How Many Restaurants Does Tokyo Have? 67,185 (2026 Data)

Tokyo had 67,185 eating and drinking places on June 1, 2021, according to the 2021 Economic Census for Business Activity. That is 13.5% of Japan’s national total of 499,176. Counted per resident, Tokyo drops to 5th place with 4.78 restaurants per 1,000 people, behind Okinawa, Kochi, Miyazaki and Yamanashi.

This article combines the census establishment count with 2020 Population Census figures to rank all 47 prefectures both by number and by density. It also looks at the ten largest cities, the size of a typical restaurant, and what the phrase “most restaurants in the world” can and cannot be checked against.

EVIDENCE / JAPAN IN DATA 2026.09

How many restaurants does Tokyo have?

67,185 in the 2021 census, 13.5% of Japan’s 499,176. Per resident, Tokyo ranks 5th of 47 prefectures.

Eating and drinking places in Tokyo (June 1, 2021) 67,185places Largest of any prefecture. Osaka follows with 39,639, then Aichi with 29,632.

Japan total 499,176 3.96 per 1,000 residents

Densest: Okinawa 5.81 per 1,000 residents (8,522 places)

Tokyo per 1,000 4.78 5th of 47. Lowest: Saitama 2.71

This article was researched and edited by Kaede. Figures are as of the time of writing. Statistics and definitions are revised from time to time, so please check the official sources for the latest data.

Okinawa Has the Most Restaurants per Resident: 47-Prefecture Tilemap

Okinawa has the highest density at 5.81 eating and drinking places per 1,000 residents, followed by Kochi at 5.51, Miyazaki at 5.18 and Yamanashi at 5.06. Tokyo comes 5th at 4.78. Four of the top five are prefectures with under 1.5 million residents, and three of them are in Kyushu, Shikoku and Okinawa.

At the other end sit the three prefectures that surround Tokyo: Saitama at 2.71, Chiba at 2.74 and Kanagawa at 3.05, together with Nara and Shiga near Osaka and Kyoto. The national figure is 3.96. The gap between Okinawa and Saitama is 2.1 times.

All 47 Prefectures Ranked by Restaurants per 1,000 Residents

The table below is sorted by eating and drinking places per 1,000 residents, from Okinawa at the top to Saitama at the bottom. The raw count column shows how differently the two measures behave: Tokyo’s 67,185 is more than 29 times Tottori’s 2,293, yet their densities are 4.78 and 4.14.

All JapanHokkaido / TohokuKantoChubuKinkiChugoku / ShikokuKyushu / Okinawa

Eating and drinking places per 1,000 residents, all 47 prefectures (June 1, 2021)

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
1	Okinawa	5.81	8,522	1,467,480
2	Kochi	5.51	3,808	691,527
3	Miyazaki	5.18	5,538	1,069,576
4	Yamanashi	5.06	4,096	809,974
5	Tokyo	4.78	67,185	14,047,594
6	Fukui	4.74	3,632	766,863
7	Ishikawa	4.62	5,235	1,132,526
8	Nagano	4.58	9,380	2,048,011
9	Wakayama	4.57	4,215	922,584
10	Gifu	4.52	8,937	1,978,742
11	Aomori	4.51	5,585	1,237,984
12	Yamagata	4.51	4,815	1,068,027
13	Osaka	4.49	39,639	8,837,685
14	Kyoto	4.47	11,520	2,578,087
15	Tokushima	4.30	3,097	719,559
16	Hokkaido	4.27	22,315	5,224,614
17	Kagawa	4.27	4,057	950,244
18	Kagoshima	4.27	6,777	1,588,256
19	Oita	4.25	4,775	1,123,852
20	Saga	4.25	3,447	811,442
21	Nagasaki	4.21	5,522	1,312,317
22	Shizuoka	4.18	15,183	3,633,202
23	Tottori	4.14	2,293	553,407
24	Fukuoka	4.11	21,096	5,135,214
25	Hiroshima	4.11	11,493	2,799,702
26	Akita	4.09	3,929	959,502
27	Ehime	4.05	5,409	1,334,841
28	Hyogo	4.04	22,055	5,465,002
29	Iwate	3.97	4,804	1,210,534
30	Aichi	3.93	29,632	7,542,415
31	Niigata	3.91	8,616	2,201,272
32	Toyama	3.85	3,979	1,034,814
33	Shimane	3.81	2,555	671,126
34	Tochigi	3.79	7,329	1,933,146
35	Gunma	3.69	7,147	1,939,110
36	Fukushima	3.68	6,740	1,833,152
37	Miyagi	3.67	8,447	2,301,996
38	Kumamoto	3.66	6,369	1,738,301
39	Mie	3.60	6,380	1,770,254
40	Yamaguchi	3.59	4,824	1,342,059
41	Okayama	3.33	6,286	1,888,432
42	Ibaraki	3.23	9,253	2,867,009
43	Kanagawa	3.05	28,178	9,237,337
44	Shiga	3.00	4,236	1,413,610
45	Nara	2.84	3,764	1,324,473
46	Chiba	2.74	17,212	6,284,480
47	Saitama	2.71	19,870	7,344,765

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
11	Aomori	4.51	5,585	1,237,984
12	Yamagata	4.51	4,815	1,068,027
16	Hokkaido	4.27	22,315	5,224,614
26	Akita	4.09	3,929	959,502
29	Iwate	3.97	4,804	1,210,534
36	Fukushima	3.68	6,740	1,833,152
37	Miyagi	3.67	8,447	2,301,996

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
5	Tokyo	4.78	67,185	14,047,594
34	Tochigi	3.79	7,329	1,933,146
35	Gunma	3.69	7,147	1,939,110
42	Ibaraki	3.23	9,253	2,867,009
43	Kanagawa	3.05	28,178	9,237,337
46	Chiba	2.74	17,212	6,284,480
47	Saitama	2.71	19,870	7,344,765

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
4	Yamanashi	5.06	4,096	809,974
6	Fukui	4.74	3,632	766,863
7	Ishikawa	4.62	5,235	1,132,526
8	Nagano	4.58	9,380	2,048,011
10	Gifu	4.52	8,937	1,978,742
22	Shizuoka	4.18	15,183	3,633,202
30	Aichi	3.93	29,632	7,542,415
31	Niigata	3.91	8,616	2,201,272
32	Toyama	3.85	3,979	1,034,814

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
9	Wakayama	4.57	4,215	922,584
13	Osaka	4.49	39,639	8,837,685
14	Kyoto	4.47	11,520	2,578,087
28	Hyogo	4.04	22,055	5,465,002
39	Mie	3.60	6,380	1,770,254
44	Shiga	3.00	4,236	1,413,610
45	Nara	2.84	3,764	1,324,473

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
2	Kochi	5.51	3,808	691,527
15	Tokushima	4.30	3,097	719,559
17	Kagawa	4.27	4,057	950,244
23	Tottori	4.14	2,293	553,407
25	Hiroshima	4.11	11,493	2,799,702
27	Ehime	4.05	5,409	1,334,841
33	Shimane	3.81	2,555	671,126
40	Yamaguchi	3.59	4,824	1,342,059
41	Okayama	3.33	6,286	1,888,432

Rank	Prefecture	Per 1,000	Restaurants	Population
1	Okinawa	5.81	8,522	1,467,480
3	Miyazaki	5.18	5,538	1,069,576
18	Kagoshima	4.27	6,777	1,588,256
19	Oita	4.25	4,775	1,123,852
20	Saga	4.25	3,447	811,442
21	Nagasaki	4.21	5,522	1,312,317
24	Fukuoka	4.11	21,096	5,135,214
38	Kumamoto	3.66	6,369	1,738,301

Where two prefectures show the same rounded value, ranks follow the unrounded figures: Aomori (4.5114) is placed above Yamagata (4.5083), and Hokkaido, Kagawa and Kagoshima at 4.27 are separated the same way. The population column uses the 2020 Census, taken eight months before the establishment count.

By Number or per Resident: How the Ranking Changes

By number, the top four are Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi and Kanagawa, the four most populous prefectures after Tokyo’s neighbours. Only Tokyo stays in the top five on both measures. Osaka falls from 2nd to 13th, Aichi from 3rd to 30th, and Kanagawa from 4th to 43rd.

The reverse movement is just as large. Kochi is 41st by number with 3,808 places and 2nd per resident. Miyazaki moves from 27th to 3rd, Yamanashi from 37th to 4th. Saitama and Chiba, 8th and 9th by number, are 47th and 46th per resident. The data shows the pattern; it does not explain it.

Tokyo’s 23 Wards: 54,465 Restaurants in Ten Large Cities Compared

The 23 wards of Tokyo held 54,465 eating and drinking places, 81.1% of the prefecture’s total, with 9,733,276 residents. That is 5.60 per 1,000, or one restaurant for every 179 residents in central Tokyo. Osaka City is denser still at 7.47, and Kyoto City at 5.75.

Among the ten cities, Yokohama and Saitama City have the lowest density at 2.92 and 2.55, even though Yokohama’s count of 11,021 is the fourth largest. The census counts residents where they live, while restaurant customers include commuters and visitors, so the resident-based rate and the raw count measure different things.

How Big Is a Japanese Restaurant? Workers per Establishment

Japan’s 499,176 eating and drinking places employed 3,489,039 people on June 1, 2021, an average of 7.0 per establishment. Kanagawa and Tokyo average 8.7 workers per place, Aomori 4.4. Chiba, Saitama, Shiga and Nara, which rank low on density, all average more than 8 workers.

Read together with the density map, the figures show two patterns: many small places per resident in Okinawa, Kochi and the Tohoku prefectures, and fewer but larger places in the suburbs of Tokyo and Osaka. Workers here include owners, unpaid family members and part-time staff, as defined by the census.

Is Tokyo the Restaurant Capital of the World? What Official Data Can Say

The census counts establishments, so a chain with 50 branches contributes 50. It counts only places whose main business is serving food or drink on site, so takeaway shops, delivery kitchens and hotel dining rooms are classified elsewhere. Other countries count restaurants under different classifications and different rules, and no international body publishes a city-level table on a single definition.

For that reason this article does not rank Tokyo against Paris, New York or Seoul. What the official record supports is narrower: 67,185 eating and drinking places in Tokyo Prefecture and 54,465 in the 23 wards as of June 1, 2021. Figures based on restaurant review sites or business directories measure something else and are not used here.

Timing also matters. The 2021 count was taken during COVID-19 restrictions on restaurant opening hours. The previous census in 2016 recorded 590,847 places, but MIC notes that the 2021 survey list was expanded using the corporate number register and advises against simple comparison between the two years. A new census was taken on June 1, 2026; its results are not yet published.

Kaede’s Notes: Three Observations from the Restaurant Count

The answer to “how many restaurants does Tokyo have” is 67,185 on the official establishment count, or 54,465 for the 23 wards. Whether that is the most in the world is a different question, and one that official statistics do not settle. The observations below summarise what the census does show.

Taken together, the three observations point to a reading habit rather than a verdict. A count and a rate answer different questions, and neither one alone describes a city. When the 2026 census results are published, the same two measures can be placed side by side with these 2021 figures, and that comparison is the one I plan to make.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How was “restaurants per 1,000 residents” calculated?

The number of eating and drinking places (JSIC group 76) in Table 6-1 of the 2021 Economic Census for Business Activity was divided by the 2020 Population Census population as of October 1, 2020, and multiplied by 1,000. For Okinawa: 8,522 divided by 1,467,480 times 1,000 equals 5.81. The two counts are eight months apart.

Q2. Does the figure include cafes, bars and fast food?

Yes. JSIC group 76 covers general restaurants, specialty restaurants such as sushi, ramen and yakiniku, noodle shops, cafes, bars, pubs and hamburger outlets, as long as customers eat or drink on the premises. Takeaway-only and delivery-only outlets are group 77 and are not included in this article’s figures.

Q3. Is Tokyo really the city with the most restaurants in the world?

Official statistics cannot answer that. Japan’s census gives a precise count for Tokyo, but other countries use different classifications, different survey methods and different city boundaries. Comparisons published online usually rely on review sites or directories, which are not official sources. This article limits itself to the Japanese census figures.

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