Your big brekkie comes in ramen form at Kissaten, a Japanese-inspired cafe in leafy Alphington surrounds.Find a rotating menu of seasonal and sustainable bowls, from a broth-served-separate tsukemen with pickled sardines to a vegan mushroom rendition with charred bullhorn chilli. Heat-and-eat ramen shop Gomi Boys opens a permanent space in Brunswick.Follow the luminous red thread downstairs. The space was once an extension of the Japanese fine diner on Flinders Lane, but now it’s got its own identity – and menu. Now Open: It’s deluxe sashimi platters and nori Martinis at Ototo, Akaiito’s new underground izakaya.At the minimalist, timber-clad bolthole, sip a mesmerising matcha latte and snack on a Mork cake while you shop a carefully curated range of bespoke ceramics and glassware from Japan. Now Open: Hikari, a new pint-sized Japanese coffee and homewares shop in the CBD.Inside a Prahran cafe, it takes just 12 diners a day (and books out fast), but you can try Arnaud Laidebeur’s beautifully presented sushi by pre-ordering a takeaway box. There are only six seats and three dishes at Uminono, a tiny chirashi bar by a classically trained French chef.What started as an under-the-radar lockdown pop-up at Shujinko is now a fully fledged ramen restaurant. Di Stasio executive chef Federico Congiu is just as proficient in Japanese cooking as he is in Italian. Now Open: Slurp lobster-topped or truffle-infused ramen at Parco, a snug new spot in Moonee Ponds.Push the boat out with the $285 omakase experience featuring 15-plus dishes, including A5 Wagyu tartare topped with caviar and charry Josper-grilled Kobe beef steaks. In South Yarra, Yakikami is a fiery and flashy (in both senses of the word) new Japanese barbeque restaurant – with dedicated yakitori tables – from the team behind Wagyu Ya and Niku Ou.It’s an extension of West Melbourne local favourite Fuumi Fuumi. Get the pillow-soft milk bread by the whole or half loaf, in a classic katsu sando, or slathered with peanut butter and brûléed banana. First Look: Everything revolves around shokupan at South Yarra’s new Japanese bakery Fuumi.Tucked unassumingly beneath an apartment building, ex-Kisume and Nobu chef Ken Ibuki is carrying on his father’s legacy with yakitori served every which way and a diverse selection of sake by the glass.

The Japanese art of robatayaki (or fireside cooking) takes centre stage at Brunswick East’s Kura.The breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet comes in many different forms – in fluffy katsu sandos, in warming katsu curries, or with rice, cabbage and thick, dark homemade tonkatsu sauce. Now Open: Twice-fried tonkatsu is king at Ichi Katsu, Glen Waverley’s lively new Japanese diner.

Miyagi sushi