Eating moderately- reservations needed?
 

I'll be doing 10 days in Japan at the end of February/beginning of March- Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka. I am traveling alone, and while I love food, don't think I would get $200 of enjoyment out of many, if any, meals. I presume that all of these cities have restaurants that range in price. My dives into the internet looking for more moderate priced restaurants in advance have been exhausting and overwhelming. (Ideally, most of my meals will be under $75?) Will I be safe to find *something* good if I just go off the street/google when Im there, or ask hotel concierge? Or do I need to get my Amex Platinum Concierge moving now.
Thanks

You will have zero trouble finding meals for under $75 in Japan. It's not *that* expensive.

Thanks. Unfortunately every place I've seen recommended appears to be closer to $200 per person.

Where are you getting your recommendations?

I won't rely on AMEX. But I would say you should have some ideas what you want to eat first.

1-person dining is not that difficult and it is usually not expensive. But again, what you want to taste will heavily impact this.

Existing threads on Flyertalk, random searches on the internet. As I said, I have found broad searches a bit overwhelming, so if you have suggestions on better places to look -- or specific restaurants -- that would of course be appreciated.
Unfortunately, not all of us have great personal networks that have traveled to Japan to tap into.

$200 is all you have found, seriously? That is extraordinarily innaccurate and incomplete advice.

Just walk down any street in most parts of Tokyo and a good 70-90 of the places will not be $200 a head. No network travel friends needed.

Thanks. To be clear, I did not say everything was $200. I said things were closer to $200 than $75. I was concerned about just walking down the street given other threads suggesting foreigners might not be welcomed at many places.

Have just sent dozens of sub $20 suggestions through a PM.

Would you mind sending to me as well please.

Done!

Me three, heading back soon!

There's also this thread: Cheap Restaurant/Eat-in Fast Food. I believe there are a couple of other similar threads. You can also check out Bento and for something more Tokyo specific: Tokyo Cheapo. There are lots of places where you can get a good meal below $20, as stated by LapLap. $75 is going into fine dining territory.

would recommend a stay at ryokan, with a good onsen, along with Kyo-kaiseki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiseki
solo is tough but still doable at a ryokan. that would take a good chunk of your budget ($150-$1k)

as other people said, $75 to $200 is high (fine dining territory). you can still definitely find stuff at that price range ("michelin star"/fine dining and the like)

I remember seeing somewhere about private/personalized gourmet food guides, not sure whether or if you're interested in those

Lunch can be a good value at mid and high end places. Depending on budget, you can still consider a splurge at $50-$75 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...hes-tokyo.html but you'll often be quite full and can go lighter on dinner. Similar older thread https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...food-recs.html

My partner doesn't seek out fine dining on his own in Tokyo. The curry shop, ramen joint, and convenience store onigiri keeps him happy enough and all under probably $35 total for the entire day. There's a lot of good everyday food at reasonable prices. Sometimes people refer to it as B-kyu https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...of-the-people/. Japan-guide's medium and high budget is very achievable walking into a restaurant off the street, especially if you see a small line of people outside or it is in a department store/train station https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2410.html value bonus points if they look like office workers.

It is easier to secure a solo ryokan reservation on a weekday and weekday rates are often less expensive than the weekend. Kaiseki is also served at restaurants and some also do lunch specials https://stevejobko.com/4216.html

I specifically wanted to point out there's a few high priced train bento (ekiben) in Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto which are luxury foods. I've seen the Kobe beef $100, $200 ekiben on live streams. I classify these somewhere between novelty, tourist traps, and gift fruit (perfect $$$$ fruit which people give as gifts, not eaten everyday). Ekiben are usually fun* and I generally keep it under 1,300 yen. Just didn't want you to get the impression that even the train bento is crazy priced. You can pick up a beer at the convenience store or bento shop, usually 300-600 yen, and have a drink with your bento on the shinkansen (generally no eating on local and commuter trains). *https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...eals-best.html

OK, to be equally clear, things are generally not only below $200 but also in many cases below $75. And as far as the very misleading thread about foreigners not being welcome and the related nonsense showing up in that thread, you would be hard-pressed to find such a place unless you were a Japanese speaker. They exist, but in no great measure.

Last month I had a meal in Tokyo that cost 11,000yen ($100) per person, including tax & svc.
That may have been the most expensive meal I've ever had in my 70-80 trips to Jpn.

I always think Japan has a reputation for being expensive, and there are obviously some very expensive restaurants. However, my experience has always been that you can eat very well for significantly less than 75 dollars per meal. Japan has an abundance of cheap and delicious food, there is no need to spend extravagantly to eat well. Obviously, you may want to treat yourself to an extravagant meal and there is nowhere better in the world to do this than in Japan.

I find that casual eateries are some of the best places for solo diners as I often notice some people eating alone in them and the prices are quite reasonable. The ramen shops, tonkatsu, etc. in Tokyo serve some of the best Japanese food I've ever had at $5-$20 usd. Part of the charm of experiencing local life is eating where locals eat on a regular basis and those places are typically very affordable and < $20 usd for a meal. Me and my wife generally opt for a stopover in Tokyo every chance we get when traveling to Asia. I can't remember the last time we paid more than $20 per person for a meal. It's not common to find ramen priced over that in Tokyo. Nakiryu is very popular and ramen starts at 850 yen with their most expensive at 1400 yen. Add in an alcoholic beverage at 400-500 yen and you're still under 2000 yen.

I enjoy the nicer sushi places also from time to time but nothing beats a nice kaiten (conveyor belt sushi) as sometimes it's nice to try things that you wouldn't know to normally order.

You might as well post them because I too would love that dm! I love adding to my list of places to eat at in Japan.

relying on amex concierge to find places to eat? what?

No, to make reservations, as I don't speak Japanese, and do not want to stay up at night placing long-distance telephone calls before my trip. I thought the context was clear since Amex was referenced after "Can I just go off the street or...." and the title of the thread "Reservations needed?"

But thank you for your contribution to the discussion.

In Japan delicious food can be had for as little as around $10. The Japanese do not necessarily like to spend a lot on everyday meals. On the other hand, you may want to enjoy some special meals at over $100~ or more.

You’ll definitely be okay regardless of budget. There are always interesting foods to be found.

I think for many places, all you need to do is wait in line. As a non-Japanese speaker, I've walked into restaurants off the street with no issue. Many will have displays/pictures of their food right outside the entrance and it helps in case you need to communicate to the wait staff. Comparing to when I first traveled to Japan 10+ years ago, English menus/signage is more common now. While not 100% accurate, Google Translate and similar apps like Waygo can help translate the non-English menus. They certainly helped me finding out daily/seasonal specials in a few restaurants.

If there's anything Japan has plenty of, it's restaurants. I've never been anything but a budget traveler by Flyer Talk standards, and I have never had trouble finding a reasonable and delicious meal. Often my problem is deciding where NOT to eat.

Every department store has a floor or two devoted to different varieties of restaurants, ranging from USD5.00 plain noodles to USD50.00 wagyuu steak. Every main thoroughfare is lined with restaurants, and in business districts, every side street is full of restaurants in all price ranges. In a pinch--and this happened to me once when I landed in a budget hotel that was in a totally residential area with no restaurants--the convenience stores sell cheap and edible box lunches and will even heat them up for you.

My general rule is that if a restaurant doesn't have its prices posted outside in some form--the famous plastic models of the food in the window, a picture menu, or prices on a chalkboard--then it's probably the type of place that one can't afford if one has to ask about the price.

When I first went to Japan 40 years ago, the Japanese food was great, but other cuisines were pale imitations of the real thing, the most notorious example being "Neapolitan spaghetti" that was stir-fried in ketchup. In the past 30 years, though, despite Japan's less than generous attitudes toward immigration, it has become easier to find wonderful ethnic restaurants operated by immigrants from various countries and European-style restaurants operated by Japanese who have studied cooking in France or Italy.

The best thing I ate in Tokyo last week was a bowl of vegetable tempura soba at Kameya in Omoide Yokocho for $4 USD.

I concur. You're spoiled for choice in Japan, in terms of where to eat. One of the things I always look forward to are all the different places I can chose from.

Can you PM me with these, too? Going to be feeding hungry teen boys.

In all my trips to Japan, I have only ever had one meal in the $100 price range and that was a birthday celebration for some dear friends. Beyond that, I don't think I ever spent more than $50 per DAY on meals and more often than not it was much less. I never made a reservation other than the aforementioned birthday dinner at Azalea in Kyoto. Before my first visit I worried a bit about my limited Japanese and finding decent meals. It was unfounded and I never went hungry. Enjoyable food is one of the better reasons to visit Japan.

you are overthinking it if you a) cant find anything under $200, and b) think you need reservations for every meal.

just walk around!

Thank you. That was my question.

When my wife and I were in Japan... we stayed in Hilton's which fortunately offered both a free breakfast and Evening snacks and drinks... so had a decent size breakfast...
found reasonable priced light lunch's and enjoyed the hotels' evening offer.
We did spend a lot on one meal (wife wanted Kobe beef) but other then that... like others have said.. there are plenty of options, that we discovered just walking around that were not too bad, money wise

Also, online reservations at "good" restaurants are becoming more and more common across Tokyo: Check OpenTable, TableCheck, Gurunavi, Pocket Concierge...

If you're going this route, be aware that they may "bake in" a fee in your the reservation, especially if you have to choose your course/menu at time of booking. From the top of my head, Pocket Cocierge and Tableall do this. For example you book a dinner course through a regular concierge and its 10,000 yen. Booking the same thing through Pocket Concierge may cost you 11,500-12,000 yen.

One of the issues we had (especially traipsing around with a family of 5) is knowing how to discern one place from the next. There are just SO MANY options. Like NYC frankly. Take 10 steps in any direction and there’s a new restaurant. So I think it is definitely helpful for folks to suggest specific restaurants where they’ve had a nice, economical meal.

OP, we ate lunch shabu shabu at NABEZO SHINJUKU 3 CHOME. It was maybe $20pp. There are different options for meat and a buffet for the veggies. It’s a little hard to find bc upstairs in a nondescript office building in Shinjuku. The restaurant was not full and so I doubt one needs rez. Seemed popular for working folks on their lunch break.

Good point. I'd advise against any reservation service that requires prepayment for meal in full.

My diet is restricted, and my two favorite cheap go-to options are:
1) Kaiten zushi (conveyor belt sushi) - a fun, manageable DIY experience and you know exactly what you are paying per dish via color-coding.
2) Conbini (convenience store) food - In Tokyo there is a Lawson's, 7-11, or Family Mart store within a few blocks of everywhere. The sheer variety of decent-quality cheap eats is remarkable. You can easily fill up on $5-$15. When I go to Japan, I eat at least one conbini meal a day.

One thing I noticed traveling in Japan is that restaurants (especially traditional ones):#1 I especially wonder why they haven't learned to do otherwise. But anyway this makes it difficult for a foreigner to feel like it's easy to approach and enter a restaurant you might be interested in...

I never really figured out how to make this easier or feel at ease with that aspect.

I see #1 as a different “vocabulary”. What I mean by this is that, in Europe at least, I can walk around most towns and cities and have a pretty good idea of what each building is for. There’s an architectural language that I understand and can pick up the hints and nuances of, for the most part anyway. However, this doesn’t always translate to how buildings are in Japan, I can’t read them in the same way. I can get away without having to, but I get a lot from doing some research before I go. And that’s why I hang around on this board - as well as things I would think to look for, I get to pick up information and suggestions I wouldn’t.

On the plus side, research gets easier and easier each year (not to mention my own skills improve - through mistakes as much as through success). There is more online information, the translation tools are easier to use and more powerful. I can look at a recommendation and then cross check it in Japanese (or Mandarin - some Taiwanese bloggers are awesome!). And thanks to map sites, I can easily log and keep track of all the places that interest me or rouse my curiosity. It’s great! (And it really doesn’t matter how pokey or unobvious the restaurant entrance is)

That is true, and a good observation.

On #2 I also observe that this carries over to packaged items for sale in stores. Often the boxes of are only decorated (tastefully of course) with the Japanese brush stroke handwriting graphics as the only thing on the package, and are otherwise totally unable to determine what's inside for a non-Japanese reader. Or maybe I just perceive this and wouldn't at home with the many English items we take for granted where this also happens.

Take for example, bento boxes at train stations. You would think that they would put pictures of the food on the outside, or make the boxes transparent plastic. But no, they make them opaque as if trying to wrap it as a gift, and you can have no idea what's inside unless there's an example display. Very odd. I guess it goes to the theme, "you just have to know".