Finding cheap eats in expensive Tokyo

The counters fill up past at the restaurants in Yakitori Alley,
a food street that's Tokyo's best value

 Every time I go to Tokyo, I always stumble upon something new and interesting.

When I was in Japan's capital last month, for instance, I went out looking for some cheap eats and was directed to Yakitori Alley, a small street on the edge of the Ginza that runs parallel to the city's main elevated rail line on which the super fast Shinkansen (bullet) train rides.

In the hollowed out crevasses under the elevated line, restaurateurs have set up shop and sell everything from sushi to horse for very reasonable prices.

The best restaurants in Yakitori Alley are the ones with the longest lineups - like

Midori Sushi, where people start lining up as early as 4 p.m. to eat some of the freshest fish I've ever tasted (bought daily at Tokyo’s legendary Tsukiji fish market). The prices at Midori are very reasonable - two can eat for as little as $30; a steal in expensive Tokyo.

When you enter Midori Sushi, the chefs behind the long counter frantically preparing dynamite and California rolls yell out a welcome - it's a tradition in a lot of Japan's neighourhood restaurants. A la Carte selections like shrimp, sea urchin (you can have medium or extra fatty - guess which one I chose?),  abalone, flatfish and something called striped jack fish (delicious!) cost between $3 and $7 each and sides of chawanmushi (an egg custard filled with fish that's topped with a crab claw and is now one of my all time favourite dishes) run about $10.

The counter is the hottest seat in Midori Sushi and the local atmosphere is truly wonderful.
Yakitoti, by the way, means "meat on a skewer, and as you can imagine, there's plenty of barbecue places in the Alley toasting morsels of meat (beef and lamb) as well as fish and chicken on small habachis.

The Izakaya restaurant around the corner from Midori Sushi - across from the International Arcade - was another of my favorite Yakitori Alley hangouts - lots of Tokyo businessmen come here after a hard day at the office to eat and sip beer and sake while the bullet trains rumble overhead.

There's a great "local" atmosphere in Izakaya but beware of what you order - the dish being consumed at the next table that looks so good could be horse. Not to worry, this eclectic eatery also dishes up chicken, pork, beef and fish - all at very reasonable prices.


The Yakitori Bar Tonton restaurant, tucked away in one of the arches off Yakitori Alley, is another of my favourite places to eat. I consumed lots of skewers of pork and beef but shied away from the smorgasbord of organ meats served in this restaurant, like heart, gizzard, liver, tongue and intestines.

There's also plenty of Western-style restaurants in the Alley.

Finding Yakitori Alley can be a bit of a challenge - the closest subway station is Hibiya (take exit A2)

Turn right at the top of the stairs and walk along the elevated rail line until you see the passage way with the glowing lights and the grill smoke rising from it.

Exit C1 from the Ginza station offers more subway line connections and isn’t too much farther away. From here you’re closer to the "uncovered" yakitori stalls rather than the original ones under the tracks.

The freshest fish is always on the menu in this Alley.

Tokyo subway is a cheap thrill ride

Tokyo's Metro makes it easy to get around this amazing city.

TOKYO – Like most Asian subway systems, Tokyo’s Metro is clean, safe, inexpensive to use and very efficient.

Known here as the “Wonderground”, Tokyo’s underground network whisks you to the city’s iconic landmarks and tourist attractions in just a few minutes.

Getting a ticket to ride the Metro is easy enough – the ticket machine switches to English at the push of a button and the step-by-step instructions are the easiest this long-time traveller has ever seen. Once on the subway, station calls are given in both Japanese and English.

The distance you travel determines the fare – the major lines within the city centre cost about $2 Cdn. for a one-way ride and the most I paid during my visit this week was about $4 to go from one end of this sprawling city to another.

When exiting the stations, it’s important to take note of where you want to go – sign posts at every station indicate the exit that’s closest to the tourist attraction, hotel or neighbourhood you want to visit.

One car on every subway train is for “women only” – Japanese men are notorious gropers and city authorities decided to give females a place where they can feel safe and secure.

On a recent visit to Taiwan, I was amazed at how courteous Taipei subway passengers are to each other – waiting passengers form a line to the left of the door and wait for every passenger to exit the subway car before entering. Tokyo commuters are not so polite and it takes a few days to get the hang of their routine. However, trains pause for a long time at each station, so there’s no need to rush the entrance.

Overall;, considering the cost of taxis and the traffic congestion in Tokyo, taking the subway is the only way to get around this amazing, fast-paced city.

Japan's population is shrinking

Japanese are having fewer children
and with the population aging, the
country's population is dropping rapidly.

TOKYO - One interesting trend I'm hearing and reading about while travelling through Japan this week is that the country's population is dropping drastically because of the its rapidly aging population and decreasing birthrate.

Japan's current population of 120 million is expected to drop to 100 million in the next few years because of the higher death rates due to aging - Japan has one of the oldest populations on Earth - and a birthrate that now stands at 0.8 per cent - one of the lowest in the world.

According to the people I've been speaking to, women are waiting longer before having children thanks to new opportunities being offered in the workplace to females in this still male-dominated society, and when couples do have families, most limit it to one child due to the rising cost of education and housing here.

While the Japanese remain the healthiest population on the planet, many elderly are now well into their 80s and the natural dying process is occurring at a faster rate among that group.

Population growth has always been a concern in land challenged Japan and while the decrease in population may relieve overcrowding in cities like Tokyo, the concern is that Japan, because of its tight immigration laws, won't have enough skilled labourers in the future to keep up the country's economic engine running smoothly.

The things you learn when you talk to people in a sushi restaurant!

Japan tourism recovering fast

Japan will soon be celebrating
cherry blossom season.

After spending most of the year reporting bad news about Japan, I finally have some good news to share - international tourists are returning to the land of cherry blossoms faster than anyone expected.

While scanning a World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) report that landed on my desk today, I noticed figures that shows tourism to earthquake and tsunami-ravaged Japan has rebounded faster than anyone ever expected.

In a report the WTTC entitled "The Tohoku Pacific Earthquake & Tsunami: Impact on Travel & Tourism - Update December 2011", analysis shows that domestic and outbound tourism in Japan is now back to pre-March 2011 baseline, with inbound well on the way to recovery.

In a separate report I read today, the Japan National Tourism Organization says Japanese domestic and outbound tourism has recovered ‘losses’ to levels consistent with or better than forecasts made prior to the earthquake.

Due to the dominance of domestic tourism relative to inbound tourism, this implies that total Japanese tourism demand and GDP will have recovered by the end of 2011.

Furthermore, airline data from Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways suggest a quicker recovery in demand for long-haul destinations than for travel to other Asian destinations.

However, inbound travel to Japan has yet to fully recover and for 2011 as a whole, foreign visitor arrivals are expected to be around 25 per cent lower than in 2010.

That said, it's good to see tourists are feeling much more confident about returning to one of my favourite places in the world.

Japan offers tourists free airfare

Japan's beleaguered tourism officials are pulling out all the stops to get foreigners to return to their accident prone country.

Japan's Tourism Authority announced this week it is giving away 10,000 free flights in a contest that requires winners to write positive things about their visit to a country that has seen its fair share of disasters in recent years - culminating in this past spring's earthquake/tsunami that caused over 20,000 deaths and billions in damages.

Since the earthquake/tsunami, Japan has experienced a 50 per cent drop in tourism and a 47 per cent decline in foreign tourist spending.

The airfare giveaway - you have to submit an application online to get one - will be launched in April 2012 -  with lots of hoopla and help from Hollywood types - and will cost the Japanese government $14.3 million U.S. Winners are responsible for their own lodging, food and ancillary expenses.

Japan needs our help so let's hope this free airfare promotion works - I know I'm going to apply!