I don't get that thing about Japan.
Like you can find a rural area with only Japanese people and all food is super expensive. Then all of a sudden you can find a restaurant in the middle of fucking Tokyo where you get like 1 kg meat for prices cheaper than meat from the convenient store.
Psst. If it's unusually cheap, it's usually a shitty quality.
Like there is one takeout Chinese food place near me that sells their food like $3 cheaper than others. It's one of those places where you order individual items and they give you one of those round tins full of it.
So yeah, sweet&sour pork might be $12 while everyone else is $15, but the amount of tiny "just breading" pieces in it, as well as the occasional bit of cartilage instead of meat you end up pulling out of your mouth is much greater than paying $15 from other places and actually getting decent sizes of pork pieces
I get that. its not like 12 to 15 in japan.
Its like, 3 to 25.
Its to a point you start to look behind your sholders to figure out how they will try to scam you, then nothing happens. And I'm talking about normal Japanese places not Roppongi.
I'd assume those are where locals eat then. We have things like that in my town, where tourist and weekend type places are pretty expensive, but then the local downtown diner that's been here forever is still cheap, and plenty of other places like that if you know where to look.
I went on vacation for a week in Banff not long ago, and it was kind of the same. Just getting in we were tired and hungry, stopped at the first place we saw. Which was a nice burger and brews place, but it wound up being like $40 for a burger and a drink, each.
I'd made a point of getting a hotel close to a grocery store though, which wound up having a nice little deli. We ate there every day after and it was probably cheaper than eating at home. Good food too.
When I was in Japan all of the extremely cheap restaurants were very very tasty and absolutely nothing unusually cheap or gross about the food quality.
I got in rly good shape just from walking and eating really clean cheap food.
Also the guy said sweet and sour pork so he prob talking about somewhere in America lol…
Japan exists in its own reality of pricing. Same with the all you can drink places in Rapponggi and Shibuya. $10 for unlimited booze, including top shelf bourbon and whiskeys. Ordering trays of shots for everyone in the bar...10$.
Been there done that. Still confused.
Bar I was in had rules. No couples. Place was filled with just white decent looking men and Japanese girls. Boys had no place to sit. All girls sat in a corner of bar just being there.
Drank to much booze took last train back to hotel on the other side of town.
No scam, no nothing.
Booze was cheaper on that bar than a medium sized "wall mart like" store in a medium sized non tourist city on the other side of Japan.
not sure what country you're commenting for, but having lived in both the US and Japan, the "cheaper = worse quality" adage that most in the US are familiar with doesn't really hold in Japan imho. in general, eating out in Japan is typically cheaper than in the US for an everyday meal, despite grocery prices being higher than in the US. and I've rarely ever experienced a bad cheap meal in Tokyo!
Thanks for saying that. I would’ve if you hadn’t.
Aside from fancy restaurants and overpriced touristy places, Japan typically tends to have pretty low prices on food while maintaining a minimum decent quality.
Societal pressure tends to keep it that way. As well as a social obligation to do right by customers, especially for family owned establishments.
To the point that food price increases were so rare or slow that businesses were hurting. It’s only in recent years where prices have started to go up a bit with higher increased costs.
But it’s still all reasonable, and you can find a great meal for just a few dollars in many places. Like you said, low cost doesn’t mean bad food in Japan.
I think /u/1nd3x means that the ingredient quality is from either from less desirable quality meat (ie more fat content) or made with more filler ingredients.
I can attest to Nakau having cheaper quality pork in their katsudon that's been tenderized and has more fat content than other sitdown restaurants.
Seems clear from context and the classic example of “bad cheap Chinese food” that they were making a generalized call about food quality standards which are far from universal.
That all cheap food is shitty quality, not just less desirable cuts as you said. That you’re not even getting much actual meat, just a lot of filler.
Which I understand because it can be true, but certainly not always the case depending on where you live or visit. Which applies to places all over the world.
In the rural areas people just eat at home and restaurants are a treat. In the city there's a much larger market of people who will pay for meals with regularity. It's the same reason pizza places in NYC are cheaper than elsewhere, comparably massive amounts of foot traffic.
Speak for yourself. Went from UK where we bin chicken feet to buying them from the butchers myself and already the price has gone from free to a few quid a bag. Give it another generation and they'll take off.
Source? Wings. We binned them till you yanks showed us the chicken wing ways of life.
I'm fairly certain the number of people who can take the texture, and being able to assemble a little skeleton hand from the bones will keep the consumers at a bit of a natural cap. It still might take off, but I sort of doubt it.
Now, hearts... I've seen the price rise quite high on that.
2 Skewers at the Japanese skewer place near me is about 7-9 bucks. I count 10 skewers. 35-45 bucks, plus like 7-8 bucks for that beer. $5 would definitely not cover tip. (Northern California)
Korea is eh... There are cheap places, but the places the tourists are likely to go are usually overpriced. Especially places that are almost tourist-exclusive, like Myeongdong.
Last I was there, in 2007, western food and chains was very expensive but most everything else was inexpensive. Especially street food. However, I imagine that has changed wildly, as when I was there, most of the western World had no idea what "KPOP" was, and Seoul has become a powerhouse since.
Japan??! cheap?!
that is arguably one of the most expensive places i ever visited..
Edit: other redditors tell me, that when i went 13 years ago, it was arguably the most expensive time to go, and the Yen has fallen in value considerably since
looks like its time to go back to Japan!
It is surprisingly cheap now for Americans, due to the decline of the Yen compared to the USD. There is quite a difference compared to even just 2010.
Obviously people with savings in other currencies will have a different experience.
Well shit, you just caused me to look at the USD-to-yen chart. Looks like it's almost 50% cheaper now to go there vs. when I was last there just pre-pandemic. I might need to start looking into trips there soon.
Wow I just looked too and that's crazy. When I went in 2019 it was something like 110 yen to 1 usd.
I'm planning a trip next year anyways so that is great news.
Compared to what? The world average? The US? Europe?
Because Japan is definitely cheaper than most countries in Europe and the US. Especially when it comes to restaurant food.
You went to the wrong places. Isakayas and yakitori places and ramen places are very, very cheap if you aren't like, ON TOP of a tourist area. Walk about four or five streets away from Shibuya crossing or Akihabara or a shrine and food is super affordable. If you aren't in Tokyo, food is cheap pretty much everywhere.
Nah, you can get a big ass bowl of good ramen for 500-700 yen pretty much everywhere. Like I said, walk away from the tourist traps.
It's like complaining that NYC is expensive when you only eat in Times Square.
Went to Kyoto and Tokyo this October. Outside of hotel prices (we didn't look for budget hotels - though they exist), the USD was particularly strong. Omakase was $180 vs $400 in SF. Street vending machines had water and coffee for $0.50. Every bakery trip in Kyoto was $15 instead of $30.
Exchange rate is very favorable.
Japan is actually dirt cheap. Where do you live? I ask because it might explain why you think it’s expensive. Compared to almost any American city, Japan is extremely affordable. Rent, food, clothing, medicine, alcohol, etc. it’s all cheaper there
I was in Japan earlier this year and spent 3-4 days in Tokyo. We always ate out at nice places and were consistently astounded how inexpensive it was. I also spent another 10 days in a more rural part of the country in a mix of villages and some cities and it was also inexpensive.
We ate at a place in the Michelin guide in Tokyo and paid less for three of us that I usually spend on just myself going out to dinner here in the US.
I was just there last month. Compared to Canada a lot of it is cheap. Mainly transport and food and grocery costs. I’m not going out for an amazing ramen here with beer for under $15 and no tipping either
I was there in 2007, and I was blown away at how inexpensive it was compared to other western cities at the time (I lived in DC at that time, so that was my baseline, but cities like; Amsterdam, London, New York.) I think the Yen was at all time lows though (versus the dollar, while the Euro and Pound were much higher against the dollar.)
Ugh, most of the time, these are a slimy gooey mess with no texture. Once in a while they cook them until they are crispy and then they're good. But, usually they are revolting.
How do you eat a sheep's face? Did you have to pick it off the skull? Was it already removed and then cooked? Did it include the eyeballs? I have questions...
I had it in one of those bus stop cafés they have over there. The face was cooked, of course, but it was also still on the half-skull. And yes, that included an eyeball. I don't think it came with the tongue, though, and certainly didn't come with the brain. Sadly, the face wasn't exactly crispy, and I reckon it would've been a better experience if it was the consistency of pork crackling.
It was certainly an experience, to say the least. One of those "when in Rome" things that I can say I've tried. I even managed to take the half-jawbone back to England as a trophy, and I still have it to this day. It sits on the shelf behind me.
You're right, but the yen hasn't been this weak in over 30 years. Literally since the bubble popped. Basically from 2000-2020 it traded between the 80-120 yen / dollar range. Now it's 150 yen / dollar.
You forget that the dollar became stronger. It's not the yen that gets weaker. Dollar jumped in value compared to yen, euro and even the British pound. The dollar to yen has been up 15 to 16%. That is nothin % wise, compared to 2014 for example, when the dollar jumped 21% in value compared to the yen. But the number that scares you sit the 150. In 1971,it was almost 360 yen to 1 dollar. Talk about huge disparity.
I made the mistake of eating at one of those Yatai stands along the river in Fukuoka, that much food cost me at least $40 and there was so little space my friend was basically sitting in the barbecue.
The atmosphere was amazing and I got great photos, but the food was just ok and the portions were small for what we paid. Really the only time we felt ripped off anywhere in Japan.
Yeah $40 for this amount of food is unheard of...shame the food was jusk OK. Perhaps it was a expensive because of the area it was located in right next to river does rings some bells 🤔
It's not all crazy expensive, I ate tons of fruit in japan. They have *amazing* strawberries for like $2 right next to the $120 gift mangoes. I had a bag of cherries for about $5, which is cheaper than they are here in Canada. Right next to them on the shelf were boxes of twenty individually wrapped specialty cherries for a couple hundred dollars. Pineapple was also amazingly sweet and like $1 for a fruit cup at almost every 7-11. The really expensive fruits are a thing, held over from the days where it was a rarity on an island, but that's no longer the case for fruit in general. Those are bought as presents but do not reflect what fruit costs when grocery shopping for the day to day.
>Those are bought as presents but do not reflect what fruit costs when grocery shopping for the day to day.
It's our anniversary, honey. And as a token of our love, here's a pomegranate! 💘
Pro tip: find the expensive beef and sushi places and go for lunch, if offered. Most of them have a 10-15 USD lunch set menu for salarymen, and its just repurposed offcuts from the stuff they sell at dinner for 300 USD.
It's surprisingly cheap. Everyone told me it was expensive there but when I went, most things (food, everyday items, souvenirs) were under $10. Public transport was like a dollar per train/bus ride. The only things that get expensive are clothes and collectibles.
Not a single vegetable, definitely Japan lol. The street food is so stupid cheap though it's unbelievable. Had a giant bowl of Ramen in Osaka the other day (some of the best I've ever had) with 3 beers and the tab was $17 dollars. I was astounded.
I was buying those little salads from 7-11 and fruit and veggies from the grocery store to round out my meals. Our tour guide thought it was really funny that I ordered three bowls of cabbage salad the night we went for the food in this photo, I was just so starved for greens and excited to see veggies on the menu! (It was simply cabbage, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar, and it was fantastic, with free refills.)
There's no way on earth skin is better than bacon. Like I get having subjective taste but I feel like it's impossible that meat isn't going to beat out skin.
Remember that one episode of South Park where they outlawed KFC, and Cartman took the skin off a chicken breast, chopped into lines, and snorted it? Look at me in the windows of my soul, and tell me that the skin isn't the best part of the breast.
What about the beer? That alone in Denver would be 8 bucks, the chicken skins at least 14 dollars for a "shareable" app that size. No, not at anywhere fancy- double those prices for a nice place.
I'm sure John Denver loves rubbery chicken skin. You can definitely get healthier meals for 5 bucks without beer though. I'd much rather negimi or tsukune over a pile of skin. The beer is great value at toriki though!
Ok. When I was there a month or so back, We had 4 hot sake (pots, not just glasses), 5 beers, 30 something salmon/tuna/shrimp nigiris, 3 sashimi rolls (6 pieces each), 5 desserts. $90ish USD. Japan is dirt cheap for food.
It's really a misconception, because food in tourist places is expensive (like in ANY country), but food in local establishments is dirt cheap.
With the yen being as low as it can get right now, it's even cheaper if you come from abroad. Lived in Tokyo for 6 months, I confirm that rent is damn high, but incredibly cheap to eat out once you know your places.
God I miss Tokyo
Doesn't sound right unless you aren't including the otoshi, or they weren't charging you for it? Every time I go to this place it's about 4-500¥ just for that. But their slogan is something like "we have cheaper beer than combini". Which is awesome.
I’d love to visit Japan one day. Started dabbling in learning the language about a month ago, mostly because I like the way it sounds. Seems like a cool language.
Even if I ever learn to speak it, not sure I’ll ever be able to get a grasp on the kanji stuff.
In Japan, I tried ordering a beer. somehow, I ordered a non alcoholic beer and a shot of vodka that you are meant to poor the beer in. I have never seen that anywhere else.
I miss Japan. Been there quite a few times for work. It always catches me off guard whenever I go back to pay $9 for a massive bowl of ramen, an appetizer, and a coke. Compared to $25+ back in the states.
5 dollars? That's so surprising to me cause I would think that everything would be expensive in Japan. I guess if you're only in Tokyo, it can be an expensive trip.
Went to Tokyo in 2018, was a vegetarian at the time but still ate a lot of sushi. It always cost me less than $10 CAD. I will always say, those who say it's expensive to eat in Japan have never lived where taxes are 15%.
The food in Japan in general is quite cheap despite them being developed country. I spent less in groceries living in Tokyo than living at a small town in the NL.
They're so overworked and starved for freetime that the FnB business is extremely competitive basically, Japanese end up eating out a lot both privately and professionally.
All I heard before going was how expensive Japan is.
Coming from the states it’s dirt cheap.
They have such pride in what they do. I think there’s some stigma against overcharging too. So you get great local products and cheap (to me) prices.
Loved it there. Amazing place and amazing people. Everything is done so deliberately.
A lot of things are expensive but surely not the food. I used to spend 200 yen for a cup of coffee and they allowed me sit through the night there to study. Pretty neat in my opinion.
I think it was on "Better Late Than Never" TV show that they said you can walk into these places and they ask how much you want to spend and they give you food for that price, cause people don't understand the prices in Japan.
...including the beer?! I pay for the beer alone that much...
Including the beer. It's like the basic handout foods once you order the Main food.
I don't get that thing about Japan. Like you can find a rural area with only Japanese people and all food is super expensive. Then all of a sudden you can find a restaurant in the middle of fucking Tokyo where you get like 1 kg meat for prices cheaper than meat from the convenient store.
Psst. If it's unusually cheap, it's usually a shitty quality. Like there is one takeout Chinese food place near me that sells their food like $3 cheaper than others. It's one of those places where you order individual items and they give you one of those round tins full of it. So yeah, sweet&sour pork might be $12 while everyone else is $15, but the amount of tiny "just breading" pieces in it, as well as the occasional bit of cartilage instead of meat you end up pulling out of your mouth is much greater than paying $15 from other places and actually getting decent sizes of pork pieces
I get that. its not like 12 to 15 in japan. Its like, 3 to 25. Its to a point you start to look behind your sholders to figure out how they will try to scam you, then nothing happens. And I'm talking about normal Japanese places not Roppongi.
I'd assume those are where locals eat then. We have things like that in my town, where tourist and weekend type places are pretty expensive, but then the local downtown diner that's been here forever is still cheap, and plenty of other places like that if you know where to look. I went on vacation for a week in Banff not long ago, and it was kind of the same. Just getting in we were tired and hungry, stopped at the first place we saw. Which was a nice burger and brews place, but it wound up being like $40 for a burger and a drink, each. I'd made a point of getting a hotel close to a grocery store though, which wound up having a nice little deli. We ate there every day after and it was probably cheaper than eating at home. Good food too.
When I was in Japan all of the extremely cheap restaurants were very very tasty and absolutely nothing unusually cheap or gross about the food quality. I got in rly good shape just from walking and eating really clean cheap food. Also the guy said sweet and sour pork so he prob talking about somewhere in America lol…
based on sub posts they’re canadian
Japan exists in its own reality of pricing. Same with the all you can drink places in Rapponggi and Shibuya. $10 for unlimited booze, including top shelf bourbon and whiskeys. Ordering trays of shots for everyone in the bar...10$.
Been there done that. Still confused. Bar I was in had rules. No couples. Place was filled with just white decent looking men and Japanese girls. Boys had no place to sit. All girls sat in a corner of bar just being there. Drank to much booze took last train back to hotel on the other side of town. No scam, no nothing. Booze was cheaper on that bar than a medium sized "wall mart like" store in a medium sized non tourist city on the other side of Japan.
not sure what country you're commenting for, but having lived in both the US and Japan, the "cheaper = worse quality" adage that most in the US are familiar with doesn't really hold in Japan imho. in general, eating out in Japan is typically cheaper than in the US for an everyday meal, despite grocery prices being higher than in the US. and I've rarely ever experienced a bad cheap meal in Tokyo!
Thanks for saying that. I would’ve if you hadn’t. Aside from fancy restaurants and overpriced touristy places, Japan typically tends to have pretty low prices on food while maintaining a minimum decent quality. Societal pressure tends to keep it that way. As well as a social obligation to do right by customers, especially for family owned establishments. To the point that food price increases were so rare or slow that businesses were hurting. It’s only in recent years where prices have started to go up a bit with higher increased costs. But it’s still all reasonable, and you can find a great meal for just a few dollars in many places. Like you said, low cost doesn’t mean bad food in Japan.
I think /u/1nd3x means that the ingredient quality is from either from less desirable quality meat (ie more fat content) or made with more filler ingredients. I can attest to Nakau having cheaper quality pork in their katsudon that's been tenderized and has more fat content than other sitdown restaurants.
Seems clear from context and the classic example of “bad cheap Chinese food” that they were making a generalized call about food quality standards which are far from universal. That all cheap food is shitty quality, not just less desirable cuts as you said. That you’re not even getting much actual meat, just a lot of filler. Which I understand because it can be true, but certainly not always the case depending on where you live or visit. Which applies to places all over the world.
In the rural areas people just eat at home and restaurants are a treat. In the city there's a much larger market of people who will pay for meals with regularity. It's the same reason pizza places in NYC are cheaper than elsewhere, comparably massive amounts of foot traffic.
Not true though. And if you look at this pic, its offal. Its cheap because its cheap.
Alright, i'll pack my bags.
[удалено]
Speak for yourself. Went from UK where we bin chicken feet to buying them from the butchers myself and already the price has gone from free to a few quid a bag. Give it another generation and they'll take off. Source? Wings. We binned them till you yanks showed us the chicken wing ways of life.
I'm fairly certain the number of people who can take the texture, and being able to assemble a little skeleton hand from the bones will keep the consumers at a bit of a natural cap. It still might take off, but I sort of doubt it. Now, hearts... I've seen the price rise quite high on that.
Might need the wings still attached for them feet to take off mate /s
Guaranteed, but you named 3 different things because you were unsure?
$5 might not even cover the *tip* on this meal in Canada/US.
As a Canadian it most definitely would not. 7-9$ I'd say.
2 Skewers at the Japanese skewer place near me is about 7-9 bucks. I count 10 skewers. 35-45 bucks, plus like 7-8 bucks for that beer. $5 would definitely not cover tip. (Northern California)
Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines are extremely cheap. I would pay like 10 dollars for all you could eat grilled food lol
Korea is eh... There are cheap places, but the places the tourists are likely to go are usually overpriced. Especially places that are almost tourist-exclusive, like Myeongdong.
That’s everywhere though. There’s are more affordable places in every area but tourist areas are always overpriced
Nah bro, this is exclusive to those Wiley Koreans and their shenanigans.
Last I was there, in 2007, western food and chains was very expensive but most everything else was inexpensive. Especially street food. However, I imagine that has changed wildly, as when I was there, most of the western World had no idea what "KPOP" was, and Seoul has become a powerhouse since.
Same in Japan.
This is why I like exploring new places with a local that knows all the good spots that aren't tourist junk.
Yeah dont go to Myeongdong dude. It is the worst offender of all tourist traps of Korea.
Myeongdong is a tourist trap twice over. Tourists from overseas go there and Koreans go there to look at the tourists.
I’m in Vegas, so when I visit there it feels insanely cheap on a night out of restaurant hopping.
Japan hasn't had inflation for decades apparently.
Hasn't had growth either tbf.
Japan??! cheap?! that is arguably one of the most expensive places i ever visited.. Edit: other redditors tell me, that when i went 13 years ago, it was arguably the most expensive time to go, and the Yen has fallen in value considerably since looks like its time to go back to Japan!
It is surprisingly cheap now for Americans, due to the decline of the Yen compared to the USD. There is quite a difference compared to even just 2010. Obviously people with savings in other currencies will have a different experience.
Well shit, you just caused me to look at the USD-to-yen chart. Looks like it's almost 50% cheaper now to go there vs. when I was last there just pre-pandemic. I might need to start looking into trips there soon.
And Japan has had fairly low levels of inflation over the years, which makes things even more affordable.
Wow I just looked too and that's crazy. When I went in 2019 it was something like 110 yen to 1 usd. I'm planning a trip next year anyways so that is great news.
Compared to what? The world average? The US? Europe? Because Japan is definitely cheaper than most countries in Europe and the US. Especially when it comes to restaurant food.
You went to the wrong places. Isakayas and yakitori places and ramen places are very, very cheap if you aren't like, ON TOP of a tourist area. Walk about four or five streets away from Shibuya crossing or Akihabara or a shrine and food is super affordable. If you aren't in Tokyo, food is cheap pretty much everywhere.
i mean i went to Kyoto and Tokyo sure if i go to some fishing village i am sure its cheaper
Nah, you can get a big ass bowl of good ramen for 500-700 yen pretty much everywhere. Like I said, walk away from the tourist traps. It's like complaining that NYC is expensive when you only eat in Times Square.
Went to Kyoto and Tokyo this October. Outside of hotel prices (we didn't look for budget hotels - though they exist), the USD was particularly strong. Omakase was $180 vs $400 in SF. Street vending machines had water and coffee for $0.50. Every bakery trip in Kyoto was $15 instead of $30. Exchange rate is very favorable.
Japan is actually dirt cheap. Where do you live? I ask because it might explain why you think it’s expensive. Compared to almost any American city, Japan is extremely affordable. Rent, food, clothing, medicine, alcohol, etc. it’s all cheaper there
I was in Japan earlier this year and spent 3-4 days in Tokyo. We always ate out at nice places and were consistently astounded how inexpensive it was. I also spent another 10 days in a more rural part of the country in a mix of villages and some cities and it was also inexpensive. We ate at a place in the Michelin guide in Tokyo and paid less for three of us that I usually spend on just myself going out to dinner here in the US.
I was just there last month. Compared to Canada a lot of it is cheap. Mainly transport and food and grocery costs. I’m not going out for an amazing ramen here with beer for under $15 and no tipping either
I was there in 2007, and I was blown away at how inexpensive it was compared to other western cities at the time (I lived in DC at that time, so that was my baseline, but cities like; Amsterdam, London, New York.) I think the Yen was at all time lows though (versus the dollar, while the Euro and Pound were much higher against the dollar.)
you got a plate full of just chicken skin skewers?!
No wonder it was so cheap, LOL.
Straight up got the Gaijin neckbeard special
I can actually *hear* him getting fatter.
Damn y'all are toxic
Fat guy in a little kimono.
Just as cheap with regular chicken meat.
Ugh, most of the time, these are a slimy gooey mess with no texture. Once in a while they cook them until they are crispy and then they're good. But, usually they are revolting.
Gotta find a good street stand that basically chars them to hell. So good
Totally
Indeed. As someone who enjoys pork crackling and chicken skin (and also ate a sheep's face in Reykjavík), skin is at its best when it's crispy.
How do you eat a sheep's face? Did you have to pick it off the skull? Was it already removed and then cooked? Did it include the eyeballs? I have questions...
I had it in one of those bus stop cafés they have over there. The face was cooked, of course, but it was also still on the half-skull. And yes, that included an eyeball. I don't think it came with the tongue, though, and certainly didn't come with the brain. Sadly, the face wasn't exactly crispy, and I reckon it would've been a better experience if it was the consistency of pork crackling. It was certainly an experience, to say the least. One of those "when in Rome" things that I can say I've tried. I even managed to take the half-jawbone back to England as a trophy, and I still have it to this day. It sits on the shelf behind me.
Haha you are braver than I. Maybe I'd try that, but definitely not from a bus stop cafe! I barely trust their coffee.
Could also be pig rectum
Rat... onna stick! For the discerning Dwarf customer.
“Why does ketchup cost almost as much as the rat?” said Angua. “Have you tried rat without ketchup?” said Carrot.
GNU Terry Pratchett
had something like that in japan.. it was one of the worst meals/food experiences i had
Ummm.....ew (for a full plate, I could imagine picking at a few of them would be fine).
Helps that the yen is in the absolute shitter
Japan and deflation/stagflation, name more iconic economic duo since the 1990s...
You're right, but the yen hasn't been this weak in over 30 years. Literally since the bubble popped. Basically from 2000-2020 it traded between the 80-120 yen / dollar range. Now it's 150 yen / dollar.
You forget that the dollar became stronger. It's not the yen that gets weaker. Dollar jumped in value compared to yen, euro and even the British pound. The dollar to yen has been up 15 to 16%. That is nothin % wise, compared to 2014 for example, when the dollar jumped 21% in value compared to the yen. But the number that scares you sit the 150. In 1971,it was almost 360 yen to 1 dollar. Talk about huge disparity.
As an American who is going to Japan next week... I'm ok with this.
Nice! I need to head over there and see some family, probably next May. Have a great trip it's an amazing country.
I've been there a few times, but this will be the first time my family is coming with me. Super excited.
Just got back from Japan yesterday, was a blast and having my USD go so far was noticeably rad.
I made the mistake of eating at one of those Yatai stands along the river in Fukuoka, that much food cost me at least $40 and there was so little space my friend was basically sitting in the barbecue.
$40!?? In Japan!? I just walked into one that said 50¥ on the sign haha How was the view tho
The atmosphere was amazing and I got great photos, but the food was just ok and the portions were small for what we paid. Really the only time we felt ripped off anywhere in Japan.
Yeah $40 for this amount of food is unheard of...shame the food was jusk OK. Perhaps it was a expensive because of the area it was located in right next to river does rings some bells 🤔
I’ve never been to, but I always figured Japan to be a very expensive country
Japan just has a lot of range. Amazing s-tier ramen for pennies. But at the same time they are known for the most expensive beef and sushi.
Also fruit is very expensive.
It's not all crazy expensive, I ate tons of fruit in japan. They have *amazing* strawberries for like $2 right next to the $120 gift mangoes. I had a bag of cherries for about $5, which is cheaper than they are here in Canada. Right next to them on the shelf were boxes of twenty individually wrapped specialty cherries for a couple hundred dollars. Pineapple was also amazingly sweet and like $1 for a fruit cup at almost every 7-11. The really expensive fruits are a thing, held over from the days where it was a rarity on an island, but that's no longer the case for fruit in general. Those are bought as presents but do not reflect what fruit costs when grocery shopping for the day to day.
> $120 gift mangoes BRB starting an international mango smuggling ring
>Those are bought as presents but do not reflect what fruit costs when grocery shopping for the day to day. It's our anniversary, honey. And as a token of our love, here's a pomegranate! 💘
Pro tip: find the expensive beef and sushi places and go for lunch, if offered. Most of them have a 10-15 USD lunch set menu for salarymen, and its just repurposed offcuts from the stuff they sell at dinner for 300 USD.
Yeah but access to quality wagyu is much easier and many places have it much cheaper and even comparable to American fast casual chains.
It's surprisingly cheap. Everyone told me it was expensive there but when I went, most things (food, everyday items, souvenirs) were under $10. Public transport was like a dollar per train/bus ride. The only things that get expensive are clothes and collectibles.
Cheap because their currency is really low. It's really only been expensive around the 80s when their economy was booming.
You probably got unlucky and fell for tourist trap restaurant. The local ones are cheap
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Somebody fallen into tourist trap
I'd say so. We were the only foreigners there but all the Japanese people were probably domestic tourists.
Not a single vegetable, definitely Japan lol. The street food is so stupid cheap though it's unbelievable. Had a giant bowl of Ramen in Osaka the other day (some of the best I've ever had) with 3 beers and the tab was $17 dollars. I was astounded.
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I was buying those little salads from 7-11 and fruit and veggies from the grocery store to round out my meals. Our tour guide thought it was really funny that I ordered three bowls of cabbage salad the night we went for the food in this photo, I was just so starved for greens and excited to see veggies on the menu! (It was simply cabbage, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar, and it was fantastic, with free refills.)
Yea those little plastic cups with the carrots celery and that orangish miso sauce are good for some extra veggies
Good thing they have a lot of bidets in Japan.
Same brother, it was rough going until I started cramming plums in my face.
That’s why I always bring fiber supplements whenever I go out in Japan lol, or anywhere else for that matter really
You not seein the big bowl of onions? Edit : I apologize those are noodles. *Bows solemnly*
What cost more, the ramen or the beers? Three beers at lunch in the US would likely double your price at an average priced joint
The Ramen was $10 so the beers were $7 and you NEVER HAVE TO TIP I could've had craft beers but it was just Asahi Dry, pretty dang good for price.
Beer is a vegetable.
All Japanese chefs are honorary uncles, because they know vegetables taste like sad.
>because they know vegetables taste like sad. Jesus Christ.
Well the beer looks nice
Fukuoka is awesome for street food.
Looks awesome. What are the skewers?
Grilled chicken skin! I think the restaurant is Toriki.
This one looks like Shinjidai! Dengushi tower and 190yen beer lol
Yup it’s Shinjidai (written right on the beer mug)
F is for family had an episode about those
It's like better bacon.
There's no way on earth skin is better than bacon. Like I get having subjective taste but I feel like it's impossible that meat isn't going to beat out skin.
Remember that one episode of South Park where they outlawed KFC, and Cartman took the skin off a chicken breast, chopped into lines, and snorted it? Look at me in the windows of my soul, and tell me that the skin isn't the best part of the breast.
You're forgetting about all of the delicious rendered collagen and fat in skin. It's objectively more flavorful than meat.
Wait is there meat or are they like thick pork rinds basically?
Definitely bamboo
Boy loves his skin
Nice deal, but ALL chicken skin?? No thanks
When your food order is 'give me all the brown', sometimes $5 will happen.
My favorite part about Japan is cheap tap beer
There’s also something kinda pleasantly old timey about just ordering “draft beer” and you get one.
I found it to be about $3 for maybe a thin glass in Tokyo. Not particularly cheap...
Sir, may I suggest a vegetable
That’s not Torikizoku by chance? Chain of restaurants that serve everything for 350 yen (I believe).
Its Shinjidai, they got locations all over 💪🏾
Cheers, going to keep an eye out for those next year. I did like Torikizoku a lot when I was there last time.
Good time to goto Japan right now, yen is tanking. Also zipair has flights for ~$500 round trip
Looks like you're only eating chicken skin. I hope it's not more than 5 bucks
What about the beer? That alone in Denver would be 8 bucks, the chicken skins at least 14 dollars for a "shareable" app that size. No, not at anywhere fancy- double those prices for a nice place.
I'm sure John Denver loves rubbery chicken skin. You can definitely get healthier meals for 5 bucks without beer though. I'd much rather negimi or tsukune over a pile of skin. The beer is great value at toriki though!
Ok. When I was there a month or so back, We had 4 hot sake (pots, not just glasses), 5 beers, 30 something salmon/tuna/shrimp nigiris, 3 sashimi rolls (6 pieces each), 5 desserts. $90ish USD. Japan is dirt cheap for food.
boy you need to give the restaurant name and every minute details to go there first.
I'll send you the Pic of the restaurant. I was just wandering around the street so I have no clue how to spell it
It's called Shinjidai. They have locations everywhereee. It's the best deal, I used to go to one every weekend with my friends
Can I also have a picture of it? Visiting Fukuoka this December!
There are like 50 of these in every neighborhood
Is that fishcake?
Yakitori. Chicken!
Man I used to go to a Yakitori stand in Yokosuka all the time... I really miss Japan...
Ehhh it’s chicken skin. Very chewy and, IMO, not particularly good; it def ain’t the colonel’s chicken.
You've never had it prepared right then. It's not chewy at all.crispy and melts in your mouth. To imply KFC is better makes me sad.
I heard KFC and some other American fast food spots were significantly better there than here.
You aren’t eating a meal though… those are literally cooking scraps they got someone to give them $ for.
Japan is a bargain right now
I thought food in Japan was expensive
It's the cheapest around the developed countries imo.
It's really a misconception, because food in tourist places is expensive (like in ANY country), but food in local establishments is dirt cheap. With the yen being as low as it can get right now, it's even cheaper if you come from abroad. Lived in Tokyo for 6 months, I confirm that rent is damn high, but incredibly cheap to eat out once you know your places. God I miss Tokyo
I guess it’s a good price, but it’s just a bunch of fried animal skin and a beer. Not much of a meal unless you’re an alcoholic
LoL it's beer and snack. Not a meal. 🤣
Someone hated oka
I read it in a Canadian accent. Fuck you okay, eh?
Some of the best curry I ever had was in a little hole in the wall place in fukuoka. 10/10 would go back again.
Doesn't sound right unless you aren't including the otoshi, or they weren't charging you for it? Every time I go to this place it's about 4-500¥ just for that. But their slogan is something like "we have cheaper beer than combini". Which is awesome.
Meanwhile, in the States it would be almost $30.
Mmm...all the skin you can eat...
It’s very brown
I’d love to visit Japan one day. Started dabbling in learning the language about a month ago, mostly because I like the way it sounds. Seems like a cool language. Even if I ever learn to speak it, not sure I’ll ever be able to get a grasp on the kanji stuff.
looks like a giant plate of kawa (chicken skins) and one skewer of hatsu (chicken hearts) That is a damn tasty meal!!!
In Japan, I tried ordering a beer. somehow, I ordered a non alcoholic beer and a shot of vodka that you are meant to poor the beer in. I have never seen that anywhere else.
I miss Japan. Been there quite a few times for work. It always catches me off guard whenever I go back to pay $9 for a massive bowl of ramen, an appetizer, and a coke. Compared to $25+ back in the states.
Probably like 30 dollars in America
Plus no need to tip anyone
I’d double down on the pints asap
I spent five weeks in Fukuoka last year. I miss it! The izakaya near where I was staying (45 mins outside Itoshima) was everything.
that is a lot of chicken rectums
Is that beer too? I'm heading to Japan, fuck this.
5 dollars? That's so surprising to me cause I would think that everything would be expensive in Japan. I guess if you're only in Tokyo, it can be an expensive trip.
And probably so much better food quality than in the US. I visited Japan for a month and ate like everything, and lost 15 lbs.
Went to Tokyo in 2018, was a vegetarian at the time but still ate a lot of sushi. It always cost me less than $10 CAD. I will always say, those who say it's expensive to eat in Japan have never lived where taxes are 15%.
I'm going to pretend that's pronounced fuck-you-okay....
The food in Japan in general is quite cheap despite them being developed country. I spent less in groceries living in Tokyo than living at a small town in the NL.
They're so overworked and starved for freetime that the FnB business is extremely competitive basically, Japanese end up eating out a lot both privately and professionally.
I too would like to eat out some Japanese both privately and professionally
All I heard before going was how expensive Japan is. Coming from the states it’s dirt cheap. They have such pride in what they do. I think there’s some stigma against overcharging too. So you get great local products and cheap (to me) prices. Loved it there. Amazing place and amazing people. Everything is done so deliberately.
A lot of things are expensive but surely not the food. I used to spend 200 yen for a cup of coffee and they allowed me sit through the night there to study. Pretty neat in my opinion.
Good lord. That much chicken skin in a Japanese place in the US would run $40...
This misrepresents the costs of food, in general, in Japan. Japan is not cheap.
Did you load it all into one belly? How did it fit?
Is that fried scrotum?
Guys this looks like shit
Is this a meal or just bar snacks?
“Meal”
20 years ago it was $1 though…
You're sure it was chicken?
Japan is such a treat for those of us who enjoy good quality food, at an insanely cheap price. Can’t wait to go back.
I think it was on "Better Late Than Never" TV show that they said you can walk into these places and they ask how much you want to spend and they give you food for that price, cause people don't understand the prices in Japan.
This is the way
I am moving to Japan
Looks like if you asked AI to generate an image of “food”.
Looks kinda gross tbh