Restaurant & dining options for travellers

What is your Japanese experience without tasting the mouth-watering dishes that you can find only in Japan? Even though not very budget friendly, you can find some of the world’s finest restaurants in Japan’s world-famous hotels and chic city districts such as Tokyo's Ginza, Roppongi, Akasaka, and Harajuku.

However, if you’re on a budget, you can try some moderately priced restaurants and cafes usually located at office building basements, department stores, urban shopping center, and underground malls. The most popular order in these places is “teishoku”, a complete meal in a tray. To order at these inexpensive restaurants, you just have to point on the plastic models which you can find in the counter. There are also a lot of noodle stands, fast-food outlets, and vending machines that offer foods at even lower prices.

Aside from restaurants, you can also experience novelty food items that you can taste only in Japan. There are box lunches that are sold on trains, dinner on cruise ships, dinner shows at posh hotels, “yatai” stall found on the side streets of Tokyo, sandwiches and box lunches from convenience stores, and Kaiten Sushi—a place for the ultimate sushi lover!

Paying methods are different, depending on the establishment. Cheap eating places and fast foods don’t accept credit cards, while tipping in luxurious restaurants is not necessary due to implemented service charge.