One of the biggest reasons I hear people say they don’t travel is the Money. Some people may find it hard to travel due to a small budget available to leisure activities such as tourism, specially to overseas and moreover to countries with a strong currency as Japan’s yen.
Living in Japan brings a incredible amount of information on where to eat spending less money and how to find the best offers on food prices. As I know many tourists don’t have time to learn the best options, I decided to share my knowledge and experience with my readers so they can enjoy Japan spending less on food, and maybe finally plan that dreamed trip to Japan.
First budget tip I use on my trips in Japan is setting an amount of money for each day of the trip. I would say that usually for a couple who eat normally, in regular reasturants, an amount of ten thousand yen would be more than enough. Having said that, I would complement that, it is totally possible to reduce this amount if you are open to budgeting on food expenses.
So let’s start on breakfast:
Most hotels in Japan don’t offer breakfast, if you’re lucky enough to get a hotel with breakfast included, you can check that topic off your budget. But, if it is not your case, a good option is getting your breakfast from a Kombini, a convenience store, most Kombinis sell coffee from the machine or canned and bottled coffee and milk, a wide variety of juice, yogurt and flavored milk is also available. In the bread section there are various types of breads and cakes within the range of ¥100 to ¥200. So, let’s suppose you buy one coffee and one bread you will likely spend less then ¥500.
If you don’t eat bread and coffee in the morning, you will also find meals for sale early in the morning in the convenience store along with Onigiris and Karaage. If you are into fruits in the morning I highly suggest going to the supermarket, they sell cut fruits on the convenience store but they are a little more pricey.
Also, if you to save more money, you can buy bread, cake and fruits directly from the supermarket, they will be cheaper than the Kombini ones. You will possibly spend less than ¥300 in a can of coffee and one bread from the local supermarket.
Something that we usually do in our trips is buying breakfast on the evening before, we often drop by the supermarket or Kombini after we finish the activities of the day and buy the next day’s breakfast. This way you will probably find discounted products, some discounts go as far as half of the original price.
Moving on to the Lunch:
Most of us consider the Lunch the most important of the day, so I would say that this will probably consume part of your day budget. There are a variety of restaurants in Japan with cheap but very satisfying meals. The most well know restaurant is probably Sukiya, a chain restaurant that sell beef bowls and other type of meals. Within the range of ¥700 you eat a nice meal that includes a Beef Bowl (rice with beef on top) and miso soup. This type of restaurant is very common in Japan and there are other restaurants, such as Yoshinoya, Matsuya, Katsuya, Matsunoya and others that offer similar dishes within the same price range. One excellent point of Japan is that even the cheapest restaurants offer meals in an high level of quality.
If you are not into this type of food, you can also go to restaurants like Gusto, Joyful and Sayzeria that sell continental food, they will probably be a little more expensive, around ¥1300 for one person, but you will find a wide variety of dishes and also drink refills that include coffee. One good point of these restaurants is the fact that most of them let you charge your phone, and the seats are very comfortable, so you can relax and rest a little before moving on to your next activity.
If you are in hurry, a good option for saving money and time is buying a bento in the convenience store, at lunch time there is a huge variety of bentos, sandwiches, Onigiris, and bread. You will definitely find an option of meal that fits your taste and budget.
What about Dinner?
Dinner is probably where you have more room to save. The first tip I would give on buying a cheap dinner is going to a supermarket after seven o’clock, that time is when the supermarkets are preparing to close, so they want to sell the remaining bentos and prepared foods before closing to avoid waste, so they normally put them on offers that vary from 20 to 70 percent. I have seen bentos at the price of ¥198 and Onigirs for ¥70 in my local supermarket. So if you are trying to save money, this would be the cheapest dinner you can find. Convenience stores also offer discounted meals in the evening, so if there isn’t a supermarket near your hotel, you will definitely find a Kombini near it.
If you are worried about how to heat up your food, Don’t Worry. In a convenience store they will ask you if you want your food heated (Atatamemasu ka?). In the case of a supermarket, in many places there is a microwave after the cashier you can you use to heat up your meal. If it is not the case, you will probably find a microwave in your hotel you can use. Don't forget to ask for your chopsticks, in Japanese they're called Hashi.
No snacks?!
Of course there are snacks!
I always carry some snacks in my backpack because sometimes we are so tight in our schedules that we don’t have time to stop for lunch or dinner on time. So, if you want to be safe, you will find small portions of cookies, potatoes sticks, butter peanuts, candies, chocolates, snacks, salami and even cheese to take with you, if you feel hungry, you can just eat one small bag of snack that will be easily carried in your bag. Good point is that they are not expensive and can be found in all convenience stores. You will be amazed on the variety of snacks you will find.
What about the drinks?!
You will find all necessary drinks for your trip in a convenience store, but they will be a little more expensive there. If you have a supermarket near you, a good way to save money on daily drinks is buying them from the supermarket and taking them with you. Also, have in mind that tap water is Japan is drinkable. Another convenient way to buy drinks (and some snacks) are the vending machines. Vending machines are extremely popular in Japan, you will find them in the most unexpected places, the price is, in most of the cases, the same as the Kombini.
So, if you want to come to Japan and want to spend less money, don’t worry, you will find amazing food in very reasonable prices.
Japan is known for the delicious cuisine, so you can also enjoy it, even if you are on a budget.
Hope to see you in Japan eating tasteful meals for an amount you can include in your budget.
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