As most people that have traveled to Tokyo know, this city is expensive. Including its food. Most things that you buy in the grocery stores here have to be imported, and that costs money. Which means that even things like eggs and bread are not cheap here.
But there are some little gastronomic bargains in this city, as we are finding one by one. For example, most major department stores in Tokyo have a basement floor filled with various food vendors. These food stands are filled with all sorts of delectable fare, ranging from Salmon to Sake to Suchi to Mochi Cream (a personal favorite) to calzones. And if you hit them at the right time of the day, it’s a sampling haven. James and I wandered into the foodshow in the basement of the department stores at Shibuya station two days ago, and the sample fairies did not let us down. We were starving and trying to figure out what to pick amongst this crowded metropolis of hungary Japanese, and rather than buy anything we just sampled our way through the floor. We tried a tasty sesame chicken wing, a bit of salmon, 2 bites of Calzone each (oops), some cucumber salad, a sip of Sake, one gyoza, and a mini chocolate truffle. All for the great price of zero yen. Hmmm….yes, I suppose we are still in the mooching phase of our life. We were honestly planning on buying something there, but there is absolutely nowhere to sit down to eat. Where do these people eat there food-you don’t see many people eating as they walk, I guess they just wait til’ they get home and then it’s cold. No thanks.
So after our sample rendevous we had enough stamina to make it back to Daikanyama, where we finally broke down and ate at the adorable little Italian restaurant on the main Dainkanyama plaza- called “Eately.” That was not super cheap, but very good bread, wine, and pizza.
Today we found a real-steal-of-a-deal for lunch. Surprisingly, Tokyo has quite a number of little “van-stands” that sell a variety of things – coffee, food, noodles, etc. I say surprisingly because they are the kinds of things you would expect to see in Mexico City, not one of the most advanced nations in the world. Nonetheless, they are very clean and cute and usually have quality offerings. We’ve been going to this nearby coffee stand that is served out of a cute little van alongside one of these quaint side-streets here in Omotesando (where we work). It has excellent coffee for the best prices around. Just FYI – drip coffee in Tokyo commonly costs between Y500-600, which is $5.00-6.00 US dollars – totally ridiculous! Today we took the advice of the associate pastor and tried out a nearby curry stand (once again out of a little van), and the food was excellent! If you go after 1:00pm you can get the main offering for Y550, which includes a bed of rice and your choice of 3 curry dishes to go on top. If you can stave off your hunger until 1:00pm, this is the way to go for cheap eats. We could tell other people had the same idea, as the line was quite long the whole time we were there.
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