Survey: Tokyo World’s 3rd Best Foodie Capital

Unseen Japan
5 min readSep 13, 2024

Is Tokyo a foodie’s paradise? A new survey argues the city is one of the best capital cities in the world for culinary experiences.

Picture: Fast&Slow / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

By Jay Andrew Allen

Food has always been one of Japan’s top draws. Now, however, a new survey argues that Japan may be more than a place with some decent grub. Here’s the data that shows Tokyo may not just be a good place to eat, but one of the world’s top capitals for dedicated foodies.

Ranking behind Paris and Athens

Picture: Yoshitaka / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

You don’t have to tell tourists that Japan is where the food is. In numerous surveys — such as an ITMedia survey in late 2023 — food ranks among the top three reasons people want to visit Japan.

Japan isn’t unique in this. A report by American Express showed that 81% of travelers — 4 out of 5 — ranked trying local foods and cuisines as the most anticipated part of their trip.

So how does Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, rank next to other capital cities around the world? Our friends at Japan Rail Pass commissioned a survey to answer that question.

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