Bento Boxes

Grocery Stores and konbini (convenience store) usually have a selection of pre-made bento boxes that average around US$5 or less.  A large portion of rice and a selection of seafood and/or meat are usually available or you could try a refreshing zaru soba (cold soba noodles) bento in the summer.

How about a tasty selection of assorted sushi or sashimi for less that US$6?

Noodles

Hanamaru Udon (English on signs read ‘Manmaru’) is a fast food Udon (thick wheat based noodle ) chain that operates 187 restaurants throughout Japan and  serves over 2.5 millions customers each month.

Hanamaru offers an English menu, but the picture menu will suffice if you are an adventurous eater that is not afraid of a mystery ingredient or two.  If that’s not you then try the kake udon (plain, pictured above) starting around US$2 or bukake udon (with lemon) for approximately US$3 and supplement it with a selection of ala carte tempura or onigiri (rice balls) many sstarting at under US $1 per piece  The Curry Rice Set of the Beef Bowl  both include a small bowl of udon in broth and will satisfy heartier appetites for under US$6.

A tasty and filling lunch or dinner for two can be had for between US$10-15 at Hanamaru Udon.

For those who prefer ramen noodles, pop into a local shop or Ippudo Ramen and join the salarymen and women for a similar experience – this time with a pork based broth and thinner noodles all for around US$8.

Donburi

Donburi is a one bowl meal where a large portion of rice is topped with vegetables, sashimi, meat or tempura and drizzled with a savoury sauce.  My favorite is the ebi-tempura don which usually sells for around US$8.

Top it all off with a One Cup Sake that can be purchased for around US$2 and you’re all set to eat like a samurai for under US$10!

Image Credit:  Personal Collection Flickr, Cheap dinner, Ramen Museum, Yokohama, DSC_2665 & Sake, single serving.