With branches from Hokkaido to Okinawa, Chao-Chao Gyoza offers Chinese dumplings that are more than a cut above the rest. The chain’s remarkably fresh namesake gyoza (¥297) arrive not in individual lumps, but strung together like a rack of ribs. The “luxurious crab and shrimp long-bar gyoza” (kani to ebi zeitaku rongu bo gyoza, ¥399) is just as described, while the thick-cut bacon (atsugiri bacon, ¥491) is purely addictive. While there’s no English menu, there are lots of pictures.

Find the nearest branch here: www.gyozaya.com/chao/shop/