When people hear the phrase “eating insects,” many may feel surprised or even uneasy. However, edible insects are now gaining global recognition as a sustainable source of protein. In the face of challenges such as climate change and population growth, insects, which have a low environmental impact, are being recommended by the United Nations as a promising food of the future.
While edible insects are gaining attention in Western countries as an alternative protein source, Japan has a long-standing tradition of insect consumption, particularly in rural regions, where foods like grasshoppers and bee larvae have been eaten for generations. In recent years, a new wave of insect-based cuisine has emerged, blending traditional knowledge with modern design and storytelling elements. This shift is gradually sparking interest, especially in urban areas.
Amid this growing momentum, a restaurant in Tokyo has opened, offering diners the chance to experience insect cuisine as a form of gastronomy. Far from being a novelty, this restaurant offers a place where guests can savor the taste, aesthetics, and philosophy behind insect-based dishes, attracting attention from both domestic and international audiences. In this article, we explore how the restaurant ANTCICADA is redefining the value of edible insects.
ANTCICADA Ramen Restaurant Overview
Source: ANTCICADA Homepage
Located in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, ANTCICADA is a restaurant that puts insects at the heart of its cuisine. By day, it serves cricket ramen. By night, it offers a reservation-only multi-course menu that highlights the bounty of nature, including edible insects, wild plants, and game meat, creating a true culinary adventure.
Based on Tabelog review data, the average price range is 3,000-3,999 yen for dinner and 1,000-1,999 yen for lunch.
Rather than focusing on shock value or appearance, ANTCICADA takes a thoughtful approach that emphasizes flavor, cultural context, and the stories behind each ingredient. This philosophy has earned attention from food enthusiasts and sustainability-minded diners both in Japan and abroad.
More than just a place to eat, ANTCICADA is an immersive, sensory-rich experience. Every detail, from the space and scents to the presentation, is designed to engage all five senses. Under the concept of “Tasting the Earth,” the restaurant aims to expand the possibilities of edible insects and foster a new food culture.
ANTCICADA’s At-Home Cricket Ramen (4 Servings)
At-Home Cricket Ramen is a frozen ramen product that allows you to enjoy ANTCICADA’s signature Cricket Ramen at home or in the office.
It features a soup made from two types of crickets, a sauce prepared with fermented “cricket soy sauce,” a specially crafted “cricket oil,” and unique noodles made by kneading powdered crickets directly into the dough.
Each serving uses approximately 100 crickets, and the price is 5,400 yen (tax included).
This product is recommended for those interested in the future of food and sustainable cuisine, as well as industry professionals focused on food tech and alternative proteins. It also appeals to people in the food service and product development fields, and to curious, trend-conscious consumers seeking new and distinctive food experiences.
What Makes ANTCICADA Unique
One of ANTCICADA’s defining features is its focus on creating an experience, not just serving food. Many customers describe the restaurant as “fun,” and having a physical space allows conversations with guests to emerge naturally and frequently.
The founder believes that understanding the story behind a dish is just as important as its taste. For this reason, staff take time to carefully explain insects as ingredients through conversation, helping guests reconsider and gradually change their preconceived notions.
In fact, many regular customers who visit weekly for cricket ramen initially felt uncomfortable with the idea of eating insects. However, after experiencing the flavors and learning the story behind the food, their perceptions begin to shift. Some guests start cautiously, then go on to try additional dishes and drinks, eventually remarking, “Insects are actually fascinating.” In some cases, this change extends beyond the restaurant, influencing how they view insects in everyday life.
ANTCICADA is not simply a place that serves insect-based cuisine. It is a space where perspectives are transformed through food, offering a unique, dialogue-driven experience unlike any other.
The Founder’s First Encounter with Edible Insects and His Adolescent Struggles
Behind the creation of ANTCICADA is founder Yuta Shinohara’s firm belief that insects can become ingredients that move people. Having grown up surrounded by nature and insects, Shinohara began incorporating edible insects into his everyday life as early as elementary school. What started as a childhood curiosity with a desire to taste the Earth in its entirety eventually evolved into his life’s work.
While attending university, Shinohara studied insect-based food cultures both in Japan and abroad, and also cooked and tasted crickets, locusts, water bugs, and more. What he came to realize during this time was a frustrating dilemma. Although insects are genuinely delicious, they are not adequately appreciated. Despite the growing global interest in insects as a sustainable food source, many people still see them as strange or off-putting, which makes them hesitant even to try.
To overcome this barrier, Shinohara realized that it would take more than just highlighting the flavor or nutritional value of insects. He believed that genuine appreciation would also require culinary refinement, cultural context, and visual beauty. After graduating, he trained at renowned restaurants to hone his skills. He learned presentation and technique at a Michelin-starred restaurant and gained hands-on experience at a ramen shop to better understand the atmosphere of a working kitchen. In 2019, he opened ANTCICADA as an immersive dining experience that engages all five senses, creating a space to showcase the untapped potential of edible insects.
ANTCICADA’s Collaborative Projects
Kokuhaku Co., Ltd. jointly developed the insect-based dressing brand “TWO THIRDS” with Team ANTCICADA. Made with carefully selected, domestically sourced crickets, the product lineup features two varieties—French and Japanese styles—offering a unique approach to dressing development. The flavors were refined through repeated test tastings in collaboration with chefs from popular restaurants, resulting in a high level of quality.
Guided by the concept of “bringing insect-based food closer through design,” the brand adopts a simple bottle design that blends naturally into everyday dining. By reducing the psychological barriers often associated with insect-based ingredients, the product facilitates easy adoption within the familiar condiment category.
This initiative is expected to be valuable not only for the food and foodservice industries but also for retailers seeking sustainable products, lifestyle brands, and the hotel and tourism sectors. By combining environmental responsibility with strong storytelling, the brand demonstrates potential to create new value across multiple industries.
The Ideal Insect Workshop Behind Flavor and Safety – A Commitment to Quality
At ANTCICADA, the menu ranges from full-course meals featuring crickets, silkworms, and locusts to lunch offerings like cricket ramen. The restaurant also creates a variety of artisanal condiments, such as silkworm XO sauce and locust chili oil, showcasing the versatility of edible insects.
One of ANTCICADA’s top priorities is the quality and safety of the insects it uses. The restaurant sources its ingredients exclusively from domestic cricket farms that operate under HACCP-compliant hygiene standards. All insects undergo testing by the Japan Food Research Laboratories to ensure they meet the requirements of the Food Sanitation Act.
Additional measures include metal detector screening to prevent foreign-object contamination and strict fermentation and temperature control, in collaboration with partner breweries, for products such as cricket soy sauce and other condiments. This rigorous quality system forms the foundation of trust, allowing both restaurant guests and online customers to enjoy insect-based foods with confidence.
Deliciousness and Wonder: A Sincere Pursuit of Edible Insects
Source: ANTCICADA Homepage
Shinohara's biggest challenge was understanding why the public didn’t accept edible insects. Globally, insects are gaining attention as an alternative protein source and are even recommended by the United Nations as a potential solution to future food shortages. However, in Japan and many other countries, people still associate insects with negative impressions such as being gross, scary, or unhygienic. As a result, insect-based foods have yet to find a place in everyday meals.
Shinohara’s answer to this challenge was to create experiences that move the heart. He realized that facts alone, such as nutritional value or environmental benefits, are not enough to make people truly appreciate food. That is why he focused on delivering an experience that engages the senses and emotions. Through visually stunning presentation, rich aromas, and storytelling-driven dishes, he aimed to create a space where people could genuinely feel that this is delicious and fun.
ANTCICADA is not just treating insects as food of the future but also working to reframe them as ingredients that are already highly appealing. This effort can be seen as a reinvention of food, rooted in harmony with nature. Rather than positioning insects merely as substitutes, the restaurant redefines them as ingredients at the intersection of culture, art, and sustainability, challenging conventional perspectives. This philosophy reflects the founder’s core belief at the heart of ANTCICADA.
The Real Adventure Begins Now: Future Vision and What Lies Ahead
Moving forward, ANTCICADA plans to expand its “food adventure further” while nurturing a more profound cultural appreciation for edible insects. In addition to offering multi-course meals and cricket ramen at the restaurant, the team will continue to grow its educational outreach through workshops and training sessions for schools and companies.
The online availability of products such as the “Cricket Ramen at Home” kit and insect-based condiments will also be strengthened, giving more people the chance to experience the connection between nature and food in their own homes. ANTCICADA is also working with educational institutions and local governments to promote edible insects as a tool for food education, aiming to build broader social understanding and integrate insect-based cuisine into everyday life.
From Home to the World: How ANTCICADA Is Bringing Edible Insects into Everyday Life
ANTCICADA’s edible insect experience is now expanding into various areas, including home dining. One standout example is the “Cricket Ramen at Home” kit, which allows people to recreate the restaurant’s popular menu item in their kitchens. Thanks to word-of-mouth on social media and review sites, this product has drawn increasing interest and orders from overseas.
Known for its rich umami and roasted aroma, the ramen makes a strong impression by using the equivalent of about 100 crickets per bowl. Its bold concept and high-quality flavor have earned praise for satisfying both curiosity and the palate.
ANTCICADA is also gaining attention in the field of education. Insect-based meals have been introduced in school lunches at elementary and junior high schools, accompanied by special classes and hands-on workshops led by Shinohara himself.
These efforts are creating more opportunities for children to learn about the connection between nature and food. As a new tool for food education, ANTCICADA is also collaborating with local governments and hosting events for parents and children, helping to build meaningful ties with communities.
Collaborations with companies are also gradually expanding. ANTCICADA is partnering with education-focused businesses, agricultural organizations, and environmental NPOs to share its message as a platform for promoting a more sustainable society.
One particularly impactful approach is using edible insects to explore the SDGs through hands-on learning. In addition to presentations and internal corporate training sessions, participants have the opportunity to taste the food themselves, which deepens their understanding through direct experience.
ANTCICADA’s products have been featured in department stores, specialty shops, and international media, earning recognition as a forward-thinking food brand from Japan. Their unique product lineup has also sparked interest within the culinary world, paving the way for larger-scale collaborations. One standout example is the “First Essence Tagame Gin,” developed in partnership with Tatsumi Distillery in Gifu.
This craft gin uses distilled pheromones from male giant water bugs, known for their pear- and green-apple-like aromas, and blends them with botanicals such as juniper berries. As a rare spirit that lets you experience insects through fragrance, it has attracted intense attention both in Japan and abroad.
In this way, ANTCICADA’s efforts go beyond fleeting novelty and are steadily gaining ground as a cultural tool that expands perspectives through food. Its influence is quietly spreading across education, retail, and corporate fields.
Voices of Surprise and Inspiration from Japan and Beyond
In a Food review titled “Cricket Ramen at ANTCICADA: Eating Bugs in Tokyo?” one reviewer admitted, “Ramen with bugs in Tokyo? I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the broth was undeniably ramen.” The soy sauce–based Shiroyura soup, made with the essence of over 100 crickets, was described as nutty and earthy. The reviewer praised it as being on par with traditional ramen in both richness and depth of taste.
Time Out also praised ANTCICADA’s ramen, which uses over 100 crickets per bowl, noting that its satisfaction goes beyond being an “eco-friendly protein source” and instead pursues “genuine deliciousness.” In addition, the international media outlet Khaleej Times, reporting via AFP, described the restaurant as “extremely unique” and noted that the taste exceeded expectations. One comment was that when insects are presented as a carefully crafted dish, people feel they are genuinely “edible,” evoking surprise and appreciation.
As these reactions show, even those who initially feel hesitant about eating insects often find their senses and perceptions transformed through the ANTCICADA experience. Many leave saying they want to try it again or recommend it to others. The restaurant continues to earn high praise through word of mouth, driven by its impact on both taste and imagination.
Achievements and Recognition Built Within Japan
ANTCICADA gained attention early on as a creative, experience-based dining concept led by Shinohara, who trained at Michelin-starred restaurants. Even before its official opening, the project drew interest through pop-up events and experimental initiatives at 100BANCH. After opening, it quickly became a popular spot, with daily lines and consistent demand from curious and enthusiastic diners.
On review sites and blogs, ANTCICADA has received praise for its dishes, with comments noting the noodles’ chewy texture and the soup’s rich, roasted flavor. In particular, the balance between the cricket-infused noodles and broth has been highly rated. Customers have also appreciated the creative use of underutilized fish and game meats alongside insects, recognizing the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability and resourceful cooking.
Not only does it offer a unique edible insect dining experience, but it has also earned high praise for its seamless blend of flavor, experience, and sustainability. Within Japan’s food industry, it has established a solid reputation as a bold, next-generation restaurant.
A Culinary Bridge to the World: The Potential and Appeal of Global Expansion
Source: ANTCICADA Homepage
Experiences at ANTCICADA and its products have attracted international media attention, positioning the brand as a standout example of sustainable Japanese cuisine that combines natural beauty with surprise and flavor.
In particular, their craft condiments and beverages, such as insect-based sauces and gin, are gaining traction among health-conscious consumers in Asia and Western markets because of their unique and ethical appeal.
Looking ahead, ANTCICADA is expected to expand its reach through online exports, appearances at international events, and collaborations with local partners. These efforts aim to raise awareness and increase the consumption of edible insects worldwide.
Conclusion
By shedding light on insects, which have long been seen as something to avoid, and transforming their lives into flavor and emotional impact, ANTCICADA invites us to rethink our values around food. Its approach, which brings together sustainability, culture, and sensory experience at a high level, is made possible by Japan’s unique sensitivity and deep spirit of exploration.
As we move forward, it may become increasingly important to consider not only what we eat but also how we experience it and what meaning we take from it. ANTCICADA will continue to offer these insights in a delicious, engaging, and intellectually stimulating way.
FAQ About ANTCICADA
1. What Kind Of Restaurant Is ANTCICADA?
ANTCICADA is an experiential restaurant that features insect-based cuisine. Using ingredients such as crickets and silkworms, it offers a full sensory “gastronomy experience” that goes beyond taste to include aroma and presentation. Rather than relying on novelty alone, it focuses on delivering value through food culture and the stories behind the ingredients.
2. What Does Insect-Based Food Taste Like?
At ANTCICADA, insects are carefully prepared as culinary ingredients, resulting in dishes with a nutty aroma and rich umami flavor. Reviews often note that the taste is “comparable to regular ramen” and highlight its savory depth, reflecting the high quality of the dishes.
3. Are There Any Hygiene Or Safety Concerns?
The insects used are produced in facilities that comply with HACCP standards and have passed testing by the Japan Food Research Laboratories. Strict controls are also in place to prevent contamination and manage the production process, ensuring they are safe to consume.
4. Is It Easy For First-Timers To Try?
At ANTCICADA, the experience is designed not only for visual impact but also for taste, aroma, and storytelling. Various efforts are made to lower the psychological barrier, making it easier for first-time visitors to enjoy. In fact, many guests say they were hesitant at first but found they could enjoy the food.
5. What Kind Of Menu Is Offered?
During the day, cricket ramen is served, while in the evening, a reservation-only course menu is available. They also offer items such as silkworm XO sauce and grasshopper chili oil, as well as ramen kits that can be enjoyed at home, allowing people to experience insect-based cuisine in a variety of ways.
6. Why Is Insect-Based Food Gaining Attention?
Insects are attracting global interest as a sustainable source of protein with a low environmental impact. At ANTCICADA, the focus goes beyond these functional benefits to include taste and cultural value, presenting insect cuisine as a new and meaningful food experience.
7. Can ANTCICADA’s Insect-Based Food Be Enjoyed Outside The Restaurant?
Yes, products such as cricket ramen kits and seasonings are available through their online shop, making it possible to try insect-based cuisine at home. They are also used in educational programs and workshops, offering opportunities for food education and hands-on learning.
8. Are There Any Collaboration Products Or Menu Items?
Yes, ANTCICADA is involved not only in restaurant operations but also in developing unique products and collaborations. One notable example is First Essence Tagame Gin, created in partnership with Tatsumi Distillery in Gifu. This craft gin captures aroma derived from the pheromones of the giant water bug, resulting in a fruity fragrance reminiscent of pear and green apple.
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If you're interested in how Japan is innovating the future of food, the video below introduces ANTCICADA’s unique approach to edible insects. This video shows how ANTCICADA is redefining food culture by incorporating edible insects into sustainable and creative cuisine.
