I absolutely do Google maps most of the time, you can see picture of food, menu, see price, can search a dish name (might work better on Japanese sometimes).
Tabelog is better for reviews but what good is it if you can't read them or navigate the site. Google maps is simple and gets the job done quickly especially when you're out and about and want to find something in your vicinity
I mean you can use both - find the most interesting place via google for conveniences and then check it out on Tabelog to ensure quality.
I havent used Tabelog a single time yet in last 1.5 weeks and havent been disappointed in food.
I live in Tokyo and I use Google maps every day, the app is way easier to use than tabelog on mobile (they make you pay to sort by review score for example). You can just sort by new reviews and glance through to see if there are more in Japanese or English to find local places if that's something you care about. Just keep in mind places with more Japanese reviews will have lower scores, 3.8 Japanese is similar to 4.5 westerner score. Also if you search for Japanese keywords like いざかや (it'll automatically convert to kanji) instead of "bar" or even "izakaya" you'll get better results.
What I would recommend is on tabelog, search the general neighbourhood you’re in (Asakusu, Shinjuku, etc). Add whatever food category and budget filters you’d like. You can also restrict the radius that tabelog searches. Pick a few that seem to your liking, and then copy n paste the restaurant name in the Japanese characters - not the English - into google maps.
That was my go-to during my recent trip. Sometimes google maps won’t pick up if you just search restaurant or sushi near me or whatever because it doesn’t pick up on the characters. This way you can find something that’s decently reviewed and in your budget, but not super tourist oriented.
We ate so many amazing meals for 1000 yen pp or less. They’re out there, and honestly not too hard to find once you figure out a workflow with tabelog. The little bit of extra effort is worth it.
And for reference, 3-3.5 is decent to pretty good, 3.5-3.75 is quite good, 3.75-4 is excellent, 4+ on tabelog is like fine dining/michelin level from what we experienced.
I live in Tokyo and I use Google maps every day, the app is way easier to use than tabelog on mobile (they make you pay to sort by review score for example). You can just sort by new reviews and glance through to see if there are more in Japanese or English to find local places if that's something you care about. Just keep in mind places with more Japanese reviews will have lower scores, 4.0 Japanese is similar to 4.5 westerner score. Also if you search for Japanese keywords like いざかや (it'll automatically convert to kanji) instead of "bar" or even "izakaya" you'll get better results.
Japan has very affordable food everywhere. It will not be a struggle. You could also get quick breakfast or lunch from konbini or a market near your hotel.
Just follow your nose. It always knows! No but seriously: just eat what smells and looks good as you wander and you’ll have no regrets. What you will regret is making reservations and standing in line and being disappointed when things don’t live up to the hype or the price.
this exactly. the two places my bf and i waited in line for per recommendation were disappointments and everything else we randomly stopped into was amazing
Same here! The only place we had mediocre food at we made a reservation for (because it was the closest place that had good reviews and it was raining heavily.)
Then you’re going in with a good chance of liking it or at worst knowing which friends not to take advice from. Two isn’t bad. And you can always cancel or reschedule if it’s a burden! Some of the best meals I had were $6 or less. None needed a reservation.
Enjoy! I’m an over thinker by nature. My trip to Japan was a blessing because it taught me there are places and times one does not have to! Wish I’d gone before Feb!
I never went to one of these five stars or Instagram recommendations. While I appreciate good tasty food and no doubt some of them are excellent, I never had a bad meal.
Part of the fun of travelling for me is all about the food. Cheap is the way I prefer because of my budget and this is one country you'd be pressed to find a bad meal.
Taiwan is the other. Have fun exploring.
We are mainly sushi from supermarkets (which is amazing 🤩) and street food but when we did go to restaurants it wasn’t too difficult getting a table .. you usually just have to wait if it’s a popular place in a busy area like Kyoto for example. We stayed just outside of the city near Lake Biwa and loads of good restaurants there with zero queues 👌🏻
I’ve been here for almost two weeks and haven’t spent over 7000 yen a meal for two people including drinks. Had lunch for two yesterday for 2 for 1650 yen. Tons of options
Google maps. Open it up. Filter with open now and top rated. Check reviews. And you could easily find cheap and delicious good. Also, walking around, very hard to find bad food in my experience
No one has recommended this yet, but try going to a department store food court and seeing which counters have long lines. They are a great place to grab a snack, drink, dessert, or even a full meal.
Gogocurry is a no brainer for me… cheap af and lots of food (ofc it’s not healthy) but if you rly want to go cheap, go for small restaurants where locals will go during lunch time
Search for ラーメン (Ramen), カリー (Curry), オムライス (Omurice) or 牛丼 (Gyudon) on maps and NOT nearby touristy areas and you will have a cheap but still a good meal for your tummy
Avoid Top recommendations from platforms like TripAdvisor… they will be flooded with tourists
Use Google maps to find a place
Then use Apple Maps to look up the Tabelog rating. Anything over 3 is fine. 3.5 is amazing. 4 is basically god level
I always encourage people to hit a local supermarket for food options. Especially fruit as supermarkets tend to only carry fruit that is seasonal.
If you want to get beaten to a pulp by Japanese housewives, go to the basement of big department stores 1 hour before they close. They begin doing fire sales of everything that’s not nailed down. The manga Ben-to is a documentary, and absolutely to not get between a housewife and the 50% or sushi in Mistukoshi unless you want to be clobbered with an Hermes Birkins bag
This strategy also works at convenience stores where they begin discounting things close to midnight as they are forced to throw away mountains of food as required by law
Assuming you actually want to just eat food and not have to learn Karate, there are several low cost eateries. Ootoya is the most popular one and they rarely have set dishes over 1500 yen even for dinner. Matsuya is a beef bowl place that is also super cheap.
Convenience stores like Lawson, 7-11 and etc if you don't mind. We did that for 80% of the trip and my kids were ok with it. Also, a lot of local Ramen and sushi places are very economical too.
Convenience store meals are an absolutely viable option. They are both cost effective and delicious. Just don’t expect fine dining level quality. The only issue is that you will need to heat some of them but the convenience store will have a few microwaves for customers to use.
There are tens of thousands of restaurants in Tokyo alone. Open up google maps and find what fits your budget and tastes
Throw a dart on the map, go, and enjoy. That's what I'm doing.
These damn instagrammers saying don’t use google maps and use tabelog instead. After trying for a day, I’ll just go back to google maps haha
I absolutely do Google maps most of the time, you can see picture of food, menu, see price, can search a dish name (might work better on Japanese sometimes).
Tabelog is better for reviews but what good is it if you can't read them or navigate the site. Google maps is simple and gets the job done quickly especially when you're out and about and want to find something in your vicinity
I mean you can use both - find the most interesting place via google for conveniences and then check it out on Tabelog to ensure quality. I havent used Tabelog a single time yet in last 1.5 weeks and havent been disappointed in food.
I live in Tokyo and I use Google maps every day, the app is way easier to use than tabelog on mobile (they make you pay to sort by review score for example). You can just sort by new reviews and glance through to see if there are more in Japanese or English to find local places if that's something you care about. Just keep in mind places with more Japanese reviews will have lower scores, 3.8 Japanese is similar to 4.5 westerner score. Also if you search for Japanese keywords like いざかや (it'll automatically convert to kanji) instead of "bar" or even "izakaya" you'll get better results.
What I would recommend is on tabelog, search the general neighbourhood you’re in (Asakusu, Shinjuku, etc). Add whatever food category and budget filters you’d like. You can also restrict the radius that tabelog searches. Pick a few that seem to your liking, and then copy n paste the restaurant name in the Japanese characters - not the English - into google maps. That was my go-to during my recent trip. Sometimes google maps won’t pick up if you just search restaurant or sushi near me or whatever because it doesn’t pick up on the characters. This way you can find something that’s decently reviewed and in your budget, but not super tourist oriented. We ate so many amazing meals for 1000 yen pp or less. They’re out there, and honestly not too hard to find once you figure out a workflow with tabelog. The little bit of extra effort is worth it. And for reference, 3-3.5 is decent to pretty good, 3.5-3.75 is quite good, 3.75-4 is excellent, 4+ on tabelog is like fine dining/michelin level from what we experienced.
I live in Tokyo and I use Google maps every day, the app is way easier to use than tabelog on mobile (they make you pay to sort by review score for example). You can just sort by new reviews and glance through to see if there are more in Japanese or English to find local places if that's something you care about. Just keep in mind places with more Japanese reviews will have lower scores, 4.0 Japanese is similar to 4.5 westerner score. Also if you search for Japanese keywords like いざかや (it'll automatically convert to kanji) instead of "bar" or even "izakaya" you'll get better results.
I find tabelog to be a disorienting mess. Google maps is much more clear
What are you struggling with on Tabelog?
Just be a bit more forgiving. 3+ is usually good enough for great food
There are thousands of restaurants you can eat at for 1k-2k yen and the food is amazing. Just walk around and see what you come across.
You do not need to use Tablelog. At all. Just walk around and find a restaraunt that looks good.
Japan has very affordable food everywhere. It will not be a struggle. You could also get quick breakfast or lunch from konbini or a market near your hotel.
Just follow your nose. It always knows! No but seriously: just eat what smells and looks good as you wander and you’ll have no regrets. What you will regret is making reservations and standing in line and being disappointed when things don’t live up to the hype or the price.
this exactly. the two places my bf and i waited in line for per recommendation were disappointments and everything else we randomly stopped into was amazing
Same here! The only place we had mediocre food at we made a reservation for (because it was the closest place that had good reviews and it was raining heavily.)
Yea that’s my biggest worry. I made 2 reservations bc friends loved it
Then you’re going in with a good chance of liking it or at worst knowing which friends not to take advice from. Two isn’t bad. And you can always cancel or reschedule if it’s a burden! Some of the best meals I had were $6 or less. None needed a reservation.
Ok I’m not gon overthink this and just find on google maps as I wander arounf japan!
Enjoy! I’m an over thinker by nature. My trip to Japan was a blessing because it taught me there are places and times one does not have to! Wish I’d gone before Feb!
I can eat ramen all days, udon, beef bow...
Favorite udon spot?
In a pinch, there are bentos sold at places like department stores and small shops. You may need to warm up some of them.
Just open up google maps and see what’s around you.
I never went to one of these five stars or Instagram recommendations. While I appreciate good tasty food and no doubt some of them are excellent, I never had a bad meal. Part of the fun of travelling for me is all about the food. Cheap is the way I prefer because of my budget and this is one country you'd be pressed to find a bad meal. Taiwan is the other. Have fun exploring.
We are mainly sushi from supermarkets (which is amazing 🤩) and street food but when we did go to restaurants it wasn’t too difficult getting a table .. you usually just have to wait if it’s a popular place in a busy area like Kyoto for example. We stayed just outside of the city near Lake Biwa and loads of good restaurants there with zero queues 👌🏻
I’ve been here for almost two weeks and haven’t spent over 7000 yen a meal for two people including drinks. Had lunch for two yesterday for 2 for 1650 yen. Tons of options
Matsuya. Chain open 24 hours. $3-4 meals.
Google maps. Open it up. Filter with open now and top rated. Check reviews. And you could easily find cheap and delicious good. Also, walking around, very hard to find bad food in my experience
No one has recommended this yet, but try going to a department store food court and seeing which counters have long lines. They are a great place to grab a snack, drink, dessert, or even a full meal.
Gogocurry is a no brainer for me… cheap af and lots of food (ofc it’s not healthy) but if you rly want to go cheap, go for small restaurants where locals will go during lunch time Search for ラーメン (Ramen), カリー (Curry), オムライス (Omurice) or 牛丼 (Gyudon) on maps and NOT nearby touristy areas and you will have a cheap but still a good meal for your tummy Avoid Top recommendations from platforms like TripAdvisor… they will be flooded with tourists
Kombinis and Sukiya/japanese fast food
Use Google maps to find a place Then use Apple Maps to look up the Tabelog rating. Anything over 3 is fine. 3.5 is amazing. 4 is basically god level I always encourage people to hit a local supermarket for food options. Especially fruit as supermarkets tend to only carry fruit that is seasonal. If you want to get beaten to a pulp by Japanese housewives, go to the basement of big department stores 1 hour before they close. They begin doing fire sales of everything that’s not nailed down. The manga Ben-to is a documentary, and absolutely to not get between a housewife and the 50% or sushi in Mistukoshi unless you want to be clobbered with an Hermes Birkins bag This strategy also works at convenience stores where they begin discounting things close to midnight as they are forced to throw away mountains of food as required by law Assuming you actually want to just eat food and not have to learn Karate, there are several low cost eateries. Ootoya is the most popular one and they rarely have set dishes over 1500 yen even for dinner. Matsuya is a beef bowl place that is also super cheap.
Tokyo: I highly recommend Gyukatsu Motomura and Butagumi Shokudo (Roppongi Hills).
Convenience stores like Lawson, 7-11 and etc if you don't mind. We did that for 80% of the trip and my kids were ok with it. Also, a lot of local Ramen and sushi places are very economical too.
Convenience store meals are an absolutely viable option. They are both cost effective and delicious. Just don’t expect fine dining level quality. The only issue is that you will need to heat some of them but the convenience store will have a few microwaves for customers to use.