Before I begin I would like to point out that this is by no means an overview of Japanese food. I am sure there is a whole world of food that we didn’t experience. Firstly, we were on a tight budget and secondly, Japan has an incredibly diverse and exotic cuisine that couldn’t possibly be experienced in two weeks. But anyway, here is what we experienced in Japan, along with a few tips for cheap eats.
Ramen
Its the first dish that most people think of when Japanese cuisine is mentioned and it is certainly the one I was most excited for. Ramen is its own category of food in Japan and comes in many variations. Luckily for us its also one of the cheapest. A bowl of Ramen can be anywgere from 400 to 900 yen. If you want a cheap bowl of ramen, look for the restaurants with the vending machines at the door.
Simply put in your money and make a selection, the machine will give you a ticket which you can give to someone behind the counter, et voila! A lovely bowl of ramen without needing to say a single word!
There is a chain that serves amazing ramen in this way called Ichiran. Keep an eye out for the following logo.
They use the vending machine system here with one slight difference. When you give in your ticket you will be given a sheet to fill out with your preferences. Simply decide how you would like your noodles, what type of noodle, spiciness, etc. Its worth mentioning that Japanese food is not very spicy at all. So if you like spicy feel free to to choose extra spicy.
Sushi
We didn’t actually try much sushi, but it would be blasphemous not to mention sushi in a post about Japanese food. We went to one of those conveyor belt restaurants. These are places that have a constant flow of sushi moving around on a conveyor. You simply sit and grab sushi as you please. At the end you pay based on the colour coded plates.
To give you an idea of how good it was, even Mirjam ate some, and loved it! To those of you who don’t know, Mirjam hates fish, but all that changed the day we went here for sushi.
A place like this is great if you want to try a range of sushi without spending too much. Each plate usually has two pieces of sushi. The cheapest plate was 146 Yen, and the most expensive was 40 yen. We had 4 – 5 plates and it cost around 1300 YEN. Which is around 12 CHF or 11 EUR
Tokoyaki
Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a flour based batter. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. The one we got was covered in a sweet brown sauce and bacon shavings. They are soft and creamy on the inside. When you bite them the creamy interior with delicious filling hits you all at once. Eating this created one of those moments where we looked at each other and said with mouths half full, “This is f***ing good!”.
I really wish we had a picture of a finished serving a of Tokoyaki with the beautiful sauce and bacon shavings, but all we have left is this half eaten mess. We can never remember to take pictures, its way more fun to eat food rather than photograph it!
Izakaya
Izakaya are a type of informal japanese pub that serve salty grilled snacks and other tasty bites that go well with a beer or a glass of sake. On our first night in Japan we went to one of these with Yusak.
If you’re anything like me you might avoid these places because they are somewhat intimidating and perhaps different to our concept of a bar. But its very simple, Just sit down and someone will bring you a menu. The food is meant to be shared and is served in small dishes, order a few snacks for the table and a beer each, you can always order more if you’re still hungry. Each plate is usually about 6-700 yen and a beer is about 600-800 yen. Beer is quite expensive in Japan which can make a trip to an Izakaya quite expensive.
Convenience Stores
Make sure to visit a 7-11, FamilyMart or Lawson’s while in Japan. Although to be honest it will be difficult not too, they are everywhere! Japanese convenience stores, or combini, are quite special, the snacks they sell here aren’t like the boring snacks we are used to in our shops.
You will find a range of sandwiches with egg, marinaded pork, ham, cheese, crumbed chicken etc. There is also a selection of rice balls to choose from. Oh, I cant forget the soft drinks either. As well as your standard fizzy drinks, there are some other oddities to tickle your fancy. Want a bottle of hot tea with milk? No problem, just go to the heated shelf and grab one! There is also always a great range of green teas to choose from.
There are also some microwaveable meals. When you bring them to the counter you will be asked if you want it heated. Its a really easy way to get a cheap lunch. One thing worth noting, it will be difficult to find ingredients to make a meal here, the focus really is on ready made snacks.
Ä guete