Arashiyama, an area located northern part of Kyoto, is very famous area for tourist. This is not only because of their food stalls hat stand in the narrow street of the area, but also because of the bamboo forest that depicts the simple but sophisticated Japanese beauty.
The area is visited by many tourists, including Muslims, but there is so far only one Muslim-friendly restaurant as of 2025. Yoshiya Okunoniwa is the name of the restaurant and you need to note this name for your visit to Arashiyama!
Check this article for the list of Muslim-friendly restaurants in Kyoto.
What do they offer at Yoshiya?
Yoshiya is an authentic Japanese restaurant, whose menu is also based on Japanese traditional recipe. The restaurant, however, prepares not only Japanese traditional dishes cooked with Tofu and vegetables, but also some meat products arranged to Japanese style.
This is because the restaurant is ready to welcome wide range of people, including Muslims and vegetarians. These tourists tend to choose something made from meat, fried, with strong flavors.
The restaurant is officially Halal-certified, and they try their best to offer various food menus.
They have Halal Shabu-Shabu, Sukiyaki and even eel. A perfect place for those who want to try traditional Japanese cuisine.
How is their taste?
We have sent a large group to various Halal and Muslim-friendly restaurants in Japan. Yoshiya Okunoniwa, was the most popular Japanese restaurants of all!
The taste meets everyone’s palate, and the great thing is that they look pretty great in the eyes, too. The meal looks great with colorful vegetables while using Japanese attention-to-detail technique.
The hot pot is served hot using a small candle beneath the pot itself. The tempura is served with Matcha salt, which is to make sure to avoid Mirin alcoholic seasoning.
Details of the restaurant
There are some branches of Yoshiya, but so far Okunoniwa, which is located in Arashiyama is the only restaurant that serves Halal dining experience.
The restaurant can fit as many as 50 people, and has a small prayer space, too. The prayer space, however, is only available when the restaurant is not too busy.
