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Life In Japan: Eat Cheap!

Life In Japan: Eat Cheap!

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Japan is not, contrary to what you may have heard, a particularly expensive country. Sure, it’s got its high-end areas and an obsession with brand names that both rivals and completely outdoes anything America’s most self-absorbed millennials could offer, but generally speaking, the cost of living in Japan, even in places like Tokyo, is pretty reasonable.

Like everything unique about this place, the reasons for it are tied up pretty tightly around other aspects of the culture. For example, Japanese apartments are, almost universally, comically small and kitchens are somewhat of a luxury. Most places will have an electric or gas hob with one ring, and if you’re really lucky, you might get two so cooking can be inconvenient at best and impossible at worst. As such, eating out is a big thing here and there are a lot of really cheap options for anyone who wants to fill up before heading home to their matchbox to sleep.

Gyudon

Gyudon is not one of the Japanese dishes that has crossed the atlantic to much fanfare, but it really should have. There are variations, but at its most basic, Gyudon is a giant bowl of white rice with shredded beef and onions on it. Simple. Elegant. Delicious and filling like you wouldn’t believe. It’s hard to believe this stuff is considered fast-food here but if you’ve ever ordered it, you’ll know just how accurately it lives up to that name. Whether you go to Sukiya, Matsuya or Yoshinoya, all of which stay open practically 24 hours a day, you won’t have to wait long to get that Gyudon into ye, and at 500 yen (€3.50), you really can’t go wrong.

Konbini’s

Not necessarily a Japanese invention, the American convenience store certainly became an entirely different beast when Japan got its hands on the concept. The Konbini, as its colloquially known, is maybe the greatest thing ever. Open 24 hours a day, it sells just about everything you could ever want at 2 in the morning, offers print services, ticket purchases, bill paying and can be found on just about every street corner in the country. Konbini’s are slick to bits and their food isn’t that bad either. Many of my generation will remember Pokémon’s Brock used to knock back an awful lot of bizarre looking jelly doughnuts. Well, that’s because they were actually onigiri; rice balls, filled with various fillings, wrapped in nori (seaweed) and sold at less than 1 euro. If that doesn’t do it for you, you might also be aware of the humble Japanese meat-bun. Even though they’re actually Chinese in origin, the niku-man are steamed dumplings filled with sweet pork that have become synonymous with Japan’s on-the-go lifestyle. These usually go for just over a euro, and there’s nothing quite as wonderful as stuffing your face into a steamed meat pocket on a winter evening. Konbini’s offer a lot of food options if you’re hungry and/or poor.

Kin No Kura

The first of two izakaya (Japanese style pubs) on this list, Kin no Kura is a chain that made a name for itself on its 1000 yen nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink). In case you’re not keeping up with my currency conversion, 1000 yen is roughly around 7 euro, and for 7 euro at Kin no Kura, you can drink all the alcohol you can stomach for two hours. That’s right. All you can drink, for the price of one drink. There’s a good reason Kin no Kura pubs can be found anywhere, and they’re unsurprisingly never empty.

Torikizoku

The second izakaya on the list, Torikizoku doesn’t offer a nomihoudai, but it doesn’t really have to because everything on the menu, from the beer, whiskey and cocktails, to the fried chicken and grilled peppers, costs 280 yen (€2). That’s right. Everything. €2. Many a good night has started at Toriki, and many a good night has ended there too.

Coco’s Curry House

If you’re a Dubliner and into Japanese stuff at all, chances are you’ve been to one of Dublin’s Japanese eateries. Perhaps you’ve tried something called Chicken Katsu Curry at either Yamamori or Wagamama and perhaps it cost you between €12 and €17. Well, I hate to break it to you, but at any of Coco’s Curry Houses, a chicken katsu curry almost twice the size of Wagamama’s best will cost you a grand total of 700 yen, which is around €5. There are even optional extras and prices go up as the sizes go up, obviously but, even at its most expensive, Coco’s will only ever cost you about €10.

So next time you’re in Japan, don’t try to be a hero and find the expensive bespoke sushi places so you can Instagram an inevitably underwhelming plate of sushi, because who are you kidding? That could be supermarket sushi and you wouldn’t know the difference. Find one of Japan’s many izakayas or ‘fast-food’ places, pig out and save your money for the important stuff. Believe me, there are other aspects of the country that have no problem taking your money, but food really doesn’t have to be one of them.

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