Rice dishes
Donburi (rice bowls)
丼物
28 varieties
Donburi is the family of dishes served as toppings over rice in a single bowl. Some forms, like unadon and tendon, are said to have spread through Edo-era street stalls and delivery; others, like oyakodon and gyudon, grew out of the new ingredients of the Meiji era. Even katsudon splits into an egg-bound style and the sauce-dipped style of Fukui, Aizu, and Komagane. This section follows each bowl to the place and circumstances it came from.
Dishes tied to a place16
- Aburafu Don油麩丼Miyagi Tomedeep-fried wheat gluten rice bowl
- Aizu Sōsu Katsudonソースカツ丼（会津）Fukushima AizuwakamatsuAizu-style sauce-dipped pork cutlet rice bowl
- Demi Katsudonデミかつ丼Okayama City, Okayamapork cutlet rice bowl in demi-glace sauce
- Fukagawa-don深川丼Tokyo Kotoclam and miso rice bowl
- Fukui Sōsu Katsudonソースカツ丼（福井）Fukui City, FukuiFukui-style sauce-dipped pork cutlet rice bowl
- Sosu Katsudonソースカツ丼Gunma KiryuSosu Katsudon (Gunma) — breaded pork cutlet dipped in sauce over rice
- Hyuga-donひゅうが丼Oita Tsukumiraw tuna marinated in an egg-yolk soy sauce, served over rice
- Katte-don勝手丼Hokkaido Kushirobuild-your-own seafood rice bowl
- Komagane Sōsu Katsudonソースカツ丼（駒ヶ根）Nagano KomaganeKomagane-style sauce-dipped pork cutlet rice bowl
- Konoha-don木の葉丼Kyoto City, Kyotofish cake and shiitake egg rice bowl
- Mozuku Donもずく丼Okinawastir-fried pork and mozuku seaweed spooned over rice
- Obihiro Butadon豚丼（帯広）Hokkaido ObihiroObihiro-style grilled pork rice bowl
- Oyakodon親子丼Tokyo Chuochicken and egg rice bowl
- Tare Katsudonタレかつ丼Niigata City, Niigatathin pork cutlets dipped in sweet soy sauce over rice
- Unadonうな丼Ibaraki Ryugasakigrilled eel rice bowl
- Katsudonかつ丼Yamanashi KofuYamanashi katsudon — sauce-topped cutlet on cabbage and rice, no egg
No single place of origin12
- Chuka-donChinese-style vegetable and meat rice bowl
- Gyudonbeef rice bowl
- Ikura-donsalmon roe rice bowl
- KaisendonSeafood rice bowl
- Katsudonegg-bound pork cutlet rice bowl
- Negitoro-donminced fatty tuna and scallion rice bowl
- Sanshoku-donthree-color minced meat and egg rice bowl
- Shirasu-donraw whitebait rice bowl
- Tamago-donvegetable and egg rice bowl
- Tanindonbeef or pork and egg rice bowl
- Tekkadontuna sashimi rice bowl
- Tendontempura rice bowl
View all Donburi (rice bowls) on the map
Before you go
- How to use a convenience storeA quick guide to choosing rice balls and hot snacks, buying coffee, paying by cash, IC card, or tap payment, using the eat-in corner, and sorting your trash — the basics for a first visit.
- Station food and ekiben (station bento)Where and when to find ekiben (station bento) before it sells out, etiquette for eating on board, how standing soba and udon stalls work, and where to find souvenirs sold inside the station.
- Roadside stations, direct-sale stands, and marketsHow to enjoy buying food near where it's produced, visiting and shopping at morning markets and fish markets, what to expect at farm stands, and finding local food at roadside stations (michi-no-eki).
The dishes behind chain flavors
The flavors of national chains are said to trace back to dishes from particular places. Pick a chain to see the dish behind it.
Yoshinoya — Japan's oldest nationwide gyudon (beef bowl) chain
Yoshinoya began as a beef-rice shop serving workers at Tokyo's Nihonbashi fish market, and is said to have helped spread the gyudon format.
Matsuya — gyudon chain that began as a Chinese diner in Tokyo
Matsuya began as a Chinese diner in Nerima, Tokyo before shifting to beef-rice and grilled-meat set meals. Chuka-don, a Chinese-style rice bowl, belongs to that same origin.
Sukiya — nationwide gyudon chain operated by Zensho Group
Sukiya began in Tsurumi, Yokohama, and is one of the chains said to have spread gyudon nationwide.
Nakau — donburi and Kyoto-style udon chain known for oyakodon
Nakau began as a hand-made udon shop in Ibaraki, Osaka, and is said to have built oyakodon into one of its signature dishes.
Tenya — tempura-rice-bowl (tendon) fast-food chain from Tokyo
Tenya began in the underground shopping area of Tokyo Station, aiming to turn tendon and tempura into affordable fast food.
Katsuya — tonkatsu and katsudon fast-food chain
Katsuya began as a tonkatsu specialist chain in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Katsudon, cutlet simmered with egg over rice, is essentially tonkatsu turned into a rice bowl.
Nadai Unatoto — unadon (grilled eel rice bowl) fast-food chain
Unatoto specializes in unadon, grilled eel served over rice. Tekkadon, tuna over rice, shares the same lineage of a rice bowl built around a single star ingredient.
Tokyo Chikarameshi — grilled (not simmered) beef rice bowl chain
Tokyo Chikarameshi began in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and is known for grilling its beef on a griddle rather than simmering it as most gyudon chains do. That grilled-meat-on-rice method places it in the same family as Obihiro's grilled pork bowl, born in Hokkaido.
Hakodate Kaisendon-dokoro Kantaro — seafood rice bowl and kaiten-zushi chain from Hakodate
Kantaro traces back to a bento shop in Hakodate, Hokkaido, and grew into a seafood-bowl and kaiten-zushi chain. Ikura-don, salmon roe over rice, is one such bowl built around a catch closely tied to Hokkaido.
Tsukiji Shokudo Genchan — seafood-diner chain sourced from Tsukiji/Toyosu market
Tsukiji Shokudo Genchan is a diner chain built around seafood sourced through Tokyo's Tsukiji/Toyosu market. Tekkadon, tuna over rice, is a bowl long associated with that market district.