Japan Cheap Eats

Japan boasts the highest number of Michelin 3-star restaurants in the world.  Its 2012 Tokyo Guide lists 292 one-, two- and three-starred restaurants.  But few Japanese can afford to eat in them.  According to the 2010 Tokyo Metropolitan Government statistics, an average household of 3 people spent ¥17,000 (roughly about US$170) eating out per month.  That amount is enough for one person eating a dinner at one of the less expensive Michelin restaurants. 

Fortunately, Tokyo has an incredibly large number of restaurants (160,000 in 2009 is the latest stat that I can find).  The majority are reasonably priced.  Many are downright cheap.  To steer the ordinary diners to the best inexpensive restaurant meals are two anti-Michelin guides -- Shominchelin (庶ミンシュラン  or Ordinary People’s Michelin) and the Meshiran.

There are many forms of cheap eats – soba, ramen, yakitori, horumon (grilled offal), and more.  I am listing three of my favorites below, not in any order.   They are Japanese fast food and they cannot be any cheaper, way below ¥1,000 for a meal.

I like Yoshinoya (吉野家), a chain that specializes in gyu-don 牛丼, rice bowl with topping of onion and beef cooked in the “sukiyaki” style.  I eat there regularly because I like the food and it is Japanese fast food.  The rice of the gyu-don is cooked properly, the very thinly sliced beef is not tough, the onion slivers are cooked through and sweet, the savory sauce with a hint of sweetness brings everything together.  That combination easily satisfies the hungry man inside me.  All these for an unbeatable ¥380.  Another ¥50 for a raw egg would make the meal almost luxurious.  By the way, tea is free and bottomless.  

Another cheap eat is tachigui (立食), which means literally “stand-up eating”.  Most tachigui places are in or near train and subway stations.  My favorite is a tachigui udon shop by the Akasaka-Mitsuke subway station in Tokyo.  In winter mornings, on my way to catch a train, I often stop there for breakfast.  Entering through a sliding door, I occupy a spot at the kitchen counter that is large enough for eight standing customers, and call out my order.  The owner cooks the thick white wheat noodle, put it in a bowl of broth and places it on the counter in front of me.  I slurp my noodle, pay and leave.  The whole process takes just a few minutes.  No one lingers as there is no room.  The tiny shop serves no drink, not even water.  If I am thirsty, which is usually the case because of the broth, I can buy a can of tea or coffee, either hot or cold, from a curb-side vending machine outside the shop.  I derive much satisfaction from the cheap meal (a bowl of plain udon is around ¥300).  I am full, warm, and ready for the day. 

Ramen shops are everywhere and there are plenty of good ones.  The prices are about the same no matter where you go.  Of the thousands and thousands of them, I happen to like Santouka (山頭火).  Its toro-niku ramen at ¥790 was very good.  Toro-niku means fatty choice pork, which turns out to be pork cheek; the slices are soft and tender.  The broth is warm instead of piping hot so that children and older people can eat the ramen easily.  However, that does not score points with many ramen connoisseurs.

  (Both Yoshinoya and Santouka are chains with branches outside Japan.  My comments are strictly for the Japanese shops.)