Tokyo Eye - 2012/11/07 - Eating to beat the strong yen

Nov. 7, Wed. 0:30 - 1:00 (UTC) etc.

Eating to beat the strong yen

Ways to eat that beat a sky-high yen. The Japanese currency has never been stronger. What is a hungry visitor to do? Arm yourself with information!
Today we bring you hyper-cheap eateries, great value for money and hidden gems -- on a tour of first-class treats at economy-class rates.
Shinjuku and Nishikasai, Edogawa Ward (6 min. 05 sec.)

We're in a top Tokyo leisure spot - Shinjuku. It's packed with restaurants battling for customers. No shortage of places to eat here.

Gyudon - a bowl of rice and beef. Several restaurant chains offer it at very low prices. This chain offers a new type of gyudon.
Shinagawa Ward Office (3 min. 42 sec.)

Now George is off to the Shinagawa municipal office. What's he going to do here?

This place is called a ward office. It's a government office used by residents of each borough of Tokyo. People visit them for variety of reasons.

This is a public cafeteria so prices are low, and there's an especially popular item here. The local dish Shinagawa-meshi. It's only 500 yen.
Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda Ward (4 min. 40 sec.)

Kasumigaseki is packed with central government offices.

This is the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. The building includes an area open to the public. The purpose of this room is to educate people about food. At this government-run cafeteria, anyone can buy a meal. Around 30 percent of the customers are members of the public.
Shinjuku 2 (3 min. 57 sec.)

299 yen will buy you all you can drink for 30 minutes. But there is a one-hour minimum rule.

At this restaurant, you have to get your own drinks. You get one glass per person. If you want to change drinks, you wash your glass. That way, the restaurant saves on labor cost, so you save money.
Shiba, Minato Ward (3 min. 13 sec.)

Inside, it's like a liquor store combined with a bar. Drinking inside the store is known as "kaku-uchi."

All of the items on display can be consumed on the premises.

The canned food isn't eaten out of the can. The manager serves it up on a plate. So it costs slightly more than a can at the supermarket.
Further Info

Eating to beat the strong yen
- Gyudon chain: Tokyo Chikara Meshi
http://www.sankofoods.com/shop/chikara/index.html (in Japanese only)
- Italian restaurant chain: Saizeriya
http://www.saizeriya.co.jp/ (in Japanese only)
- Public cafeteria: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
http://www.maff.go.jp/j/heya/syokudo/index.html (in Japanese only)
Address: 1-2-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku
- Public cafeteria: Shinagawa Ward Office
http://www.city.shinagawa.tokyo.jp/
Address: 4F Building 2, 2-1-36 Hiromachi, Shinagawa-ku
- Self-service izakaya chain: Yakitori Marukin
http://yakitori-marukin.com/
- Liquor store combined with a bar: Uchidaya
Address: 4-7-1 Shiba, Minato-ku

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