- The Quick Guide to Expo 2025 in Osaka - 19 April 2025
- Exploring Nagamachi – Kanazawa’s Samurai District - 17 April 2025
- Avoid These 7 Tourist Trap Nightmares in Japan! - 15 April 2025
You don’t have to spend a fortune to eat well in Japan – or, to try lots of different foods. Here are 10 dishes in Japan that you can easily try for under US$10 – around 1500 yen. And some of our favourite places to try them.
The good news about eating cheaply in Japan is that it’s safe. There are some countries where the cheapest places to eat aren’t always the best for your belly—and no one wants an upset stomach ruining their holiday—but, generally, food standards are high in Japan, and hygiene in restaurants is good.
In addition, many restaurants, even budget ones with just one staff member and a handful of seats, specialise in one dish that they practise until they cook it exceptionally well. So, even budget meals can be worthy of Michelin Stars (in fact, Tokyo has over 160 restaurants with some kind of Michelin award). So, what should you try on our budget tour of Japan’s food?
1. Yakitori
The grills are smoky, and the crowd is often lively, but the highlight in a yakitori restaurant is the skewers of grilled meat and vegetables the chef is constantly turning in the corner. These are paid for individually, so you can eat as many or as few as you like – but, you’re likely to get 6-7 skewers for under $10.
You can stick to familiar foods like chicken or pork or get super adventurous and try skewers of intestines, chicken skin, and cartilage—two of these are good; I do not need to try cartilage again!
My favourite picks are tsukune (meatballs), green peppers, intestines, and plain old chicken breast. I also like the ones that mix chicken and leek. I always have a side of potato salad if they sell it.
Prices vary, but you can pay as little as 170 per skewer for vegetables and around 190 to 200 for meat dishes.
One of Japan’s most atmospheric places to eat yakitori is the ‘Yakitori Alley’, which is located under the railway arches in Yukakochu. It’s marked on Google Maps. Many of the restaurants here have English menus, so just wander down until you find a place with seats.
I also like Masuya Shibadaimon in Daimon—their tsukune is really good. However, if you’re keeping the costs down, they do charge a seat fee per person.
The absolute best tsukune I’ve had so far was at Toricho, a yakitori restaurant in Takamatsu – although that might be a bit out of the way for most first-time tourists – but, if you’re visiting Shikoku on your trip, go and don’t walk, run!
2. Ramen
There’s a phenomenon in Japan where very few ramen shops will break the barrier of 1000 yen a bowl. In fact, a recent survey in Japan found that 90 per cent of people thought ramen was too expensive over this price.
Now, admittedly, this is working a little bit against us budget eaters as to avoid crossing this barrier, some restaurants have to shrink portions or reduce the number of toppings they offer on their bowls, but you can still get some amazing deals out there.
My absolute favourite place for ramen in Tokyo is THANK in Daimon. It has a really thick chicken-based broth, and the basic bowl starts at 900 yen.
If you’re looking for Michelin-starred ramen, though, a heap of ramen shops in Tokyo can provide the goods—and many are under our $10 limit, including the revered Ginza Hachigo, which has two dishes on the menu under 1500 yen. Check out the Ginza guide for details on how to get into this incredibly popular restaurant.
RELATED READ: How to order ramen at the famous Ichiran chain
3. Okonomiyaki
Known as the ‘everything you like’ pancake, okonomiyaki is a savory treat that blends cabbage, batter, and various toppings. It is often cooked right in front of you. The basic version normally costs under 1500 yen, and it’s big enough to serve two with a side dish.
I don’t eat okonomiyaki often because I find it too filling when I’m traveling solo (and I have a big appetite), but Mr Japlanease and I recently shared a huge one from Naniwano Yume in Osaka (close to Dotonbori), which set us up for a night of beers and karaoke.
Okonomiyaki is also a must-try dish in Hiroshima. One really popular place to try it is Okonomimura, a multi-storey building full of okonomiyaki restaurants, but you’ll find it all over the city.
I tried mine (above) at Hiroshimaakayakien Ekinishi Honten, a famous okonomiyaki restaurant in Hiroshima’s small bar area Ekinishi. The basic version costs 1247 yen – I had it with a side of grilled oysters, which were amazing. I wish I’d spent a bit more time exploring the Ekinishi area as it looks very cool.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. Choose from our 62-page Japan Super Planner, which includes tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing. Or, try a specific planner like Tokyo Tips, Kyoto Tips, or the Rail Pass Planner. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
4. Kushi Katsu
As I said to my friend Kendall on our recent trip to Osaka; ‘ Why wouldn’t we want to eat deep-fried cheese on sticks again?’ as we ate kushi katsu for about the third meal running.
For those unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine, kushi katsu (also known as kushiage) is a selection of meat, seafood, and veggies battered and fried to a crispy golden brown. It’s served on skewers with a rich dipping sauce.
Like yakitori, you can order as many, or as few, sticks as you need. Expect to pay from 130-200 yen per stick. Grilled cheese is always my go-to, then maybe some pork belly – and some veggies in an attempt to feel a bit healthier (it doesn’t work).
If you’re in the Shinkekai area of Osaka, you’ll find kushi katsu served everywhere. I can’t say I’ve eaten it anywhere that impressed me more than the others—this is not gourmet food—so you probably can’t go too wrong. However, the Daruma chain, with its giant angry chef mascot, is always a reliable stop for kushi katsu, and they have an English menu.
5. Japanese Sandwiches
Japanese convenience stores are more than a pit stop for late-night cravings. They offer a smorgasbord of mouth-watering delights all for just a few bucks, and for me, at least, the pinnacle of goodies to enjoy is the soft white bread sandwiches—particularly the egg ones.
I’ve written a longer post on my love for Japanese sandwiches (with a brief explanation of why they might be so worryingly addictive), but they can’t be beaten for a bargain breakfast, lunch, snack, or even as part of dinner.
My trip isn’t complete without at least one night holed up in my hotel, watching Japanese television with the contents of the konbini—including at least one sandwich and a Zima drink. It’s the perfect way to relax from all the walking while still feeling like you’re doing something uniquely Japanese.
If you want something more substantial, visit the deli American in Ginza, famous for its giant egg sandwiches – 900 yen. Or try the latest trend: fried sandwiches at Age.3, also in Ginza – expect to queue.
6. Tsukemen
Sometimes, even I can’t have ramen for dinner again. It doesn’t happen often, and at this point, I usually go for sushi or tonkatsu, but sometimes, I might still want noodles—and that’s when I go for Tsukemen.
This kind of like a deconstructed ramen. You’ll get a plate of cold noodles, a steaming bowl of a thick dipping sauce, and, sometimes toppings like sliced pork, boiled egg and seaweed in the broth or on the side. You then dip the noodles and other ingredients into the broth.
At Fuuji, long regarded as one of the best tsukemen restaurants in Tokyo, their signature dish is 1000 yen, and Special Tsukumen is 1200. If you visit here, they also sell ramen, so don’t use the rule that the top left button is the way to go when you can’t read things. Instead, push the button on the ordering machine with the words ‘dipoodle’ or the characters つけめん.
RELATED READ: Find out more about the top left button rule in our guide on how to order from a ticket machine restaurant in Japan
7. Onigiri
Nothing defines a quick and easy bite better than onigiri. These rice triangles filled with savory delights are great for eating on the shinkansen, as a light meal, or as a snack.
I mentioned in my Asakusa guide that every day I’d look out of my hotel room window and see a queue of people winding down the road – and the place they were queuing for was one of Tokyo’s original onigiri makers, Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku. They opened in 1954 and the fact that they are still open tells you everything you need to know.
Lunch here costs from 814 yen for a set of 2 rice balls, tofu miso soup and pickled radish.
8. Soba Noodles
Soba noodles offer versatility. You can have them hot or cold. They come plain or in broth. And, soba can be cheap and cheerful or very high-end – so make sure you know the price range of the soba restaurant you’re thinking of before you start ordering or you could definitely bust your $10 budget!
You’ll find a few different options on the Michelin-recommended Ishiusubiki Teuchi Kyōrakutei in Kaguruzaka. Come for lunch for the cheaper menu – it’s a lot more expensive at dinner.
Kaguruzaka is the old geisha district in Tokyo, and you can sometimes still see them there.
In Kyoto, I enjoyed the vegetarian soba I had at Tsure-zure in Arashiyama – a bargain 650 yen a bowl. Find more details on that in our Kyoto itinerary.
9. Takoyaki
Get ready to indulge in bite-sized balls of joy, filled with octopus and cooked to crispy perfection.
The perfect drinking food, takoyaki is one of the must-eat foods in Osaka, where stalls like Takoyaki Wanaka, close to Kuromon Market, crank out skillet after skillet of piping hot, freshly cooked takoyaki.
You usually buy takoyaki in portions of six. The filling in each ball is just tiny squares of octopus, but you can sometimes pick from different sauces and toppings.
If you’re not going to Osaka, the Takoyaki Museum in the Decks Tokyo Beach complex in Odaiba allows you to sample the specialities of many famous Takoyaki restaurants under one roof.
Save Money with Klook & Japlanease
If you plan on buying tickets or tours from Klook for when you’re in Japan, you could save up to 10 per cent by using the code JAPLANEASEKLOOK at the checkout. Click here to see what’s on offer.
T&Cs apply. Some items, including Tokyo Disney and USJ tickets, are not available for discounts.
10. Kaiten-Zushi
While sushi is often seen as a splurge, kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) offers variety and affordability. Snag your favourites as they pass by and create a feast under our $10 budget.
Plates vary in cost, so if you’re picking plates off the conveyor, make sure you check the key on the table that shows which colours plates cost what. Many conveyor belt sushi places also now let you order by screen on the table, and then you’ll clearly see the prices per item.
The Kura sushi chain is very cheap and cheerful, as is Genki sushi in Shibuya, but I also like the Sushi-Go-Round chain as some of their branches will deliver your meal on a plate shaped like a mini-shinkansen! But, generally, you won’t go wrong.
So there you have it 10 fantastic dishes you can order in Japan for under US$10 – now who said Japan was expensive?