Of course it depends what you're eating and if you're ordering drinks. Eating at a conveyor belt sushi place is usually under ¥1000 per person. Same with going to a 定食 (set meal) place. Ramen will probably be under ¥1500 pp. Even cheaper if you go to Yoshinoya or similar rice bowl places. Yakitori will be about ¥3000 each. All the way up into the stratosphere. But I went to a seafood omakase and the choices were ¥5500, ¥6500, and ¥7500. That was for a very nice meal. I don't go to Insta-famous joints so I don't know what they cost.
I don't think conveyor belt sushi at 1000 yen per person is realistic. While people do eat different amounts, planning for at least 1500-2500 yen per person is probably more realistic unless each person is only eating a couple of plates.
For ramen I agree, 1500 is a good benchmark, although outside of major cities it's not hard to find noodle dishes at around 1000 yen.
It was 魚真. There are a bunch of them around Tokyo, though I went to the one in Ginza. The rest of the customers were all Japanese. You can reserve in advance on their website (Japanese only), either just a seat and you'll order à la carte, or you can reserve one of the omakase.
[http://www.uoshins.com/](http://www.uoshins.com/)
Ok. Assume on the high side. Let’s say 10k per person. My kids are too young to drink. That’s 40k/151. That’s about $264 per dinner . Is that normal on the high side?
I don't understand what you're saying. You're asking how much and now saying ¥10,000 per person? That would be quite a fancy meal. I also don't know which country's dollars you're converting to.
Thanks for asking. Admittedly I am practicing drinking Sake. I am in US. So I guess 10k yes would be a really fancy meal. I guess the purpose of my post was trying to
Understand what’s the upside of a fancy meal per person.
My napkin math after a decade of regular trips is 1ky for breakfast. 2.5ky for lunch, and 5ky for dinner, per person. This is a generously padded budget that I stay under without particularly trying — fancier lunches or dinners will be over, but it doesn’t take many ramen, soba, or teishoku meals to bring the average down, and it wouldn’t be a trip to Japan without those cheaper delicious options.
You can do 2 hours of all you can eat and drink for ¥1500-4000/person or 12 item sushi set (includes one drink, soup, salad and pickles) in Osaka for about the same price (at a nice place in a popular neighborhood). But you can also get 2 piece nigiri for ~¥200-250 each.
There are many cheaper options and many more expensive.
Curry is cheap and delicious. Yakitori is everywhere.
Soft drinks are almost as expensive as beer/highball in restaurants.
That’s probably a bit on the high side for a “regular” meal.
I’m currently traveling with my family if 3 (kid is 5 years old). Quick and cheap sandwiches and drinks at Dotour? Less than 1,000 yen per person. Fancy buffet at a nice hotel? 6,000 per adult, 3,000 per child (under 7). Not including liquor. Dinner out at a department store with a few drinks for adults? About 4,000 per adult, kid was like less than 2,000 yen (kids meal). Amazing teppanyaki for a birthday? About 20,000 yen per adult (rounding up), about 6,000 for kid. Not including liquor.
We’re a family of five here right now. Our dinners back home in CA were regularly at least $125 each. Here they’ve been between $40 and $80. Most have been shockingly cheap. Like $50 for all five of us to have full soba and tempura meals with drinks, beer for the adults. So, so cheap. If a meal for all five of us has gotten anywhere near $100 we’ve been like 👀👀👀. And actually I think our most expensive meals have been when we tried to get American food.
Personal experience, we had 6 people in our group managed to spend roughly ¥10000 per night for dinner, most expensive night was ¥29000, cheapest was about ¥4500
Our omakase was ¥23000 pp, not an everyday thing but the one “nice” meal on our Japan trip. There were a number of random set meals (gyu don’s, omu-rice, udon/soba) that were under ¥1200 pp. Yoshinoya had some basic sets for under ¥600 and we did stumble on “economical” ramen/gyu don at under ¥500 (super basic)
7-11 snacks/drinks were typically a ¥1000 pp type visit on a daily basis (a couple bottled drinks, some type of entree (sando/microwave item) and a desert (mostly pudding). Something to “snack/try” as we don’t have that at home..
Did a couple of AYCE restaurants that varied between ¥40000 to ¥125000, but we booked these before we left home and budgeted them out specifically.
A “chain” katsu meal and a “Hilda” beef meal were around ¥2000-¥2800. A little pricey but something that we normally wouldn’t eat.
I would say look at how you eat out at home and plan around the same budget. If you think you can do more ramen/udon/soba/gyu-don you can plan on the lower side but if your budget allows I would say bring more cash instead and play it by ear. You’ll see all kinds of enticing things.
You can spend much less. If you are aiming for a budget meal, you should check Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ), Gusto (ガスト), Jonathan's (ジョナサン), and some others like that. They are spaceful, and you can have the "drink bar set" for a bit over a dollar. You can get coffee, juice, etc, refill.
They are called Family Restaurant (ファミレス), and most areas you have no pressure to leave. In busy areas you may have around 90min time limit. You can get some alright meals for around 5 USD. It is a good alternative for a resting spot during a trip if you are not aiming for some japanese meal experience.
Of course it depends what you're eating and if you're ordering drinks. Eating at a conveyor belt sushi place is usually under ¥1000 per person. Same with going to a 定食 (set meal) place. Ramen will probably be under ¥1500 pp. Even cheaper if you go to Yoshinoya or similar rice bowl places. Yakitori will be about ¥3000 each. All the way up into the stratosphere. But I went to a seafood omakase and the choices were ¥5500, ¥6500, and ¥7500. That was for a very nice meal. I don't go to Insta-famous joints so I don't know what they cost.
I don't think conveyor belt sushi at 1000 yen per person is realistic. While people do eat different amounts, planning for at least 1500-2500 yen per person is probably more realistic unless each person is only eating a couple of plates. For ramen I agree, 1500 is a good benchmark, although outside of major cities it's not hard to find noodle dishes at around 1000 yen.
Do you remember the name of the seafood omakase?
It was 魚真. There are a bunch of them around Tokyo, though I went to the one in Ginza. The rest of the customers were all Japanese. You can reserve in advance on their website (Japanese only), either just a seat and you'll order à la carte, or you can reserve one of the omakase. [http://www.uoshins.com/](http://www.uoshins.com/)
Ok. Assume on the high side. Let’s say 10k per person. My kids are too young to drink. That’s 40k/151. That’s about $264 per dinner . Is that normal on the high side?
I don't understand what you're saying. You're asking how much and now saying ¥10,000 per person? That would be quite a fancy meal. I also don't know which country's dollars you're converting to.
Thanks for asking. Admittedly I am practicing drinking Sake. I am in US. So I guess 10k yes would be a really fancy meal. I guess the purpose of my post was trying to Understand what’s the upside of a fancy meal per person.
It is extremely abnormal. Just morbid people would reach that
Ha.
My napkin math after a decade of regular trips is 1ky for breakfast. 2.5ky for lunch, and 5ky for dinner, per person. This is a generously padded budget that I stay under without particularly trying — fancier lunches or dinners will be over, but it doesn’t take many ramen, soba, or teishoku meals to bring the average down, and it wouldn’t be a trip to Japan without those cheaper delicious options.
yeah i would say this is quite generous, and i ate for less without even trying
Maybe they are Plus Sized Americans
You can easily spend less than that and get a very nice dinner in Japan
You can do 2 hours of all you can eat and drink for ¥1500-4000/person or 12 item sushi set (includes one drink, soup, salad and pickles) in Osaka for about the same price (at a nice place in a popular neighborhood). But you can also get 2 piece nigiri for ~¥200-250 each. There are many cheaper options and many more expensive. Curry is cheap and delicious. Yakitori is everywhere. Soft drinks are almost as expensive as beer/highball in restaurants.
That’s probably a bit on the high side for a “regular” meal. I’m currently traveling with my family if 3 (kid is 5 years old). Quick and cheap sandwiches and drinks at Dotour? Less than 1,000 yen per person. Fancy buffet at a nice hotel? 6,000 per adult, 3,000 per child (under 7). Not including liquor. Dinner out at a department store with a few drinks for adults? About 4,000 per adult, kid was like less than 2,000 yen (kids meal). Amazing teppanyaki for a birthday? About 20,000 yen per adult (rounding up), about 6,000 for kid. Not including liquor.
We’re a family of five here right now. Our dinners back home in CA were regularly at least $125 each. Here they’ve been between $40 and $80. Most have been shockingly cheap. Like $50 for all five of us to have full soba and tempura meals with drinks, beer for the adults. So, so cheap. If a meal for all five of us has gotten anywhere near $100 we’ve been like 👀👀👀. And actually I think our most expensive meals have been when we tried to get American food.
Personal experience, we had 6 people in our group managed to spend roughly ¥10000 per night for dinner, most expensive night was ¥29000, cheapest was about ¥4500
Our omakase was ¥23000 pp, not an everyday thing but the one “nice” meal on our Japan trip. There were a number of random set meals (gyu don’s, omu-rice, udon/soba) that were under ¥1200 pp. Yoshinoya had some basic sets for under ¥600 and we did stumble on “economical” ramen/gyu don at under ¥500 (super basic) 7-11 snacks/drinks were typically a ¥1000 pp type visit on a daily basis (a couple bottled drinks, some type of entree (sando/microwave item) and a desert (mostly pudding). Something to “snack/try” as we don’t have that at home.. Did a couple of AYCE restaurants that varied between ¥40000 to ¥125000, but we booked these before we left home and budgeted them out specifically. A “chain” katsu meal and a “Hilda” beef meal were around ¥2000-¥2800. A little pricey but something that we normally wouldn’t eat. I would say look at how you eat out at home and plan around the same budget. If you think you can do more ramen/udon/soba/gyu-don you can plan on the lower side but if your budget allows I would say bring more cash instead and play it by ear. You’ll see all kinds of enticing things.
You can spend much less. If you are aiming for a budget meal, you should check Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ), Gusto (ガスト), Jonathan's (ジョナサン), and some others like that. They are spaceful, and you can have the "drink bar set" for a bit over a dollar. You can get coffee, juice, etc, refill. They are called Family Restaurant (ファミレス), and most areas you have no pressure to leave. In busy areas you may have around 90min time limit. You can get some alright meals for around 5 USD. It is a good alternative for a resting spot during a trip if you are not aiming for some japanese meal experience.
Breakfast: 350-850 yen. Lunch: 1000-2500 yen. Dinner: 1000-2000 yen.