Four dirt-cheap but tasty places to grab lunch in Tokyo’s Shibuya shopping mecca

Our Shibuya native shares the beginning of his record of locations to refill your abdomen with out emptying your pockets.

Strolling round Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood, you may end up wishing you had a bit additional money in your pocket. Although it’s not the fanciest or most unique a part of the town, Shibuya has a few of Tokyo’s coolest buying venues, together with the Nintendo Tokyo specialty retailer, a Pokémon Heart, and younger ladies’s trend epicenter 109/”Ichimarukyu.”

What we’re saying is that if you’re in Shibuya, you may need to broaden your buying finances by tightening your eating finances, however that’s not as straightforward to do because it was once. Our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa, who lives in Shibuya, has seen restaurant costs within the space creeping larger and better, together with for a few of his earlier go-to cheap meals. Beef bowl chain Matsuya’s shkmeruli sizzling pot now prices 1,100 yen (US$7.10), 170 yen greater than it did a 12 months in the past, and even a McDonald’s Massive Mac lunch set is now 650 yen.

Fortunately, although, there are nonetheless low-cost, and attractive, eats to be present in Shibuya, so immediately Seiji is sharing his prime 4 suggestions for locations to eat in Shibuya that’ll refill your abdomen with out emptying your pockets or crushing your spirit.

1. Saiizeriya (Shibuya Tokyu Fingers-mae department)

The Saizeriya chain of informal Italian eating places has lengthy been a savior to budget-conscious diners in Japan, and this department isn’t any exception. Positioned a bit past the Tokyu Fingers division retailer on the outer fringe of Shibuya’s central industrial space, the inside is spacious and makes for a pleasant oasis if you want a break from the hustle and bustle of the Heart-gai buying avenue.

▼ Strolling route from Shibuya Station to Saizeriya

Seiji’s prime advice is the Milano-style doria baked pasta and cheese dish, which at solely 300 yen is an unimaginable cut price, and there are additionally set meals or doria or pasta with soup and salad for 500 yen.

Restaurant informationSaizeriya (Shibuya Tokyu Fingers-mae department) / Saizeriya (Shibuya Tokyu Fingers-mae department) Deal with: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawa-cho 39-2, Village 802F 39-2 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 802FOpen 10 am-5 amWebsite

2. Marugame Seimen (Shibuya Dogenzaka department)

Udon chain Marugame Seimen simply introduced in December that they had been elevating their costs, however they’re nonetheless a sensible selection when you’re trying to get a bowl of tasty noodles at an amazing value. You’ll be able to put collectively a pleasant little meal with a small-size kake udon (udon noodles in sizzling broth) and a chunk of candy potato tempura for 470 yen.

▼ Strolling route from Shibuya Station to Marugame Seimen

In comparison with Saizeriya, Marugame is extra centrally positioned, so this place tends to get crowded at lunchtime, so that you may need to do your buying whereas everybody else is consuming and time your noodle run a bit earlier or later.

Restaurant informationMarugame Seimen (Shibuya Dogenzaka department) / Marugame Seimen (Shibuya Dogenzaka department) Deal with: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka 2-9-9, Umehara B uilding 1st ground 2-9-9 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Umehara Constructing 1FOpen 10:30 am-11 pmWebsite

3. Shibuya Hachiko Soba

Coming to our non-chain entry on the record, lots of people aren’t even conscious that Shibuya Hachiko Soba exists. That’s as a result of this distinctive soba noodle joint is positioned contained in the Shibuya Ward Workplace, basically the Shibuya district’s metropolis corridor.

▼ Strolling route from Shibuya Station to Shibuya Hachiko Soba

With a cafeteria-like casualness, costs listed here are very reasonably priced, however the restaurant doesn’t skimp on high quality or style, with the juwari soba seiro, the chilled all-buckwheat flour noodles with dipping broth pictured above, costing a mere 390 yen. Actually, the one drawbacks are that Shibuya Hachiko Soba, by nature of being inside a authorities constructing, is simply open for lunch in the course of the week, and under no circumstances on weekends and holidays.

Restaurant informationShibuya Hachiko Soba / Shibuya Hachiko Soba Deal with: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawa-cho 1-1 Open 11 am-2:30 pmClosed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays

4. Ikea Shibuya

Seiji’s remaining advice isn’t a restaurant within the strictest sense of the phrase, however you may get meals there, so it counts in his guide/abdomen. Ikea Shibuya’s city-center location means it’s not as massive as most different branches of the Swedish homeware large, and so that you received’t discover a large-scale cafeteria such as you would out within the suburbs. However what you will discover is a meals nook with sizzling canine for simply 100 yen, and plant-based veggie canine for even much less, 80 yen.

▼ Strolling route from Shibuya Station to Ikea Shibuya

Although Seiji isn’t a vegan himself, and he thinks the veggie canine tastes totally different from a sizzling canine made with precise meat, he doesn’t suppose it tastes unhealthy in any respect, particularly after slathering it in ketchup and mustard from the self-serve condiment station.

Restaurant informationIkea Shibuya / Ikea Shibuya Deal with: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawa-cho 24-1 Open 10 am-8:30 pmWebsite

It’s solely been a few 12 months since Seiji moved to Shibuya from elsewhere in Tokyo, so he’s nonetheless increasing his data of reasonably priced eateries within the space and plans to maintain including to his record, however for now, these’ll simply maintain him from going hungry or broke.

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