Top Budget Eating in Japan

Kinryu Ramen Dotonbori ★ 4.8 · Osaka

Dotonbori and Namba · 1-7-26 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071

A ¥800 bowl of tonkotsu-soy ramen beneath the mechanical neon dragon on Dotonbori, open 24 hours. Osaka's most famous value meal on its most famous street.

Tip: Order at the vending machine inside; the basic ramen is ¥800, add extra chashu for ¥100.

Donguri Odori ★ 4.8 · Sapporo

odori · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0042, Japan

Donguri's hot rack runs 200-400 yen per bread: chikuwa pan, Hokkaido potato bread, curry pan and a dozen others. Stand-out cheap eats at Odori Park.

Tip: Eat warm on the Odori Park benches; buy two more for the train.

Daruma Kushikatsu Standing Counter ★ 4.7 · Osaka

Shinsekai · 2-3-9 Ebisu-higashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka 556-0002

The standing counter outside the Shinsekai Daruma flagship serves kushikatsu from ¥140 per skewer; order six skewers for a full meal under ¥1000.

Tip: The beef and onion combo at ¥200 is the best value skewer; order six minimum to feel satisfied.

Sumire Susukino ★ 4.7 · Sapporo

susukino · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0063, Japan

Sumire's late-night Susukino branch, one minute from Susukino subway. Miso ramen and side gyoza for under 1,500 yen. Open until 03:00 most nights.

Tip: Open until 03:00; the late-night Susukino bookend is under 1,500 yen.

Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta ★ 4.7 · Tokyo

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0066, Japan

Tsuta in Tokyo's Yoyogi-Uehara was the first ramen shop with a Michelin star (2016 guide), still under 1,800 yen for the truffle-oil shoyu soba.

Tip: Closed Tuesdays. Lunch only 11:00-15:00; no ticket system, queue in person.

Onigiri Bongo Otsuka ★ 4.7 · Tokyo

Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-0004, Japan

Onigiri Bongo in Tokyo's Otsuka is the famous omusubi counter rolling onigiri to order, Tabelog Top 100 onigiri shops. 50 fillings, eat-in or take away.

Tip: Closed Tuesdays. Queue from 11:00; eat-in counter seats turn fast. The salmon and umeboshi are the canonical orders.

Hakata Issou Honten Budget ★ 4.6 · Fukuoka

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0013, Japan

Hakata Issou's tonkotsu cappuccino comes in under 1,200 yen for the bowl plus a kaedama refill. Worth the queue for the price-to-quality ratio in Hakata.

Tip: Open 11:00-24:00 daily. Arrive before 11:30 or after 21:00 Cash is faster than card.

Kasanoya Umegae Mochi ★ 4.6 · Fukuoka

hakata · Fukuoka 818-0117, Japan

Kasanoya's umegae mochi at 130 yen each is one of the cheapest day-trip food orders. Grilled-to-order plum-mark rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.

Tip: Walk-in only. Open 09:00-18:00 daily; no closing day Cash is faster than card.

Lopez ★ 4.6 · Hiroshima

nishi-ku · 1-7-13 Kusunoki-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima

Lopez charges 730 yen for a griddle cake of vegetables, pork and egg in Hiroshima, or 880 yen with soba added, and the jalapenos cost nothing extra.

Tip: Central and South American plates share the board with the okonomiyaki, and the whole menu stays under 1,000 yen.

Matsuba Sohonten Shin-Umeda ★ 4.6 · Osaka

Umeda and Kita · 9-20 Kakudacho, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0017

A standing kushikatsu counter inside Shin-Umeda Shokudogai postwar alley; five skewers and a beer for under ¥1000 at a genuine Osaka counter.

Tip: The Shin-Umeda Shokudogai is a postwar food alley; the atmosphere is the point as much as the food.

Nijo Ichiba Ohiso ★ 4.6 · Sapporo

nijo-market · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0053, Japan

A Nijo Market sushi-and-donburi counter. The cheapest kaisendon (mixed seafood-over-rice) bowls land 1,800 yen; uni-ikura-crab triple bowls 2,800.

Tip: Walk in early; the queue stretches by 09:00 in summer Cash is faster than card.

Hokudai Soft Cream Stand ★ 4.6 · Sapporo

hokkaido-university · Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0808, Japan

Hokkaido University's campus dairy sells Clark's Milk soft serve for 350-450 yen across five flavours. The cheapest authentic Hokkaido dairy in Sapporo.

Tip: Open campus term-time only; haskap is the menu's outlier flavour.

Shin-Shin Tenjin Honten ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

tenjin · Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan

Shin-Shin pours a Hakata tonkotsu plus the city's better yakimeshi side under 1,200 yen. The 03:00 close anchors the cheaper Tenjin late-night plate.

Tip: Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Walk-in only.

Yanagibashi Rengo Ichiba Lunch Counters ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

hakata · Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0003, Japan

Several Yanagibashi stalls serve ready-to-eat seafood don, tempura plates and rice balls between 600 and 1,200 yen. The cheapest serious breakfast in Hakata.

Tip: Closed Sundays. Arrive before noon for the freshest stock Cash is faster than card.

Hakata Ikkousha Honten ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0011, Japan

Hakata Ikkousha's original-froth tonkotsu under 1,200 yen with kaedama refill. Five minutes from Hakata Station; cheaper than Ippudo, same bracket as Issou.

Tip: Daily 11:00-24:00. Vending-machine tickets.

Hakata Gion Tetsunabe ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0038, Japan

Hakata Gion Tetsunabe's iron-pan gyoza at 900 to 1,500 yen per pan with a beer comes under 2,000 yen total. The original tetsunabe gyoza, dinner-only.

Tip: Open 17:00-22:30. Closed Sundays and national holidays Cash is faster than card.

Bakudanya Honten ★ 4.5 · Hiroshima

shintenchi · 2-12 Shintenchi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Bakudanya sells Hiroshima tsukemen for under 1,000 yen in Shintenchi: cold noodles with cabbage, cucumber and a chilli dipping sauce you grade yourself.

Tip: Heat runs on a numbered scale, and asking for a lower number costs nothing and keeps the sauce readable.

Chukasoba Youki Eba Honten ★ 4.5 · Hiroshima

eba · 3-4-1 Ebaminami, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Chukasoba Youki in Eba has sold one bowl of Hiroshima chuka soba since 1958, and it remains among the cheapest good lunches anywhere in the city.

Tip: There is nothing else on the menu, so the queue moves quickly even when it runs out of the door.

Demachi Futaba Mame-Mochi ★ 4.5 · Kyoto

demachiyanagi · Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-0822, Japan

Salted-bean and azuki mochi for 220 yen at the city's most famous wagashi shinise in Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Eat fresh on a Kamogawa bench across the road.

Sapporo Zangi Honpo ★ 4.5 · Sapporo

susukino · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0063, Japan

Sapporo's reference zangi (Hokkaido fried chicken) counter. Set meals under 1,000 yen with free rice and cabbage refills; weekend lines run 15 minutes.

Tip: Same set-menu price all day; the Sapporo Station branch is the queue overflow.

Afuri Ebisu ★ 4.5 · Tokyo

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013, Japan

Afuri in Tokyo's Ebisu serves yuzu-shio ramen for around 1,200 yen, open 11:00-05:00 daily. The lightest clean late-night bowl near Ebisu Station.

Tip: Vending-machine ordering, cashless only. Lunch sets cheaper than dinner; tsukemen costs 100 to 200 yen extra.

Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast stalls ★ 4.5 · Tokyo

Tokyo 104-0045, Japan

Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo serves the city's best-value sushi breakfast: standing-counter nigiri at 1,500 yen, tamagoyaki at 200, fish skewers at 400.

Tip: Closed Wednesdays and Sundays. Start at the Namiyoke shrine corner; the standing-sushi counters thin out after 10:00.

Ebisuya Udon Hakata Sumiyoshi ★ 4.4 · Fukuoka

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0018, Japan

Ebisuya Udon's Kalbi Bukkake bowl at 780 yen was the 2014 Japan Udon Championship runner-up. Flat Hakata noodles, kalbi beef, raw Mihoran egg.

Tip: Closed Wednesdays. Lunch queues clear after 13:30.

Daichi no Udon Hakata ★ 4.4 · Fukuoka

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0011, Japan

Daichi no Udon goboten udon piles burdock tempura on a soft Hakata noodle bowl. Hakata Station B2 branch is the cheapest counter for a serious udon bowl.

Tip: Open from 10:00. Add a small bowl of rice for the broth soak.

Hide-Chan Yatai ★ 4.4 · Fukuoka

nakasu · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 810-0801, Japan

Hide-Chan's Nakasu yatai pours Hakata tonkotsu at the canal-side stall for under 1,000 yen. The post-drinking late-night close most locals order.

Tip: Cash only; six counter stools. Walk-in only.

Musashibo ★ 4.4 · Hiroshima

otemachi · 5-12 Fujimi-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Musashibo sells Hiroshima's broth-free tantanmen from a ticket machine in Fujimi-cho, with every heat level priced exactly the same as the rest.

Tip: Buy the ticket before you sit down, and stir the bowl hard before the first mouthful or the chilli oil stays at the bottom.

Nagataya ★ 4.4 · Hiroshima

otemachi · 1-7-19 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Nagataya keeps its lunch okonomiyaki near the A-Bomb Dome at around 1,000 yen, which is fair going for a counter standing this close to the Peace Park.

Tip: Lunch runs cheaper than dinner here, and the kitchen closes for the day at 20:00 rather than running late.

Honke Daiichi Asahi ★ 4.4 · Kyoto

kyoto-station · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8214, Japan

Kyoto's 1947-founded reference ramen counter under 1,200 yen a bowl. Open from 06:00 for breakfast ramen, the cheapest sit-down meal in the city.

Menya Inoichi White-Soy Ramen ★ 4.4 · Kyoto

karasuma-kawaramachi · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8043, Japan

Menya Inoichi's Michelin Bib Gourmand ramen under 1,200 yen in Kyoto. White-soy dashi broth, ajitama half-egg, and the smallest queue line at 11:00 sharp.

Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho ★ 4.4 · Sapporo

susukino · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0805, Japan

The 42-metre alley of 17 ramen shops south of Susukino runs through the night. Bowls land 850-1,400 yen; pick by queue length and a cheap immediate fix.

Tip: Skip the shops with English signs.