Top 5 Must-Eats in Tokyo on a Budget

1. Ichiran – Ramen ($8)

Address: 1-17-10 Kabukicho | B1F, Shinjuku 160-0021, Tokyo Prefecture
Hours: 24/7

If you have only $10 to spend on a meal (or if it’s been a cold, long night for you), the place we recommend that you dine at is none other than Ichiran. Despite being a chain restaurant with doors that open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Ichiran serves perfectly cooked ramen noodles bathed in rich, flavorful broth that not only exceeds expectations but can enlighten your taste buds in ways you’ve never thought were possible. And just to confirm that good ramen wasn’t a thing you can find at any corner of Japan, we’ve tried out other popular Ramen joints, Ippudo to name one, and let’s just say it was a night and day difference.

 

The only down side to Ichiran was the 30-45 minute queue but once you make it through their entrance, you are greeted with a vending machine that offers noodles starting from 890 yen or roughly $8 USD (cash only).

 

 

The machine may be confusing with the first use but basically you pay for each item separately (each topping is considered one item) and you receive a ticket for each item you pay for. The experience of dining at Ichiran is also quite unique – you take the tickets you purchased with you to your assigned booth where the server will take from you from underneath a bamboo veil. Side panels are available for privacy but can also be folded away to interact with a friend.

Here are the prices of each additional topping and side dish along with some set meals they have:

 

Offered exclusively at the location we visited in Shinjuku, the Simmered Pork Belly with Dried Seaweed for an extra 490 yen is a strong recommendation of mine to complete the meal. Full refills (190 yen) or half refills (130 yen) of noodles are available and also recommended to indulge with any broth (the good stuff!) you may have leftover.

2. Sushi Dai – Omakase Sushi ($36)

Address: 5-2-1 Tsukiji | Tsukiji Fish Market 6th Bldg., Chuo 104-0045, Tokyo Prefecture
Hours: 5:00 am – 2:00 pm

Sushi Dai – a 13 seat sushi joint located in the world-renowned Tsukiji market serving Omakase courses starting at 5 am in the morning – will probably be the most heard about and talked about food destination in Japan. And although a meal at Sushi Dai is nearly $40 USD (or 4000 yen) a person, we’re still including it in this post as a budget recommendation because Sushi Dai is probably one of the most inexpensive, authentic, high quality Omakase meal you can find in the galaxy – I’m sure the person standing behind or in front you while you wait in line will surely agree.

Speaking of waiting in the line, the queue is a minimum of 3 hours (that’s right – let those jaws drop). Some folks find it advantageous to begin their wait at 2 am (the restaurant opens at 5 am – so they will still have to wait 3 hours) to be one of the first ones to dine but based on our experience, we found the early arrival to be unnecessary (unless you are jet lagged and have nothing better to do). We arrived at 6:01 am and were seated by 9:06 am which meant our wait was still 3 hours and by arriving to Tsukiji later it meant 1) we were able to commute from our hotel by mass transit saving us taxi money (which starts at 5 am) and 2) we had enough sleep to last us through the rest of the day.

We do strongly recommend that you do not arrive after 7:30 am as you may risk not making the cutoff for the last group to dine. The above sign which states “[we] are not seating any additional customers today” was placed down at 8:04 am. The last person in line also gets the honor of dragging that sign with them as they move about the line.

The first dish served to us was a warm, fluffy steamed egg followed by 10 pieces of sushi of chef’s choice, a bowl of fish stock soup, a tuna maki roll and one more piece of sushi of your choice.

 

Overall the 14 course meal lasted an hour and we were offered to order additional sushi pieces a la carte at the very end of the meal.

 

The sushi was some of the freshest and tastiest we have ever had and the service was straight out phenomenal. After working several hours early in the morning, serving sushi in a tight cramped space you would think the sushi chefs might show some signs of distress but not only was that not the case, they were humorous, entertaining and made 200% effort to ensure the dining experience was worth every minute of the wait.

A lady next to us had her long coveted seat stolen by an intruder who jumped the line and not only did she receive sincere apologies from the chefs but she was also compensated with 3 complimentary oysters to start her meal. What great service!

3. Han No Daidokoro – Wagyu Beef ($22)

Address: 2-29-8 Dogenzaka | Dogenzaka Center Bldg 4F, Shibuya 150-0043, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Hours: 11:30 – 3:00 pm

 

 

Han No Daidokoro was a recommendation made by a friend to try out Japan’s A5 Wagyu beef. At first we were skeptical of including this in our itinerary as it was a Korean barbecue restaurant on a trip where we wanted a full, authentic Japanese experience but we were so glad we didn’t miss out on this place. During lunch hours, for only 2,500 yen or roughly $22 USD each, we received a lunch set of premium A5 Wagyu beef (as compared to $80 elsewhere for a similar meal).

The lunch set came with rice, unlimited side dishes (self served from side dish bar) and 2 pieces of each cut: Bottom Round, Rib-Shin, Loin Premium and Rib Premium. The meat comes raw but is quickly barbecued to perfection. And although 2 pieces of each may sound little, they were enough to make us feel full and satisfied.

 

 

The unlimited soup and side dishes at no additional cost made this meal a steal.

 

4. Katsukura – Katsu ($15)

Address: 5-24-2 Sendagaya | Takashimaya Times Square 14F, Shibuya 151-0051, Tokyo Prefecture
Hours: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm

This is another Japanese chain restaurant that can be found in multiple cities but serves melt-in-your mouth Katsu (or fried pork cutlets). I’m not usually a katsu fan but was quickly addicted to Katsukura after just one bite.

Once seated, you will be provided with several mini dishes of garnishes in different forms and some instructions on how to turn these garnishes into a special dipping sauce. Katsu meals start at $15 USD (or 1630 yen) during lunch and is served with unlimited rice. Our tenderloin Katsu is perfectly fried on the outside but incredibly soft and tender on the inside and goes well with the special sauce you’ve just made yourself. The environment is what you would expect from a chain restaurant and was adequate overall.

5. Zauo – Fresh Seafood ($16)

Address: 3-2-9 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku 160-0023, Tokyo Prefecture
Weekend Hours: 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Weekday Hours: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm | 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm

This restaurant was a 2-in-1 for us: a fun fishing experience + a fresh, delicious seafood meal. With 3 locations, Zauo is a restaurant with a makeshift wooden boat in the middle of the restaurant “floating” atop a pool of lively sea bream and flounder alongside baskets of other fresh seafood ready to be caught by you. Pricing differs if you were to order the fish off the menu than if you were to fish the fish yourself, with the later being the cheaper option. Fishing bait costs an additional 100 yen (or $1).

 

 

We opted to fish ourselves of course and the whole experiencing of catching my first fish took me almost an hour but was highly rewarding once I caught it. To celebrate each catch, the restaurant staff drums a large drum and chants a celebratory saying in Japanese. If caught yourself, sea breams start at 2,970 yen (or about $26 USD) and flounders start at 3,661 yen (or about $32 USD).

 

 

We caught a sea bream and was given the option to cook it several different ways: sashimi, grilled, boiled, or deep-fried. These options are great for those who want to try fresh fish but are weary of eating it raw. We opted for half sashimi and half deep-fried and both turned out to be equally delectable. One fish was enough to split among 2 people as you have rice to enjoy the fish with but you are always welcome to return to the fishing stations for more.

Assuming you split the fish with a partner, the meals comes out to be roughly $16 per person plus you get a fun, rewarding experience (and some photos to brag about back home) with it.

If you’ve tried all 5 recommendations above – you’ve probably spent only about $100 but have tasted some of the best Japan has to offer. Even if not on a budget, I would revisit each one of these restaurants if ever headed back to Japan – that’s just how good they are.

Let me know if you would like me to write a post on Tokyo eats under $10 (they may not be as tasty as the mentions in this post but is sure to save you tons in your pocket).

Note: This post was written when Yen to USD exchange rate was at 0.90. Prices listed in USD above may change – refer to Yen for accurate pricing.