The Best Pizzerias in Japan

Counters around the oven

Savoy Kaminarimon in Asakusa, Tokyo, serves four wood-fired pizzas at an open counter where diners watch them being made. Savoy Tomato & Cheese in Azabu-Juban has a counter around its open oven and offers a bluefin tuna pizza with wasabi. Pizza Marumo in Ebisu has counter seats facing the oven, and its Japanese Umami pizza is flavoured with dashi, mackerel and kelp. The Pizza Bar On 38th, on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo in Nihonbashi, serves a pizza omakase course at an eight-seat counter.

Kyoto

Pizzeria da Ciro sits near Ginkaku-ji and is run by a pizza chef trained in Naples. It uses imported Italian ingredients, including buffalo mozzarella from Caserta. Pizzeria Brown Blossom bakes Neapolitan-style pizzas in a wood-fired oven. Its crust is thin and crisp, and it serves a Margherita. Service and queuing are frequent problems.

Fukushima, Osaka

La Pizza Napoletana Regalo is a one-man Neapolitan pizzeria with only a few tables. The owner cooks, serves and takes orders alone, and makes large, thin pizzas with a wood-fired crust.