Casual lunchs/diners in Tokyo and Kyoto

Hello,

I will be staying in Japan the first two weeks of November. While my mind is pretty much set on the places I want to visit, I am a bit lost when it comes to all the local dishes and restaurants.

I have read that you can get bento, sandwiches and rice balls in combini and that there are also fast foods such as Yoshinoya that serve decent food.

I will be spending most of my time in Tokyo or Kyoto and my goal is to taste local specialties. I am more interested in "casual food" but I really do not mind traveling a bit or paying extra for a nice meal.

I was wondering if you could suggest a few dishes or restaurants/local fast foods that I should not miss while staying in Tokyo and in Kyoto.

Thanks a lot !

Antoine

Hi!(^-^)/
At first, I can recommend Yayoiken and Ootoya.
Both of them are chain restaurants, you can see them everywhere.
Yayoiken
http://www.yayoiken.com/menu_list/
Ootoya
http://www.ootoya.com/menu.asp?tcid=1

BTW, also Denny's and 7-11 in Japan are not bad.
http://www.dennys.jp/dny/menu/dennys/japanese/

If not look at the site here, please refer to.
http://www.bento.com/

I would recommend Jojoen yakiniku , my favorite place for lunch :
http://www.jojoen.co.jp/guide/

Hi,

Thank you very much guys, that is exactly the kind of restaurants I had in mind.

People do not usually think of chains/fast food restaurants right off the bat when asked for suggestions of typical food but I planned a lot of things to do, so quick lunches/diners are definitely more suited to my vacation plans.

I will definitely browse the web (and bento.com) some more and I should be all set. I will rely a bit on the people I meet there to find restaurants serving the best regional dishes.

Thanks again !

-Antoine