specialty nabe restaurants close or reduce hours in summer. However, shabu-shabu and sukiyaki restaurants operate year-round in air-conditioned settings. October is the start of proper "nabe season" in Japan — seasonal menus at izakaya and family restaurants feature nabe prominently.
Budget izakaya nabe: ¥800–1,500/person. Standard chankonabe: ¥2,500–4,000/person. Mid-range shabu-shabu (pork or American beef): ¥2,000–4,000/person. Mid-range shabu-shabu (Japanese wagyu): ¥5,000–10,000/person. Premium sukiyaki (A5 wagyu): ¥10,000–25,000/person. Luxury ryokan kaiseki nabe: ¥20,000–50,000/person (dinner included in room rate).
The shime (〆) is the final course where the remaining broth — now rich with umami from all the ingredients — is used to cook either udon noodles, ramen noodles (chanpon style), rice porridge (zosui), or rice cooked directly in the pot. The shime transforms the flavored broth into a final dish rather than wasting it. At restaurants, you order the shime separately — it is usually included in the set course price.
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