What are the basic considerations to take into account when eating in Japan? The first thing is that eating in Japan does not have to be expensive Japanese restaurant. In fact, we have an article with a lot of ideas for eating cheap in Japan , but we list a few here:
- Fast Food : In Japan there are not only Western fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and the like) but also Japanese-style fast food restaurants that serve good dishes of gyudon , katsudon , tendon , ramen , etc. of different sizes and with different customization options at very affordable prices.
- Restaurant floors and lunch menus : On the upper floors of department stores and many of the most important train stations there is usually a space dedicated to catering, where we can find a multitude of restaurants and eating options. This is a good option for lunch, since many of these restaurants have lunch menus, called lunch set (ランッチ) or teishoku (定食) at really interesting prices. They are, to put it in some way, the Japanese ‘menus of the day’.
- “Family” restaurants : It is precisely on the upper floors of department stores, although we also find them outside them, throughout the city, where we can find the so-called family restaurants, restaurants with all kinds of Japanese and Western food at very affordable prices. , which makes them a perfect option to eat, especially when we travel to Japan with children, because we can always find something that they might like, in addition to the fact that they always have the option of a children’s menu. Saizeriya, Denny’s, Coco’s, Gusto or Royal Host are some of the best-known family restaurants.
- Showcases with plastic food : The vast majority of restaurants in Japan have a showcase with a wide sample of all the dishes, made of plastic , on their menu, so that we can take a look and even decide what calls us the most. Attention… even if we don’t speak a hint of Japanese! It is possibly the biggest help that tourists visiting Japan have in knowing what to eat.
- Obento, ready-to-go food : Especially around the train stations we can find obento shops , that is, prepared food establishments. The quality is usually quite good, since unlike what happens in other places, they usually prepare the obento at the moment. If we return to the hotel or have a park nearby to eat, it is a good option. There are many local obento shops as well as chains like Hokka Hokka Tei or Hotto Motto that have shops all over Japan.
- Supermarkets and discounts : Japanese supermarkets usually have an area dedicated exclusively to prepared and takeaway food (from sushi to korokke or tempura). It is an ideal place to buy delicious food at a good price, especially if we go late in the day, when the prices of prepared food begin to drop in the supermarket (with stickers indicating the sale) as it gets late. Between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., prices drop in an interesting way, first with discounts of 10 or 20% until reaching discounts of 50 or 70%. Thus, the customer gets a considerable discount and the supermarket gets rid of a surplus that it could no longer sell the next day. In this regard, you have to be very careful when going to the ground floors of fashionable shopping centers, since the products there are usually expensive. When I talk about supermarkets, I’m talking about the normal neighborhood supermarkets where the Japanese go to do their shopping.
- Yatai, street food stalls : A quick and cheap option that we can find while walking through the streets of Japanese cities are the yatai or street food stalls, which sell everything from ramen to oden . In the vast majority of cases they only speak Japanese and everything is written in Japanese, but with a couple of gestures you will probably understand each other, since the letter options are very limited.
- Vegetarians, vegans, allergies and intolerances : If we are vegetarians or have some kind of intolerance, we may have problems eating comfortably in Japan, although this is gradually changing. To help you, we have published a specific post with recommendations for vegans and vegetarians in Japan and another post on celiac disease and other allergies and intolerances .
- Food ticket machines : When going to fast food establishments, remember that in many of them it is essential to pay and first get a ticket in one of their food ticket vending machines. There are some without drawings and only in Japanese, much more complicated for the tourist, but in the vast majority the buttons have small photos and the price of the product, which will help us enormously. If you haven’t seen these ticket machines before, you’re sure to be amazed!
- Upper floors of buildings : It must be remembered that in Japan many restaurants are located on the upper floors of buildings, so when looking for a place to eat, do not focus only on looking at street level. Let’s look up at the neon signs and signs that indicate the presence of restaurants on the upper floors. Sometimes we will have to take a private elevator to the restaurant, other times a common elevator, so you have to pay attention to which floor it is so as not to get confused.
- Electronic menu : Many restaurants in Japan have ipads and touch screens through which we can order food and drinks. It is especially common to find electronic menus in izakaya -type restaurantswith several rooms available for different groups of diners. It’s logical, since that way you can order from your dining room while you’re eating and you don’t have to call the waiter through the bells that are usually in each room or get up at any time. Another point in favor of electronic menus is that you can order as you fancy, without even having to talk to the waiters or interact with them in any way. If we don’t speak the language, it can also mean taking a load off our shoulders, since we will get rid of the stress that sometimes involves making ourselves understood by a waiter (although now we will spend the stress trying to understand all the options of the electronic menu). For the restaurant,