I ate at four Michelin restaurants in Tokyo and spent just $100
By Jenny Hewett
When it comes to quality food, Tokyo doesn’t mess around. The Japanese city currently has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world; its 2025 Tokyo guide features no less than 507 venues – of those, 170 with a coveted star and 110 with a Bib Gourmand acknowledgment. Likewise, Tokyo-based French restaurant Sezanne ranked number one on the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list.
Of course, you don’t have to splurge on the apex of fine dining to enjoy a decent meal in Tokyo, and there are plenty of affordable Michelin-starred or Bib Gourmand meals that won’t break the bank (for those unfamiliar with the latter, the Michelin Guide sums up a Bib Gourmand nod as a “rating that recognises friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices”).
On a recent visit to the city, I made it my mission to see how many Michelin-starred meals I could demolish over two days while keeping to a strict budget.
Day one
Brunch
If you want to get your money’s worth of Michelin-starred meals in Tokyo, ramen is a good place to start. Most bowls cost less than Y1500 ($15), and venues generally only accept cash. My first stop is breakfast at Michelin-starred (2022 and 2023) Nakiryu in Otsuka. When I arrive at 9.15am, I’m the third person in line. The guy ahead of me is eating his breakfast on a collapsible stool. People are treating this like a professional sport. There are strict rules about where outside the restaurant you can line up. It’s cold and I’m gently told off for standing out of the line and in the sun. By 11am, when I enter the tiny venue, there are 61 people lined up outside. And it’s worth it. The specialty here is tantanmen, a Sichuan-inspired spicy noodle dish with a sesame-based soup served with pork mince, shallots and al dente noodles that have the perfect amount of bite.
Cost: Y1000 ($10)
Late lunch
It’s only been a few hours since my last meal, but I decide to swing past the next point of call on my way back to the hotel for a reconnaissance mission. To my surprise, there’s no queue outside Michelin-starred (2022 and 2023) soba house Konjiki Hototogisu in Shinjuku City at 2.15pm. Time to strike while the iron is hot. We’re ushered inside and directed to a laminated print-out asking us to eat fast and not take photos.
I order the shio soba with sea bream and clam stock and wait until my seat at the seven-seater counter is ready. The chef is shy, but the soup is not – it’s a light, elegant seafood broth with flat noodles and Italian twists of pesto and olives. My guide, Junko, at first ambivalent, agrees with the hype: “It’s a very sophisticated soup.”
Cost: Y1100 ($11)
Day two
Late breakfast
I’ve never queued for food in my life, but here I am again at 9.20am outside Michelin-starred ramen joint Ginza Hachigo with eight people ahead of me, some of them more unruly than others. Plenty of people are already picnicking on breakfast snacks that will tide them over for the next few hours. The chef comes out to tell us to get back against the wall. Those sitting on the pavement are being told to get up, and those without their full group in attendance are being moved to the back of the line. By 11.20am, we’re sitting inside the chic space and being offered a hot towel and hair tie (because soup). I order the chasu soba ramen, served with a 60-degree egg and slow-grilled melt-in-your-mouth pork. By the time I leave, there’s a sign on the front of the restaurant saying the soup has finished for the day. For the punters waiting outside, it’s game over.
Cost: Y1400 ($14)
Dinner
In my experience, there’s no such thing as death by ramen, though I’m relieved I won’t be eating again until 6pm. Next on the menu is sushi, but unlike our budget-friendly Aussie iterations, sushi tends to be one of the more expensive dishes you’ll eat in Japan.
During my research, I find out about a Bib Gourmand restaurant, Tachigui Sushi Tonari in Azabujuban near Roppongi, that’s doing things differently. The concept is “stand-up sushi” (a traditional way of eating sushi that dates back to the Edo period), and the slick space is a spin-off of a nearby omakase restaurant that charges nearly $200 per set menu.
This stand-up budget version takes six people at a time, and you can order one piece of sushi or as many as you like. The menu is all in Japanese, albeit with photos, which is half the fun. Fast-paced and interactive, with plenty of banter from the chef, it’s all over in 40 minutes. The 10-course omakase is Y6600, or you can order individual pieces. Bookings are taken through the Whatsapp-style Line app (line.me/en).
Cost: Y6600 ($67)
Total: Y10,100 ($102)
The details
Fly
Low-cost carrier Jetstar operates direct flights to Tokyo (Narita) from Brisbane and Cairns, with connections in all major cities. See jetstar.com.au
The writer travelled as a guest of Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau and Jetstar.
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