Adam1222

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

txflyer77

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

Adam1222

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

txflyer77

Where are you getting your recommendations?

garykung

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.

Adam1222

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.

mjm

$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.

Adam1222

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.

LapLap

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

ExpatSomchai

Would you mind sending to me as well please.

LapLap

Done!

txflyer77

Me three, heading back soon!

Gradfly

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.

paperwastage

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

freecia

Lunch can be a good value at mid and high end places. Depending on budget, you can still consider a splurge at $50-$75 High-End Value Lunches in Tokyo but you'll often be quite full and can go lighter on dinner. Similar older thread Mid-to-High end Tokyo Food recs

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). *Train station Bento meals are the best!