Originally Posted by
EuropeanPete
I guess YMMV on this one then. I think that at the exchange rate 1-2 years ago that was true, but at the current rates I think Tokyo's the most expensive place I've ever been (beating Stockholm and Oslo by a little way).
The quality is indeed excellent, but no matter where I went we couldn't seem to manage a bowl of noodles for much under £10.
At the top end of the scale (and you're right, kaiseki isn't a fair comparison, so let's not go there), taster menus came in at 20-40K (e.g. Ramsey at 18K and 36K at Robuchon), which is 50% to 100% more than the most expensive dinners money can buy in the UK (e.g. Fat Duck at £130, Ramsey from £80-£130).
I'm not exactly complaining, as places in Japan often achieve a level of excellence beyond what you can get in the UK (the Conrad's walnut pastries in the lounge.. wow), but we had to be very careful to stay in any kind of budget, even with free flights & hotel.
You're making this up.
At current exchange rates (1 pound = 139 yen) it's very easy to find a bowl of noodles for much less than £10.00
Typical price of a bowl of shoyu ramen may be around 700yen. That's £5.00.
A big bowl of miso ramen with extra chashu... maybe £7.50.
Even when the pound was at its nadir against the yen, a typical 700 yen bowl would have translated into £5.80.
With a little searching, one can find noodles for under 400yen (*Yes - even in downtown Tokyo). The belly-fillers in London at that price are best avoided.
I repeat - You're making it up. You're inventing facts to fit your theory.
As for Fat Duck in Bray. I hear
it's closed down for health and safety reasons... What's the going rate for an equivalent quality of food poisoning in Tokyo? I don't know.