Tokyo’s top pizzaioli have raised the city to the upper crust

On a Wednesday afternoon in late April, RistoPizza by Napoli Sta Ca is in full motion. Tucked into a corner of the third floor of the Azabudai Hills Tower Plaza, the dining room clamors with the lunch crowd, every seat filled, the oven barely afforded a pause to cool.

Giuseppe Errichiello — not a chef, he insists, but a pizzaiolo — hoists onto the counter the signature Don Salvo, a star-shaped, salami-stuffed crust pizza (a miniature tattoo version sits permanently on the inside of his left wrist). Regulars linger for photos and for Errichiello’s colorful anecdotes in both Italian and English — most recently, stories of slinging pizzas from sunup to sundown at billionaire Anant Ambani’s birthday bash weeks earlier in the western Indian city of Jamnagar.

The buzzing atmosphere at Errichiello’s restaurant reflects the rising profile of Japan-based pies. In March, Tokyo claimed seven spots on the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific list, including RistoPizza by Napoli Sta Ca at No. 1 and The Pizza Bar on 38th, which previously held top honors from 2023 to 2025, at No. 2.