Shabu-shabu is thinly sliced meat swished for a few seconds through a pot of broth at your table, then dipped in a sauce, usually ponzu or sesame. In Tokyo you can have it as Kobe beef in a 1960s Roppongi dining room or as a 90-minute buffet under Tokyo Station, and the price runs from about 1,100 yen to over 40,000 yen. The small print varies just as much: service charges from nothing to 12 percent, time limits of 80 to 120 minutes, seat charges and a late-night surcharge.
This page covers eight shabu-shabu restaurants and chains and reports only what each one says on its own website: prices, time limits, children, booking and cancellation. It is not a ranking. If you came for the sweeter, egg-dipped hot pot, our sukiyaki in Tokyo guide covers eight sukiyaki restaurants the same way.
Shabu-shabu in Tokyo at a glance
| Restaurant | Area | Cheapest shabu-shabu | Time limit | Extra charge | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ningyocho Imahan Ginza | Ginza | 7,150 yen lunch | None | 12% all day | TableCheck, phone |
| Zakuro Ginza | Ginza | 3,850 yen lunch | None | 10% | Phone only |
| Seryna Roppongi | Roppongi | 15,400 yen wagyu and crab | None | 10% | Phone, TableCheck |
| Kisoji Ginza 5-chome | Ginza | 4,840 yen weekday lunch | None | 10% at dinner | Online, phone |
| MO-MO-PARADISE | Shinjuku | 4,180 yen weekday lunch buffet | 100 min | 1,100 yen seat charge rule | TableCheck, phone |
| Onyasai | Shinjuku | 3,608 yen dinner buffet | 120 or 100 min | None stated | Online, phone |
| Shabuyo (chain) | Many branches | 1,099 yen weekday lunch | 80 to 100 min | 10% after 22:00 | Online |
| Tajimaya Yaechika | Tokyo Station | 1,150 yen lunch | 60 to 90 min | None stated | Online, phone |
How shabu-shabu is served at a Tokyo restaurant
Shabu-shabu vs sukiyaki: what is the difference?
Both are beef hot pots cooked at the table, and several restaurants here serve both. The difference is in the pot and the dip. MO-MO-PARADISE puts it simply on its menu: the meat and vegetables are quickly dipped into the soup and served with ponzu or sesame sauce. Sukiyaki is simmered in a sweet soy broth and each piece is dipped in raw egg. Ningyocho Imahan’s Ginza courses let you choose either one.
How to eat shabu-shabu, step by step
MO-MO-PARADISE publishes the clearest guide. Heat the broth until the surface ripples gently but does not boil. Add the meat one slice at a time with the serving chopsticks or tongs and swish it back and forth three or four times until it is just slightly pink. Eat the first bite with ponzu, and switch to the richer sesame sauce after that. After about two plates of meat, add the vegetables to the pot.
Ningyocho Imahan goes further: it says the meat is ready the moment it passes through the broth, and that a quick cook that leaves some pink is what it recommends. It suggests wrapping the vegetables in the meat, and finishing with Chinese-style noodles cooked in the broth, which by then carries the flavor of everything before it.
The sauces differ by restaurant
Sesame sauce is where restaurants put their own stamp. Zakuro says its sesame sauce is its own recipe, with a slightly spicy kick. Kisoji describes a secret sesame sauce blended from several ingredients, including peanuts and walnuts, which matters if you have a nut allergy.
Historic and high-end shabu-shabu in Tokyo
Ningyocho Imahan Ginza: a 12 percent charge, all day
Ningyocho Imahan was founded in 1895 as a beef hot pot restaurant; its Ginza branch is on the fifth floor of the Kojun Building, five minutes from Ginza Station, exit A2. Dinner shabu-shabu is 9,900 yen for 120 grams of top-grade beef and 18,920 yen for 150 grams of its highest grade, with a rice set at 1,100 yen. Courses with either shabu-shabu or sukiyaki run from 16,060 to 23,980 yen. Lunch sets, served 11:30 to 15:00, are 7,150 to 15,290 yen, and weekend lunch bookings start at 7,150 yen per adult. Prices include tax, but a 12 percent service charge and a private room fee apply all day, booked or not; the restaurant raised its service charge to 12 percent on June 1, 2026. The last course order is at 20:00.
Book through TableCheck or on 03-3571-5333; walk-ins are possible, but you may wait. Children’s meals need booking three days ahead: a bento at 4,620 yen or a children’s sukiyaki at 4,290 yen. It takes major cards including UnionPay, PayPay and transit IC cards, the whole restaurant is non-smoking, and private rooms seat 2 to 16. Its English site has a concierge reservation link.
Zakuro Ginza: phone bookings only, and a charcoal pot
Zakuro, founded in 1955, says it was the first Japanese restaurant to introduce shabu-shabu in Tokyo. Its Ginza branch, one minute from Ginza Station exit A8, is the only one of its restaurants that still uses its original charcoal-heated pot. Zakuro lists prices before tax, with the total in brackets. At dinner, table seats only, a domestic beef or pork shabu-shabu set is 6,800 yen, or 8,228 yen with tax and its 10 percent service charge. Japanese Black beef sets are 14,520 yen for A4 and 18,150 yen for A5 in those totals, A5 Kobe beef is 31,460 yen, and a Kobe beef platter set is 43,560 yen. Drinks and extra dishes are charged on top.
Lunch is 3,850 yen with tax for 120 grams and 4,950 yen for 180 grams, plus 10 percent service at tables and in rooms. When we read the lunch page it still showed a New Year holiday notice, so confirm the lunch prices before you go. Private rooms cost 3,300 to 11,000 yen at lunch. Bookings are by phone only, on 03-3535-4421 from 10:30 to 21:00, and same-day course bookings are accepted. A children’s bento is 2,750 yen and must be booked by the day before.
Seryna Roppongi: Kobe beef and crab since 1961
Seryna, established in 1961, calls itself a specialist in Kobe beef and crab shabu-shabu. The main restaurant is a minute from Roppongi Station on the Oedo Line, exit 5, or three minutes from the Hibiya Line, exit 3. Its menu lists Kobe beef shabu-shabu at 28,600 yen and a wagyu and crab shabu-shabu from 15,400 yen, both including tax, with 10 percent service on top. Lunch and dinner course prices are published only on its booking platform, so we have not listed them. It opens at 12:00, has no parking, and charges a private room fee.
Book on 03-3402-1051 from 11:00 or online. Seryna also says it does not recommend bookings made through automated AI phone services. Its cancellation policy is one of the clearest: inside 24 hours, a table-only booking costs 5,500 yen per person at lunch and 11,000 yen at dinner, a course costs 100 percent, and there is no fee if public transport is suspended or the weather makes it hard to come.
A mid-priced shabu-shabu restaurant in Ginza
Kisoji Ginza 5-chome: set prices, and new prices from October 1
Kisoji is a chain of Japanese restaurants founded in 1966, and its Ginza 5-chome branch is on the fifth floor of the building with Prada Ginza on the ground floor. It is a set-meal restaurant rather than a buffet. From October 1, dinner shabu-shabu with 120 grams of meat is 5,940 yen for the jo grade, 7,040 yen for the toku grade and 9,900 yen for Matsusaka beef, all with tax; until September 30 the toku grade was 6,820 yen. Weekday lunch shabu-shabu is 4,840 yen or 5,940 yen. Dinner carries a 10 percent service charge on every seat; at lunch it applies only to private rooms on weekends and holidays, and every seat pays it from January 1 to 4.
Book online through the branch page or on 03-3574-8806. A children’s set is 2,200 yen and must be booked, and there is a low-allergen children’s set made without eight major allergens, including egg, milk, wheat and peanuts. It is open every day and seats 120. Its English site is a machine translation.
All-you-can-eat shabu-shabu in Tokyo
MO-MO-PARADISE Shinjuku: 100 minutes and a seat charge
MO-MO-PARADISE opened in Kabukicho in 1993 as an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and sukiyaki restaurant. Its Shinjuku Higashiguchi branch is one minute from Shinjuku-sanchome Station. Every buffet is 100 minutes. Dinner courses are 4,950, 6,380 and 9,680 yen with tax, plus 220 yen per person for two kinds of soup, and the weekday lunch buffet course is 4,180 yen. The whole table orders the same course and broth, and anyone who orders no pot pays a 1,100 yen seat charge.
At dinner, children are 550 yen for ages 4 to 6 and 2,200 yen for 7 to 12, and diners 65 and over get 550 yen off. Book online through TableCheck or on 050-1807-6990. It takes cards, PayPay, Alipay and WeChat Pay, and the menu is in Japanese and English. It is the one place here that says a vegetarian menu is available, and the branch lists vegan requests as possible; for more, see our vegetarian restaurants in Tokyo. The chain’s site announces a “final event” at the Kabukicho flagship, so use another branch.
Onyasai Shinjuku: from 3,608 yen, and ask about the time limit
Onyasai is an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu chain. Its menu lists dinner buffets from 3,608 yen with tax for beef, rising to 5,478 yen for Japanese Black beef and 7,128 yen for its marbled Japanese Black course, with 120 minutes and last order at 90. But the Shinjuku Higashiguchi Ekimae branch page lists both a 100-minute and a 120-minute buffet, and the chain says some branches have different menus and prices, so check the limit when you sit down. This branch opens only in the evening, from 17:00 on weekdays and 16:00 at weekends.
Children under elementary school age eat free, elementary school children pay half, and diners 60 and over get 500 yen off. All-you-can-drink is 1,848 yen with alcohol or 748 yen for soft drinks. Book online or on 050-1726-1797; it takes cards, QR code payments and transit IC cards. Onyasai publishes no cancellation policy for this branch.
Cheap shabu-shabu in Tokyo
Shabuyo: the cheapest, with rules that change by the hour
Shabuyo is a nationwide buffet chain with many Tokyo branches. We could read its chain menu but not individual branch pages, so these are chain-level facts. It publishes prices before tax. A weekday two-plate pork lunch is listed at 1,099 yen with tax, but not at every branch. Weekday lunch buffets are 1,499 to 3,599 yen before tax, about 1,650 to 3,960 yen with tax; weekday dinners are 1,899 to 4,199 yen before tax and weekend dinners 2,099 to 4,399 yen. Central branches add 110 yen with tax.
The time limits are the part to understand: at weekday lunch there is no time limit until 16:00, except that orders after 14:40 get 80 minutes; weekend lunch is 80 minutes; and from 16:00 it is 100 minutes. Orders placed after 22:00 carry a 10 percent late-night charge. The whole group orders the same course. Preschool children eat free and elementary school children pay a reduced price, but children cannot come in without an adult. There are high chairs, and you can bring baby food.
Tajimaya Yaechika: 1,150 yen lunch at Tokyo Station
This branch of Tajimaya is in the Yaesu underground mall, connected directly to Tokyo Station and four minutes from Kyobashi and Nihonbashi stations. Its official page is hosted on a restaurant website service, OWST, rather than its own domain, and labeled as official. Lunch, ordered from 11:00 to 15:59, starts at 1,150 yen with tax for all-you-can-eat meat, vegetables, rice and ice cream, with the drink bar 220 yen extra; 60- and 90-minute meat buffets are 2,400 and 2,800 yen. Dinner buffets are 90 minutes, with a soft drink bar: 3,000 yen for pork, 4,200 yen for the house course, 5,900 yen with Japanese Black beef and 7,700 yen with A5 Sendai beef.
Children are priced by course, for example 2,400 yen for elementary school children and 600 yen for younger children on the house course. It is open 11:00 to 22:00 every day except January 1, non-smoking, and says solo diners are welcome. Book online or on 03-5203-2099 between 10:00 and 20:00. It takes cards, transit IC cards, PayPay, Alipay and WeChat Pay. For other casual dinners near the station, our izakaya guide covers the drinking-and-eating side of Tokyo.
What shabu-shabu costs in Tokyo, lunch and dinner
Lunch price ladders
| Restaurant | Lunch shabu-shabu, as published |
|---|---|
| Ningyocho Imahan Ginza | 7,150 to 15,290 yen with tax, plus 12% |
| Zakuro Ginza | 3,850 / 4,950 yen with tax, plus 10% (check the page) |
| Kisoji Ginza 5-chome | Weekdays 4,840 / 5,940 yen with tax |
| MO-MO-PARADISE | Weekday buffet course 4,180 yen with tax, 100 minutes |
| Shabuyo | 1,099 yen two-plate lunch; buffets 1,499 to 3,599 yen before tax |
| Tajimaya Yaechika | From 1,150 yen; 60 minutes 2,400 yen; 90 minutes 2,800 yen |
Seryna publishes its lunch courses only on its booking platform, and the Onyasai branch here does not open for lunch.
Dinner price ladders
At dinner the historic restaurants climb with the beef grade: Zakuro from 8,228 to 43,560 yen with tax and service; Ningyocho Imahan from 9,900 yen for the pot alone to 23,980 yen for a course, before its 12 percent; Seryna 28,600 yen for Kobe beef before 10 percent. Kisoji runs from 5,940 to 9,900 yen before service. The buffets are cheaper: Shabuyo from 1,899 yen before tax, Tajimaya from 3,000 yen, Onyasai from 3,608 yen and MO-MO-PARADISE from 4,950 yen. For wagyu beyond the hot pot, our wagyu in Tokyo guide covers steak and yakiniku.
Opening hours, where the restaurants publish them
Ningyocho Imahan Ginza opens 11:30 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:00, closing December 31 and January 1. Zakuro opens 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:00 on weekdays, with lunch until 16:00 at weekends. Seryna opens 12:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:30 on weekdays and all day at weekends. Kisoji opens 11:00 to 15:00 and from 17:00 every day. MO-MO-PARADISE serves lunch 11:30 to 15:00 and dinner 17:00 to 22:30. Shabuyo says hours vary by branch. Check the official page on the day.
Booking shabu-shabu in Tokyo: children, cancellation and payment
How to book
Ningyocho Imahan, Seryna and MO-MO-PARADISE use TableCheck as well as the phone; Kisoji, Onyasai, Shabuyo and Tajimaya have their own online booking. Zakuro is phone only, on 03-3535-4421, for bookings and cancellations alike. Imahan asks weekend lunch bookings to spend at least 7,150 yen per adult, and Kisoji sets a minimum course price for private rooms.
Children
The buffet chains are the easy choice with children: Shabuyo and Onyasai let preschoolers eat free, and Tajimaya and MO-MO-PARADISE have children’s prices. At the sit-down restaurants, children’s meals must be booked ahead: three days ahead at Ningyocho Imahan, the day before at Zakuro, and in advance at Kisoji. Seryna does not mention children on its site.
Cancellation fees
Ningyocho Imahan charges 100 percent of the food for a same-day cancellation and 11,000 yen per person for a table-only booking. Zakuro charges 50 percent on the day and 100 percent for a no-show. Kisoji asks for two days’ notice and charges 50 percent the day before and 100 percent on the day. Tajimaya charges 100 percent of a course from 10:00 on the day, or 1,000 yen per table-only booking. Most also treat you as a no-show after 15 or 30 minutes. MO-MO-PARADISE charges no fee as a rule, and Onyasai and Shabuyo publish none.
Paying, and what to wear
Ningyocho Imahan, MO-MO-PARADISE, Onyasai and Tajimaya list cards and QR payments, and Shabuyo says cards, e-money and barcode payments work at all branches. Zakuro, Seryna and Kisoji do not list payment methods in text, so ask when you book. None of the eight states a dress code on its site.
Which shabu-shabu restaurant in Tokyo suits you?
For Kobe beef and a sense of history, Seryna in Roppongi or Zakuro in Ginza, which says it introduced shabu-shabu to Tokyo. For a historic name with the option of sukiyaki in the same course, Ningyocho Imahan. For a proper sit-down meal at a mid price, Kisoji. For a group or a family on a budget, the buffets: Shabuyo is the cheapest, Tajimaya is the easiest from Tokyo Station, and MO-MO-PARADISE has the vegetarian menu. For the story behind the most famous beef on these menus, see our Kobe beef guide, and for guided eating, our Tokyo food tour guide.
(For the hot pot that sumo wrestlers eat: our chanko nabe in Tokyo guide notes that two of its six restaurants take hot pot orders only for two portions or more.)
Frequently asked questions
How much does shabu-shabu cost in Tokyo?
What is the difference between shabu-shabu and sukiyaki?
How do you eat shabu-shabu?
How long do I get at all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu?
Do shabu-shabu restaurants in Tokyo add a service charge?
Can I bring children to shabu-shabu in Tokyo?
Do I need to book, and what if I cancel?
Is there vegetarian shabu-shabu in Tokyo?
Bottom line (2026): Shabu-shabu in Tokyo runs from a 1,150 yen buffet lunch at Tajimaya by Tokyo Station to a 43,560 yen Kobe beef set at Zakuro in Ginza. The buffets give you 80 to 120 minutes; the historic restaurants add a service charge, 12 percent at Ningyocho Imahan. Zakuro books by phone only, and MO-MO-PARADISE charges 1,100 yen to anyone who orders no pot.
Sources
Every price and rule on this page is from the restaurants’ and chains’ own websites and menus: Ningyocho Imahan Ginza, Ningyocho Imahan Ginza menu, Ningyocho Imahan on shabu-shabu, Zakuro Ginza, Zakuro Ginza dinner menu, Zakuro Ginza lunch menu, Seryna Roppongi, Seryna cancellation policy, Kisoji Ginza 5-chome, Kisoji menu, Kisoji cancellation policy, MO-MO-PARADISE Shinjuku Higashiguchi, MO-MO-PARADISE how to enjoy, Onyasai Shinjuku Higashiguchi Ekimae, Onyasai all-you-can-eat menu, Shabuyo, Tajimaya Yaechika, Tajimaya Yaechika courses, all read on September 25, 2026. MO-MO-PARADISE publishes its prices in PDF menus linked from its branch page, and Shabuyo’s prices come from the menu data its official site loads. Menus and prices change, so confirm on the official site before you go.
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