How much does food cost in Japan? Real prices per meal
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: what each costs, where it's cheapest, what I spent per day and why food in Japan is closer to Spain than you'd imagine.
Japan has a reputation as an expensive trip, and it is, but not because of the food. What weighs most is hotels (a barely acceptable and tiny room cost no less than €100 a night) and the fact that, once you're there, you feel like buying everything. On food, though, my experience was that prices are quite similar to Spain. Here are the real ranges.
What each meal costs
- Breakfast: €5–10. Cafés, konbini or the hotel breakfast. I went to 7-Eleven a lot and the improvised breakfasts there were incredible.
- Lunch: €10–25, up to €30. Ramen, casual sushi, udon. You don't need to spend much to eat well.
- Dinner: €15–250. Here is all the difference: from an izakaya or an okonomiyaki to a wagyu, an omakase or a kaiseki. I had fantastic €30 dinners.
Where it's cheapest: street food
There are cheap restaurants, but what's truly cheap is street food. The Tsukiji outer market is incredible: there's everything, although the wagyu there is expensive. And konbini like 7-Eleven sort out a breakfast or a quick dinner for very little.
What I spent per day on food
In my case, between €50 and €200 a day on food, and the €200 days were the ones I did an omakase. If you go more relaxed and mix casual days with the occasional special dinner, count on €40–70 a day.
As a reference for where you can end up:
- An omakase cost me about €80 per person (there are options for much more).
- Gyukatsu Motomura, the breaded wagyu you finish cooking at the table, I went twice because I loved it.
- A high-end restaurant (like Nobu, for example) and suddenly, between two, you spend €600. I went with what I could afford, so I never reached those extremes.
The "random" places are worth it too
The best dishes weren't always at the famous places: the best ramen I've ever had was at a restaurant I found in Shinjuku and whose name I don't even remember. Leave gaps in your plan to walk in wherever catches your eye.
Quick summary
| Meal | Range |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | €5–10 |
| Lunch | €10–25 (up to €30) |
| Dinner | €15–250 |
| Full day (what I spent) | €50–200 |
| Mixed, more relaxed day | €40–70 |
On food, Japan comes out similar to Spain; it's lodging that pushes the budget up. For the other costs, see how much a 17-day trip to Japan really costs, what I learned about money in Japan and what to see (and where to eat) in Tokyo. The whole trip, day by day, in the 17-day Japan itinerary.
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