"Stretching Your Yen In Tokyo"

[ArmandV]

The link is to a Los Angeles Times article in last Sunday's Travel section concerning food bargains. I wrote the paper mentioning that they forgot to mention the bento box lunches that can be bought at train stations.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-tokyo14jan14,1,1531415.story?coll=la-travel-headlines

What other food bargains do you know of that could have been mentioned?

[Goldiegirl]

Good article. Noodles seem to be the least expensive, and really tasty too. I love going into the convenience stores. I like to look at everything. I don't know why but I just find them really fascinating. Maybe it's the really ultra bright lights that draws me in. For a quick snack there are always the vending machines! The corn soup isn't bad. :)

[Pachipro]

Just about any restaurant located in the "food courts" of major Japanese department stores will get you a meal for a reasonable price. Also, any of the "Mom & Pop" restaurants located in, and outside of, the major cities will get you meals like tonkatusu (pork cutlet) complete with rice, soup and salad at a decent price. Anywhere from 700 yen on up. And 100 yen/plate sushi places are still popular.

In my opinion it is really not that expensive to eat out in Japan if one knows where to go.

[ArmandV]

Just about any restaurant located in the "food courts" of major Japanese department stores will get you a meal for a reasonable price. Also, any of the "Mom & Pop" restaurants located in, and outside of, the major cities will get you meals like tonkatusu (pork cutlet) complete with rice, soup and salad at a decent price. Anywhere from 700 yen on up. And 100 yen/plate sushi places are still popular.
In my opinion it is really not that expensive to eat out in Japan if one knows where to go.

A year ago I found a nice little mom & pop sushi restaurant a block away from my hotel in Ueno (near Inaricho station) that had reasonable prices. I was able to get a nice platter of assorted sushi for ･900. Then, in April I found a revolving sushi restaurant in Hibiya park. I treated a friend to lunch and the tab was under ･3,000. I thought that was reasonable since we both pigged out.

[Anohito]

Just about any restaurant located in the "food courts" of major Japanese department stores will get you a meal for a reasonable price. Also, any of the "Mom & Pop" restaurants located in, and outside of, the major cities will get you meals like tonkatusu (pork cutlet) complete with rice, soup and salad at a decent price. Anywhere from 700 yen on up. And 100 yen/plate sushi places are still popular.
In my opinion it is really not that expensive to eat out in Japan if one knows where to go.
I agree that it's not really that difficult to find reasonably priced restaurants in Japan. To a considerable extent, it's mainly a matter of keeping your eyes open and choosing carefully. A good general rule is that smaller, non-fancy restaurants tend to have reasonable prices. Also, many train stations will have at least a few reasonable restaurants in the vicinity. Finally, while it is true that some expensive restaurants have a few samples in a case at the entrance, the restaurants that have large displays of samples will nearly always have reasonable prices, which will be posted with the samples.

[ArmandV]

I agree that it's not really that difficult to find reasonably priced restaurants in Japan. To a considerable extent, it's mainly a matter of keeping your eyes open and choosing carefully. A good general rule is that smaller, non-fancy restaurants tend to have reasonable prices. Also, many train stations will have at least a few reasonable restaurants in the vicinity. Finally, while it is true that some expensive restaurants have a few samples in a case at the entrance, the restaurants that have large displays of samples will nearly always have reasonable prices, which will be posted with the samples.

Exactly! I think the article was for the "novice" who has no experience in traveling to Tokyo.

[Anohito]

I know of some online resources for restaurants in Tokyo, but I can't post URLs yet (sniff, sniff).

[ArmandV]

There's one place I'd like to try, but I have no idea where in Japan it is. It is called Rena's Kitchen. Its specialty is health foods.

The reason: it is owned by the daughter of actress Mie Hama, of You Only Live Twice fame.

I wonder if someone can find it. (This sounds like a job for super- Hiroyuki Nagashima!) ;-)

[Pachipro]

Check out this link translated by Google for Rena's Kitchen. (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.jalan.net/kanko/SPT_170712.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DRena%2527s%2BKitchen%26start%3D30%26h l%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN) The English is not that great, but it should give you some idea about it. Hopes this helps. The original Japanese site is here (http://www.jalan.net/kanko/SPT_170712.html).

[ArmandV]

Check out this link translated by Google for Rena's Kitchen. (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.jalan.net/kanko/SPT_170712.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DRena%2527s%2BKitchen%26start%3D30%26h l%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN) The English is not that great, but it should give you some idea about it. Hopes this helps. The original Japanese site is here (http://www.jalan.net/kanko/SPT_170712.html).

Ah, thanks! Maybe when I head over to Japan in April I'll stop in.

[Amos]

[QUOTE
What other food bargains do you know of that could have been mentioned?[/QUOTE]
Japanese convenience stores have to be some of the best for bargin hunters. I regularly used them for quick fixes (hot noodles after a raining and cold trip around Nikko) or a tastey tonkatusu . It's also hard to beat the good old fashioned sandwich when you are flying around the country on a Shinkansen. Don't know whether I can post pics yet, but my favourite was cheese and ham in that funny Japanese bread. Huge slices of sweet fluffy bread. Chipstars are also good and my absolute favourite was the chocolate called 'Crunky'.

[SushiShin]

hey what kind of snack is really typical japanese?
hey can you inform me, if i go to a restaurant what shall i order?
what's the best dish you can order?
(dont make a thread about this,lol)
please response me
*Kayo*

[ArmandV]

[QUOTE
What other food bargains do you know of that could have been mentioned
Japanese convenience stores have to be some of the best for bargin hunters. I regularly used them for quick fixes (hot noodles after a raining and cold trip around Nikko) or a tastey tonkatusu . It's also hard to beat the good old fashioned sandwich when you are flying around the country on a Shinkansen. Don't know whether I can post pics yet, but my favourite was cheese and ham in that funny Japanese bread. Huge slices of sweet fluffy bread. Chipstars are also good and my absolute favourite was the chocolate called 'Crunky'.

That bread is good! I bought a sandwich on a Shinkansen last year and it was about 6 inches thick, but had thin bread slices without any crust. It was a combination deviled egg, tuna and some other (cucumbers, if memory serves). It was good. It was basically 3-4 sandwiches put together.

[Han Chan]

hey what kind of snack is really typical japanese?
hey can you inform me, if i go to a restaurant what shall i order?
what's the best dish you can order?
(dont make a thread about this,lol)
please response me
*Kayo*

Dear Kayo

I like to go to Ootoya. It is a reasaurant chain which serves good meals at a fair price. Take a look at their homepage and get some inspiration: http://www.ootoya.com/

[Ewok85]

Dear Kayo
I like to go to Ootoya. It is a reasaurant chain which serves good meals at a fair price. Take a look at their homepage and get some inspiration: http://www.ootoya.com/

Otoya seems to be a favourite among female university students - cheap and pretty healthy foods.

[Karamuucho]

...my absolute favourite was the chocolate called 'Crunky'.

Crunky.. would be one of my favorite chocolates in Japan.. lol. The last time I went there, maybe 3 or so years ago, I bought a multi-pack box of about 12 bars as a souvenir. I left the box and some other stuff by my bed, needless to stay it didn't make it back to London.

My favourite snacks though, are Karamuucho (go figure) and Boukun Habanero, both chilli flavoured potato snacks :love: still, I find a lot of the snacks in Japan are made to share, so are in big packs, or are boxed in a way that they are easy to share (bite-size, etc), meaning they're a little more pricey than I'm willing to pay for a small snack, haha.

Edit:
Forgot to say, Yoshinoya 300yen gyudon, what else can you ask for, lol.

[yukio_michael]

What about 99en shops, and there are a lot of inexpensive gyudon shops... Maybe 480 for a gyudon bowl... If you are going to eat something like "fast food", I've always been a fan of Lotteria...

If there is a 99en shop nearby, I could probably get by on 1000en a day, I think... Instead of Aquarius, but "Sport Drink", instead of Coca-Cola, buy "Soda"...

[Amos]

That bread is good! I bought a sandwich on a Shinkansen last year and it was about 6 inches thick, but had thin bread slices without any crust. It was a combination deviled egg, tuna and some other (cucumbers, if memory serves). It was good. It was basically 3-4 sandwiches put together.


I should have mentioned that I bought the ingredients and then made my own sandwiches on the train. This really makes them cheap :)

I've also had some of the station sandwiches ArmandV mentions (those with no crust). They can be good if you are in a hurry, but beware - you can get some very strange filling combinations and they have a tendency to explode mayonaise or watery dressing when you bite in :D My favourite ones though, were filled with the breaded pork cutlets. mmmm tastey and filling.

[pipokun]

hey what kind of snack is really typical japanese?
Umaibo: 10JPY
Yaokin in English (http://www.yaokin.com/english/index.html)

[ArmandV]

I should have mentioned that I bought the ingredients and then made my own sandwiches on the train. This really makes them cheap :)
I've also had some of the station sandwiches ArmandV mentions (those with no crust). They can be good if you are in a hurry, but beware - you can get some very strange filling combinations and they have a tendency to explode mayonaise or watery dressing when you bite in :D My favourite ones though, were filled with the breaded pork cutlets. mmmm tastey and filling.

Yep! One part of it did "explode" mayo and deviled egg on my shirt and camera case.

[Amos]

Yep! One part of it did "explode" mayo and deviled egg on my shirt and camera case.

That sounds nasty! Well, it happens to the best of us I guess! :blush: I'd never believe that a sandwich could contain so much liquid :p

Makes you glad you picked up the free tissues on the streets (another top recommendation BTW)

[ArmandV]

That sounds nasty! Well, it happens to the best of us I guess! :blush: I'd never believe that a sandwich could contain so much liquid :p
Makes you glad you picked up the free tissues on the streets (another top recommendation BTW)

Yesiree! I made good use out of them since a napkin did not come with the sandwich.

[Scotchdaz]

eating for cheap was pretty easy I thought. Ramen is good value for money, also the izakaya'a are cheap and cheerful, often offering nomihodai and tabehodai from anything from 700-3000 yen for 2-3 hours!!!

nomihodai.........how I loved that!!!!!:-)

[ArmandV]

We forgot to mention the reliable Yoshinoyas.

[Ranpyon]

Have you ever been to Hanamaru Udon?
I love it <3 I was always in the Shibuya Hanamaru Udon. It was so cheap, and the food quality was pretty good ^^ I loved their tenpura *__*