YFC Tour Series - El Cheapo Tour

The Yokosuka Food Corner (YFC) - El-Cheapo Tour - is the first in a series of foodie tours. The El-Cheapo Tour is for those who desire the "cheaper" things in life. For those who would rather rub elbows in salary-man joints and don't need any frills. 

The El-Cheapo Tour is specifically designed to make your tummy happy for the smallest outflow of cash. Eating out in town does not have to be an expensive proposition. So thrifty spenders read on. The prices may be low, but these places should still fill you up nicely without compromising on taste.



Saizariya should be on any family's list, with plenty of dishes the kids will like, and for prices that are hard to beat. Here you can get a set lunch for 500 Yen and add the drink bar for another 100 Yen. During dinner, enjoy a glass of wine for only 100 Yen. Everything here is reasonable.

a 500 Yen Saizariya set lunch

For a more Japanese oriented menu, go to Sakura located on the 7th floor near the pachinko place on Blue Street. Plenty of dishes to choose from that won't break the wallet. Lunch is a great bargain with their 500 Yen options that include unlimited miso soup, rice, and tea. Most of your izakaya favorites are on the dinner menu and ordering is easy with the tablet and pictures. Or you can order using the manual method with a paper English menu and the wait staff.

table of food - $30

An El Cheapo list would not be complete without the family favorite place of any 100 Yen sushi-go-round or "kaiten" sushi. One of the favorites is Hamazushi which is conveniently located close to the base. Most dishes are 90 Yen (94 with tax) during the week and 100 Yen (105 with tax) on weekends. More substantial dishes like soups, salads or special sashimi cuts will cost a bit more.

Ebisuya is a no frills place that serves up udon and soba bowls starting at around 350 Yen and peak out at less than 500 Yen for a bowl with extra fixings.  It's a push-button ticket system but look at the blog post for a translation of the offerings.

some Ebisu-ya soba

Another great soba/udon place, and one that is a bit more personal, is Nodaya Soba and Udon shop.  The prices here have only appreciated about .1% annually since 1997. It's a tiny place where you may have to wait for a stool or spot at the counter but it has plenty of charm. They also have a good curry rice.

1/2 of Nodaya noodle shop

For an odd one, head over to the City Hall cafeteria where you can mingle with the government workers at lunch and get a 350 Yen curry or a half curry for 200 Yen. Other set meals are incredibly reasonable.

Fried chicken set

And lastly we can't forget the 70 Yen Auto-yakitori. Stand up at this small alley-way place while eating the yakitori of your choice and watching the machine do its thing. There is no "salt" or "sauce" option since they are all dipped in sauce by the automatic yakitori cooker.  It doesn't beat a yakitori grill master, but for the price and the novelty it's a great place to bring visitors or have a quick snack.

Tanfar 600 in action

 Other Notables:

 - Although I haven't been there yet, the newly opened "1st House Bar" makes the list since most dishes are under 300 Yen and drinks under 200 Yen. They were noted in Aficionado Intelligence Report #12. Located near Yokosuka Chuo station. 

 - Amiyaki-tei. For cheap yakiniku this is one of the best and its popularity with the locals demonstrates this assertion. The salad and dessert bar is only 580 Yen and the drink bar about 180 Yen. If you're satisfied with cold green tea, corn tea, or plain water then you can save that 180 Yen as those are all free.  Free and ample parking makes it even better.

The El-Cheapo Tour restaurants can be found on this specialized El-Cheapo map.



The YFC Tour Series highlights groupings of restaurants to make your eating decisions more efficient. It is not affiliated with the Aficionado Intelligence Reports (they work in a separate undisclosed office). However intelligence may occasionally be shared across these entities without judicial review if it's convenient and makes my job easier.  Stay tuned for future YFC Tours.