Shikairo Chinese Restaurant

Shikairo rises above Matsugaemachi, on the slope linking the harbour with Glover Garden. The restaurant opened in 1899 and credits its founder, Chen Ping Shun, with creating champon and sara udon as nourishing food for Chinese students and compatriots in Nagasaki. That history gives lunch a local dimension: it is not only a bowl of noodles, but a way into a cuisine shaped by exchange between Chinese and Japanese communities in a port city.

Champon brings together noodles, chicken-and-pork broth, vegetables and seafood. Sara udon changes the format to noodles topped with stir-fried ingredients and sauce, with thin or thicker noodles depending on the version. The menu includes individual dishes and set meals. From the fifth-floor panoramic dining room, the harbour and Mount Inasa fill the view. A small champon museum on the second floor explains the dish’s roots and is free to visit; the ground-floor shop sells local Nagasaki products.

Diners’ comments often converge on the setting: the view, the historical story and a broth many find flavourful, with generous vegetables and seafood. The trade-off is the queue, which some describe as close to an hour even after arriving early; others find the broth mild or prefer sara udon. It is a popular destination and ordinary restaurant reservations are not accepted, so arrive before noon or avoid scheduling a tight onward connection.

The address is 4-5 Matsugaemachi, a short walk from Oura Cathedral tram stop and about 15 minutes by tram from Nagasaki Station with a transfer at Shinchi Chinatown. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner, but last entry may move earlier when it is busy; the official calendar posts occasional closing dates. After Glover Garden, the slope leads towards the harbour and Shikairo’s tall building. It is a scenic, history-rich choice if queue time is built into the visit.