Don't break the bank: Japan's superb cheap eats

Wed, 03/07/2012 - 04:55 — Anonymous by Robbie SwinnertonEating on the cheap
in Japan doesn't have to mean scrounging for samples on the food floors of
department stores or surviving on convenience-store onigiri rice balls
-- though these are time-tested options for those who find themselves
cash-strapped and famished. There's plenty of great Japanese food that does
not require taking out a second mortgage, if you know where to look. What
applies in Tokyo generally follows in the rest of the country. First, our
four general rules of thumb for eats on the cheap: 1. Location is everything.
Food prices reflect real-estate overheads. Taking Tokyo as the first stop for
most tourists, you're far more likely to find affordable fare in the
blue-collar areas to the north and east of the city (such as Ikebukuro, Ueno,
Senju), districts with high concentrations of students (Yoyogi, Waseda) and
suburban shopping streets with old-school mom-and-pop diners.read more