Nagasaki Food Guide

Nagasaki Food Guide: What To Eat in Nagasaki

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Last updated on September 14th, 2024

Use this Nagasaki food guide to savor the city’s tastiest treats through our top picks of where and what to eat in Nagasaki.

Nagasaki’s food is one of the most interesting in Japan. Being a historical port city, Nagasaki’s food has been greatly impacted by the foreign food culture. It’s a mouthwatering blend of Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch influences, and greatly extended to the local food culture. Some of the must-eat food in Nagasaki is Champon, sara udon, castella, and toruko rice.

When we visited Nagasaki, we tasted some of the iconic food and would like to share this Nagasaki Food Guide with you. Here are the top 3 must-eat foods in Nagasaki foods and where to find them. Eat like a local and delight your taste buds with these Nagasaki best food!

Chawanmushi at Yossou

Yossou Chawanmushi

For a true Japanese dining experience, head to Yossou Nagasaki for its local Japanese food.

Yossou (吉宗) is one of the best and oldest traditional restaurants in Nagasaki with a long history dating back to 1866. They serve a variety of local dishes, including tri-color sushi, tempura, bento, sashimi, and braised pork dishes. The must-eat food is chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard).

Yossou Nagasaki

The signature chawanmushi from Yossou comes with many fresh ingredients – white fish, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ginkgo, kamaboko (fish paste), wheat powder, and anago (grilled conger eel). The sizing is big and packed with the ingredients. The texture was very silky smooth and it just slid down your throat. Absolutely delicious!

Check out my food post on Yossou in Nagasaki for more pictures and information.

Yossou, Nagasaki (吉宗)
Address; 8-9 Hamamachi, Nagasaki 850-0853, Nagasaki Prefecture
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 14:30 and 17:00 to 20:00. Closed on Monday and Tuesday
Getting there: 3 minutes walk from Kankadori Station

Champon and Sara Udon

Nagasaki Food Guide - Champon Noodle

The Nagasaki food scene has to include Champon (Chinese-inspired noodles) and Sara udon (crispy noodles).

Champon is a Japanese-Chinese ramen noodle dish which widely popular in Kyushu. This renowned noodle dish is inverted by Shikairo restaurant in Nagasaki. During the Meiji period, a Chinese chef from Shikairo made these noodle dishes for hungry students studying in Nagasaki.

Champon noodles are made with meat, seafood, vegetables, lard-fried pork, and springy udon noodles. All the ingredients are stir-fried together in a thick soup with chicken and pig bones for a cheap, tasty, and filling meal.

Champon can also be served over a bed of deep-fried noodles to make the local dish Sara udon.

Shikairo Chinese Restaurant

The long-established Shikairo Chinese Restaurant (四海樓) is the best place to try this authentic champon. The restaurant is hardly to be missed in China Town. It is an impressive five-story building with a large and lively dining room with harbor views on the third to the fifth floors. The first floor serves as a souvenir shop and the second floor as a champon museum for guests to visit.

Shikairo Chinese Restaurant serves a variety of classic Chinese dishes. A particular must-try is champon noodles. The noodles are unique in taste and addictive.

Shikairou Chinese Restaurant (四海樓)
Address: 4-5 Matsugaemachi, Nagasaki, 850-0921, Japan
Opening Hours: Daily from 11:30 to 15:00 and re-open from 17:00 to 20:00 (closed on Wednesdays)
Getting there: Located next to the Oura Cathedral tram stop

Nagasaki Castella

Nagasaki Castella

Don’t miss out on the famous Nagasaki Castella, a sponge cake made with sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup.

Nagasaki Castella originated from the Portuguese and was bought to Nagasaki by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. The cake has been made to local taste with a secret recipe that has been passed down for over 400 years. Today’s Nagasaki castella cake is one of the unique foods and is often bought as a souvenir food item when visiting Nagasaki.

You can easily find many Castella stores throughout Nagasaki. But the three popular castella stores in Nagasaki, Fukusaya (福砂屋), Shooken (松翁軒), and Bunmeido (文明堂). All with long history back and are popular among locals.

We bought the Nagasaki Castella from Fukusaya at JR Nagasaki Station to try out. There have many castella brand available and convenient for travelers. The texture is refined, soft, and not so sweet. A very good confectionery with tea and coffee for the afternoon break.

Overall: Nagasaki Food Guide

All in all, we had fun exploring some of the unique food in Nagasaki. We love the rich history but I would expect more Japanese food flavor. Still, the food quality is pretty good. If you are visiting Nagasaki, why not giving try Nagasaki’s best food? Share with me your Nagasaki food review.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful time exploring Nagasaki!

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Visiting Kyushu and looking for some inspiration for what to do in Kyushu then be sure to read our Kyushu travel blog here: How To Plan Your Kyushu Itinerary: Ultimate Guide