It is kind of hard to find a good place to go for breakfast when you are on holiday. You wouldn’t want to travel for a long way, or don’t want to spend much money or time.
So what is the options when you want to save money but want to have a reasonable breakfast around Japan?
Contents
The cost for breakfast in Japan.
Breakfast price very depends on what and where you have it. You could spend up to around 3000 yen per person, or you can find a cheap restaurant to have reasonable breakfast around 500 yen or less.
The pricey option includes a buffet breakfast at good hotels, or a chief cooked western style breakfast at a popular cafe restaurant.
Where to eat cheap breakfast in Japan.
Breakfast culture in Japan is very different from other countries, and having breakfast out is not very common. You can still find a variety of food. You could save money especially you can be flexible for what to eat.
Buy your breakfast at convenience store.
The convenience store in Japan is really convenient. It’s everywhere and most of them open 24 hours. I used to buy my breakfast at a convenience store the night before, and ate them the next day at the hotel room before checking out.
You can buy quite a lot for 500 yen. Most of the food is cold but you can still get some hot food or ask at the register to heat up your meal box, rice ball etc.
Family restaurants serve breakfast.
The family restaurant is a good place to have cheap cooked breakfast anywhere in Japan. They have a big range of menu and that is especially good as I can have my Japanese style breakfast and my husband can have his bacon and eggs.
We normally spend around 1500 yen for the two of us, but that could be cheaper if you have a smaller meal.
Denny’s, Gusto, Jonathan’s, Royal Host, Saizeriya, Bikkuri Donkey, Coco’s, and Joyfull open for breakfast between 6 or 7 am to 10 or 11 am depending on the store. However, some of the branches only open for lunch and dinner and not for breakfast, so check on the website, or google map, before visiting in the morning.
Breakfast at fast food.
You can get breakfast at fast food such as McDonald’s, KFC, subway, lotteria and mos burger.
If you want something healthier and more Japanese style, try beef rice bowls (Gyu-don) chains like Yoshino-ya, Matsu-ya, Suki-ya or Nakau. You can have a very Japanese breakfast of a bowl of rice, Miso soup, grilled fish, and pickles for under 500 yen.
Coffee shops breakfast.
Coffee chains like doutor, Tully’s coffee, Pronto, Ueshima Coffee, Starbucks open for breakfast as well. Their breakfast is more like a sandwiches type of food and often little more expensive than the family restaurant or fast food.
Hotel breakfast buffet.
A lot of hotels offer breakfast. What they serve and how much they charge is very different but you can normally have breakfast cheap when you are staying with them.
High-class hotels have a big variety of food for the buffet which could be a little expensive but fun. I like a good breakfast buffet and I try to have it at least once when we are in Japan.
Cheap accommodations like business hotels sometimes have breakfast service for no extra charge. It makes me always happy when I find budget-friendly accommodation and they include free cooked breakfast.
