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jason1978 · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 2

Howdy folks,

I'll be travelling around Japan next week with a friend and our first stop is Tokyo. Now I realize this city can be pricey but I figured there must be some hidden cheap spots. If anyone has a favorite bar or restaurant (sushi especially) that is also a good deal, please let me know. I hope I don't have to resort to stricktly eating ramen and drinking cheap Sake in my hotel room. Thanks.

Oh, we're also planning on visiting Nagano, Kyoto, and Osaka so any advice on those places would also be appreciated.

Cheers.

Eleckid · Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 102 Location: Aichi, Japan

Hm...I'm not from Tokyo, but basically in Japan, I think sushi is not so cheap. Those 100yen/dish rotating sushi bars (ex. Kappa sushi) is probably the cheapest sushi place you can go to (maybe I'm wrong). You can also buy packages of sushi at any supermarket.

You'll be going to Nagano? Cool, you'll be just in time for fruits picking~ I picked big juicy apples last year & it was fun & not so expensive!

Is Kyoto famous for its tempura don & sakura soft cream? I've tried those the last time I went cuz my boss told me that Kyoto is famous for those (& many other food).

Osaka is most famous for its takoyaki, but I've eaten like the same kind here (Aichi) from a food stall during the sakura festival. During summer festival, I had Osaka style okonomiyaki (I'm not sure if it is from Osaka, they just said it is), and it was REALLY good! It's 2 small okonomiyaki, with a fried egg sandwiched in between, sorta like an egg mcmuffin (but with okonomiyaki). It was really really good~ if you can find that in Osaka, be sure to try it!

AgentMulderUK · Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2004 2:20 pm Post subject: Re: Tokyo (on a budget)

jason1978 · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 2

Hey, thanks Eleckid and Mulder. I've heard about those conveyer belt sushi places. I'll definitely check one out. I've got a Lonely Planet guide so that should also come in handy. Still, if anyone has any places that might not be in the guides, please post. Thanks

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Where in Tokyo are you staying?

texastmblwd69 · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 91 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Let me tell you a story of a time I visited Tokyo and was on a very tight budget:

It was 1993 and I was in the US Air Force. I was on my way from the states ("stateside" as the military types like to say) to my base at Misawa (Northern Honshu, near Aomori). I had very little money (maybe 10 or 12 dollars - about half of which was in yen). I had a layover and the hotel and transportation were already paid for but the layover was 3 days. Once I got to my hotel, the New Sanno (a resort-style hotel owned and operated by the US Military and next to the German Embassy) I checked in and bought some Goober Grape and a loaf of bread from the shopette (convenience store) inside the lobby (this was every meal during my 3 day stay). I then wanted to go out and see some of Tokyo. Now, I couldn't afford to buy anything or go on a lengthy subway ride (much less a taxi ride), so I decided to just pick out a street and walk down it. I thought I'd walk in a straight line for a couple of hours and see whatever sights I could see and then I'd turn around and head straight back to the hotel - no problem. Well, about 5 hours later I decided I was hopelessly lost. Somehow, the street (not marked and not named) turned when I didn't realize it (or I turned and didn't realize it) and I was miles away from where I needed to be.

My saving grace was the 3 or 4 hundred yen in my pocket and a kindly Canadian I accidentally bumped into on the sidewalk. I asked him if he could direct me to the nearest subway station and he did just that. Once you're in the subway, there's no problem. All signage is simple and written in Roman characters as well as Japanese script.

My advice: always have a few hundred yen on you and learn at least a few words/phrases in Japanese, just in case you get lost sometime.

: )

olorin · Joined: 24 Jun 2003 Posts: 13

I lived in Tokyo about six months ago. My wife and I love sushi, and we would often go to this kaiten sushi joint that's across from the southwest corner of the Marui (0I0I) just south of the train station in Ueno. They had some pretty decent prices (I believe it was 125 yen a plate). Just a little bit south from there was our favorite pub, the Hub. Man, after living in Japan, sushi just hasn't been the same. Have fun in Tokyo. Ii, na?!