When I first came to Japan, I was more than impressed by the sheer number of restaurants, food trucks and diners that can be found everywhere around a typical Japanese town. Of course, there are local specialties you should definitely try when being in the designated area, but what if you are in a city you have never been to before and your Japanese is not fluent?
There are three categories of places you can always visit for a quick snack or even a full-size dinner after a hard day of traveling and running around malls and temples.
Firstly, there are Konbinis (コンビニ). Basically a 24/7 supermarket, Konbinis serve all your needs from a fresh shirt to toilet paper. There are many Konbini chains, such as Seven Eleven or Lawson, and they all got a huge variety of snacks like Onigiri (おにぎり), fresh salads and Bentō boxes, which can even be prepared at the store.
Secondly, there are “family restaurants” (ファミリーレストラン) which serve western dishes such as pizza, burgers, fries, pasta and so on. Often themed as European or American-style diners, family restaurants offer all the food you might know from abroad. Examples for these kinds of restaurants are “Gusto” (ガスト) or “Bikkuri Donkey” (びっくりドンキー).
Last but not least, there are the classical Japanese 24/7 restaurants, often serving simple Japanese dishes in bowls such as Gyūdon (牛丼) or Udon (うどん). These restaurants often operate a vending machine near the door to order, so you do not even have to talk to anybody in Japanese if you do not feel like it!
At least one of the above mentioned restaurants can always be found around your current location. Just keep your eyes open for a cheap and tasty meal. Itadakimasu !
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