Message from Adam
I am one of the stingiest people on Earth when it comes to food. For some reason, I hate spending money on food. Buying in bulk is perfect for me. I buy boxes of frozen chicken breasts and eat chicken every night for weeks on end. Its cheap and easy. Though, I think my wife gets tired of it pretty quickly.
This page may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure page for more details.
How to Save Money on Food in Japan
Spending money on food is unavoidable, but here are 6 ways on how to save money on food in Japan. Follow these tips and you could save a good amount of money each month.
How to save money on food idea #1: Costco (delivery)
Costco is an absolutely amazing and for people living in Japan, Costco is more like an oasis. It is the one place that foreigners can get the food that they miss from home. Buying in bulk also saves an incredible amount of money. How to save money on food? Shop at Costco.
However, there are some major drawbacks to Costco. First, it costs a lot to become a member and second, there are very few Costco stores in Japan.
But worry not! The Flying Pig or The Foreign Buyers Club will solve both of those problems.
These websites are fantastic! From these websites, you can order things from Costco and they will deliver it to your house. The selection is great and the service is reliable. The fee they charge for being the middleman is minimal, so this is still one of the great ways to save money on food in Japan.
The way it works is that after ordering from the website, you make the payment (credit card, COD, or pay at a bank/post office) and then they ship your order straight to your doorstep. Depending on where you live, the delivery time is only a couple of days!
Using this service not only saves you time and money, but it also spares you from having to carry all those large and heavy items like cases of water or cases of canned goods. Your wallet and your lower back will thank you!
How to save money on food idea #2: Amazon
If you want something but couldn’t find it on The Flying Pig, then your next choice should be Amazon.
Many people don’t seem to know that Amazon has a lot of food deals. Buying in bulk and in big sizes will save you a very substantial amount of money. Amazon is a great answer to the how to save money on food question.
There are many examples, but check this out. A 72g bag of mixed nuts from 7-11 convenience store costs 321 yen (as of January 2019) but on Amazon, 1kg of mixed nuts costs 2,592 yen. After doing the math, you almost spend twice as much money if you buy from a convenience store! Buying from Amazon will save you a ton of money!
It’s true that not everything can be bought on Amazon, but the savings are real. So before going to your local supermarket, make sure to check online first.
How to save money on food idea #3: 業務スーパー (Gyomu Supaa)
If you can’t find what you want online, then this is the next best place to try.
At a Gyomu Supaa, you can buy in bulk and in large sizes. These supermarkets are where restaurants go to buy their food, so their selection and quality is pretty good.
Their frozen food section is the best! They sell giant boxes of yakitori already on the stick and ready to be cooked. Boxes of hamburger paddies, meatballs, chicken breasts, udon, shrimp, pies, french fries and a whole lot more are available. Buying these frozen foods is a wonderful way to cut down on your food bill.
These are must go to places if you are going to have a BBQ or holiday party.
Another bonus of these stores is that they often sell food that can’t be found in a normal supermarket. They have a decent selection of foreign food. Good pasta sauces, peanut butter, bulk coffee, cheese and a large variety of canned food and sauces.
Go to their website and use their store locator to find the store closest to you.
How to save money on food idea #4: Supermarket Markdowns
How to save money on food? Buy discounted food. Big deals can still be found at any normal supermarket if you time it right. Go to a supermarket about an hour before closing time and there will be huge markdowns on some food.
Look especially in the meat, fish and bento areas. Prices can be more than fifty percent off!
Having freezer space at home will help maximize your savings. If there are ten steaks all priced at 60% off, then buy all ten and keep them in your freezer. This way you can eat steak every night for over a week and have spent only a fraction of the original cost.
In the bento area, there is a large variety of things that can be bought for cheap. Things like pizza, potato salad and a variety of boxed lunches (bentos). Buy a few of these at one time and keep your daily lunch costs low.
Just remember that it is first come first serve, so you have to get the timing right. There will often be a crowd of people standing around waiting for the markdowns. Therefore its a case of, if you snooze you lose.
This is one of the easiest ways to save money on food in Japan. The savings that can be found in a normal supermarket will surprise you. Try it at your local supermarket and start saving!
The pictures below show what a fifty percent off price tag looks like. It is one of my favorite things to see in Japan!
How to save money on food idea #5: Eating Out (cheaply)
Eating at home will always be cheaper than going out to eat. But that can get boring at times, so it is important to remember that going out to restaurants doesn’t have to be expensive.
Japan offers many great chain restaurants that are surprisingly cheap. Gyudon (beef bowl), curry, sushi and various noodles can all be found for cheap all over Japan. Not only are they cheap but they also fill you up. Here are a few of my top suggestions:
Gyudon (beef on rice) is one of my favorites. Delicious, fast service and CHEAP! One normal size bowl costs about 400 yen. Check out these top chains:
Sukiya
Yoshinoya
Matsuya
Curry is another great way to fill your belly without spending a lot of money. Many restaurants have cheap curry on their menus but the largest curry chain in the world is the best place to find cheap (and delicious) curry. Coco Curry House is defiantly worth checking out.
Sushi! Yes, sushi can be very cheap but that doesn’t mean that it’s not delicious. Kaiten sushi (conveyer belt sushi) restaurants are amazing. The big chains charge 100 yen per plate and they have a large variety to choose from. They even sell food other than fish. Food like french fries, ramen and desserts. These are my top picks:
Hamazushi
Sushiro
Kura Shushi
Kappa Sushi (Japanese site)
Last of all are noodles. In Japan you can find a noodle store on almost every street. But I want to point out one place that is both tasty and will fill you up cheap.
Ringer Hut is a big chain in Japan and they have a pretty good size menu. But the reason why they are on this list is because for their 長崎ちゃんぽん (Nagasaki chanpon). For this dish you can double the amount of noodles for free! Basically, for the Nagasaki chanpon, you can choose 50 percent more noodles or 100 percent more noodles and you don’t have to pay anything extra! It is a hidden gem that I want all of you to know about. This noodle bowl costs about 600 yen but after doubling the noodles, it is a lot of food and a good return for your money, not to mention that it is delicious.
The picture above is what the sign board looks like for the Nagasaki Chanpon. It really is delicious and I love being able to double the noodles!
How to save money on food idea #6: 食べ放題 (tabehodai) and 飲み放題 (nomihodai)
食べ放題 (tabehodai) means “all you can eat” and 飲み放題 (nomihodai) means “all you can drink”. These are by far the best way to get you moneys worth out of eating out. So if you are really hungry and want to go out to eat, memorize the kanji for these and keep an eye out for these deals. It probably wont be very healthy, but it will fill you up!
Each store has their own system but essentially, you pay a certain amount of money for a set time limit for eating (or drinking). A common deal would be around 2,000 yen for 90 minutes of eating (or drinking). 90 minutes is a long time to fill your belly. The times can be longer or shorter and the price greatly varies between stores. The kind of food offered also depends on the store. Tabehodai can be found for noodles, beef, fried foods and almost any other kind of food in Japan.
If you want to go out drinking and partying, than nomihodai (all you can drink) is the best way to go. Without nomihodai, drinking in japan is expensive, so paying 2,000 yen for all you can drink is the best way to go. So the next time you are walking around looking for a place to go, look for these kanji, 食べ放題 or 飲み放題 and enjoy these ways for saving money on food in Japan!
