Average food price in Japan

Hi,

Can anyone tell me the average food price in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka?

I need to know how much yen thati should prepare.

Thank you.

Lunch is Y1000. Dinner is Y3000, to eat pretty well with a couple of drinks.

i think it depends on what and where you eat. there are many street side restaurant serving lunch and dinner for the price between Y700 to Y1000 per meal. If you go to a more highend restaurant, you tend to pay more.

I agree with Kooks on this one. Most of the time, if I was willing to have water with my meal, I could find a place and get a basic meal for 700 to 1100 yen. I could get a rice bowl with meat on top, a bowl of noodles, Tontatsu pork cutlet, curry, and other things.

You are not going to find a meal of Kobe beef or fatty tuna sushi for this price, but you can eat a basic meal.

Every other day or so, I did spend between 2000 and 3000 on a meal, but this was usually a treat for me.

Drinks other than water will also bump the cost quite a bit. It was not unusual for me to see a non-alcoholic drink for 500 yen, and I am not used to paying half the cost of my entree for my drink.

You will find how inexpensive everyday sit down restaurant meals are. You will find bf,lunch & dinner for 500-1,000yen. If you are frugal, there are still many ways to cut it lower but still good & decent. If you want to spend, the sky is the limit.

OP was asking for average meal prices. Some people like to try out lots of different foods (and drinks) when they visit Japan and not just limit themselves to cheap dining options. But of course you can eat dinner for under Y1000 if you're on a budget, and you don't have any drinks.

These pages provide a lot of useful info:-
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2410.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2028_food.html

cheap yet still Japanese style food...average 250 to 700 yen..

Matsuya (with most varieties) - come with free miso soup
http://www.matsuyafoods.co.jp/menu/list/index.html?cate=D#iconExplanat...

Sukiya
http://www.sukiya.jp/menu/

Yoshinoya
http://www.yoshinoya.com/menu/index.html

Thank you very much for the info

Keep in mind that everyday restaurant food price you see on the window display or on the menu is what you pay(inclusive of the tax) & no tipping required.
If you spend 7,500yen/p or higher, the bill would show separate service fee(10-15%) and tax(5%) on the total.
But you can not nail down exactly as it depends on the restaurant, located city, etc.
Buy drinks from vending machines located every few steps on the street or in hotel/ryokans. You can even buy beer, sake, etc.

I haven't seen an outdoor beer-vending machine in years. Do they still exist?

Outdoor beer-vending machine sitll exists but it's getting harder to find it.
If you can read Japanese, chech below

http://www.nta.go.jp/shiraberu/senmonjoho/sake/miseinen/jihanki2011/02...

Thanks for that. I had trouble telling which ones were outdoors (as opposed to inside hotels, etc.).

Is it easy to find food in Japan?

It is very difficult to choose what food as every few feet there would be a different food restaurant.

"Is it easy to find food in Japan?"

lol ofcourse. Japanese people eat aswell.

"Is it easy to find food in Japan?"

There were some nights when my hubby and I were wandering around for about 2 hours hungry trying to find something to eat.

Not because there was nothing to eat mind you, but because of the HUGE selection of places TO eat. It was very hard to choose somewhere to stop because there were so many places we could go to. You will be spoilt for choice.

I dont know if thats of any interest to you but I am currently traveling through Japan and for me the fresh fruits prices were quite shocking. I mean, I did know that it would be more expensive than in Germany (where I am from) but I did not expect to pay that much for say an apple or some bananas. But I guess I was just a bit too naive there :)
So if you love fruits as much as I do, prepare to limit your "5 pieces a day" to one or none. Just additional information.

A US$2,000 perfect mango and & a US$5,200 honey dew melon, anyone?
Only if you know where to find reasonably priced everyday fruits. No average Japanese can afford, either such fruits grown individually pampered & wrapped with TLC(tender loving care) like beer fed & massaged Kobe beef. Usually higher priced fruits are for seasonal gift giving or get well gift. They have to be perfect & high priced enough to show how much you care,lol.
Prices are reasonable at many supermarkets around residential towns, train stations, etc.

To Johanna(guest)

I agree with you Johanna, I was in Tokyo in 2010 for 3 months and was also quite surprised to find that the fruit prices are extremely expensive than here in Switzerland. I did not buy banana or apple or oranges for a long time. Then I begin searching for small shops(not supermarkets) which offer a better price but still expensive.