Ootoya and Touya
You can consider this a continuation of my Food Outlets post. This is mostly are just for my reference but it’s great if it’s of use to anyone. Unlike the last time I went to Japan, I try to minimize the amount of time I eat from fast food outlets/combini. Not only they’re not healthy, its also kind of a waste of my time in Japan to eat the kind of foods that I can get easily back home (okay, so there’s no Mos Burger anywhere else but Japan but a burger is still just a burger). There are actually many places you can eat good food in Japan without spending a fortune. The trick is to not go to restaurant but rather to eatery places which are frequented by either family or salarymen. This includes Ootoya and Touya. Expect to spend between 600 Yen to 1000 Yen by going to these places.
Ootoya
http://www.ootoya.com/
Many people often refer to Ootoya as Japanese ‘fast food’ chain. I don’t think that’s a correct way to describe the place because the foods are far from the kind of foods that are sold in fast food chains. Ootoya is one of those unbelievable place because not only the price are reasonable (between 600 to 800 Yen), the foods are also great and good for your health. I think ‘family restaurant’ is probably a more accurate description for this place. Ootoya’s specialty is Japanese cuisine, the kind that someone’s mother or grandmother usually prepares at home. Regardless of what kind of meat you choose, the food set always come with decent amount of vegetables, pickles, and Miso soup. I’ve tried several of the menus and so far they are unbelievably good.
Ootoya is popular with both young people and office workers so they must be doing something right. The only annoying thing about it is that the chain is rather hard to find. I was lucky that when I was in Osaka, I stayed near one of the chains which open until 11PM. If you don’t feel like eating inside, however, you can order for take away. Take-aways are generally cheaper since they don’t come with Miso soup. I’d recommend the Saba set for breakfast. That was really tasty and made me realized why Japanese people like to have fish and Miso soup for breakfast. And I really appreciate the generous amount of various pickles that usually comes with each menu set.
Touya
If you love Chirashi-zushi/Sushi-don like I do, this place is a must. Although I mention Touya in this post, there are actually many other shops which sells Chirashi-zushi kind of set menu. Chirashi-zushi is basically a bowl of warm rice topped with various Sashimi (raw fish), crab, fish eggs, etc. The price range from 600 Yen to 1050 Yen depending on what you order on your bowl. I personally love the “Toro, Maguro, Kani, and Bara” set. The “Hokkai-don” set was also good. Each bowl comes with a Miso soup, which surprisingly taste good and goes well with the raw fish. Obviously this place is not for those who dislike Sashimi. However, for those who are adventurous, you have to at least give this place a try. My friend used to just eat the cooked stuff when he first visited a Sushi place. After a while, however, he devours everything like a pro.
As a final note, with Ootoya, you have to order manually by speaking to the waiter/waitress, so if you don’t speak Japanese, make sure you point correctly at the menu. With Touya, however, you can order the menu that you want using the vending machine. The machine will then produce a ticket which you must hand over to the waiter. He/she will then give you a glass of water and re-confirm that you do want to order the menu that’s printed on the ticket. They usually will go “(your order) yoroshii desu ka?”. Just say “Hai” (Yes) and they’ll make your order. In a way, it’s less nerve-wracking to order food in vending machine type places than to order from a waiter if you don’t speak much Japanese at all. Having said that, I really recommend gathering your courage and give Ootoya a try at least once.
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i haven’t been in japan for almost five years now, and posts like these reminded me of all the good times i had *eating* there, lol.
the maguro teishoku from ootoyo looks really, really good…
Hi there, I’ve been a fan of your memento site for about a year now, and have just discovered this blog… it looks fantastic.
I might actually take a trip down to Japan in a few weeks because I’m taking a year off before college, and my parents have agreed to pay for most of my expenses to take this trip. I was wondering if you had any specific places that were really “must see” and where you stayed to sleep. I want to really explore all of Japan in its glory, (I’m kind of feeling like Takemoto from H&C when he leaves college for about 2-3 months to travel around Japan) and discover what I really want for my future and in college.
Anyway, I hope you get to read this comment, and thanks for all the beautiful pics!
Jin, sorry for the late reply but I didn’t have internet access while I was in Miyajima Island.
You actually have a lot of choice on where you want to stay in Japan. It all depends on what you want to do, how much you’re willing to spend, etc.
Well it seems like I’ll be staying in Japan for around 90 days, so quite a while. I definitely want to explore every part of Japan since I am staying there for nearly 3 months.
A few questions… How did you manage to travel around Japan? Did you use the train system or rent a car + get an international license? Also, if I want to use the train system would it be especially difficult for me since I cannot read or speak Japanese?
I used Japan Rail Pass. You *must* buy this before entering the country if you want to get the one that gets you throughout the country. If it’s just the Tokyo one, I remember a tourist being able to purchase it at the ticket office here.
As for the train system, it’s a little bit hard at first but you’ll get used to it. The subways are full of English signs so the likelihood you’ll get lost is rather small. But when in doubt, always ask. Use simple words like “(a place) e ikitain desu ga…”
Thanks for the heads up on the Japan Rail Pass. I’ll definitely get one of those before I go to Japan.
Also thanks for that simple phrase, it might just come in very handy :)
Hm… I tried to get a Japan Rail Pass online but the citizenship field didn’t have Korea on it… -_- not sure what that’s about… anyway I’ll probably have to give them a call tomorrow since they are closed for today.
I found my budget for my 3 month stay in Japan will be about 4000 dollars. I doubt I can stay in hotels everyday with that kind of budget for 3 months, so are do you have any tips on where there might be places that I can spend the night in as a foreigner?
That looks so good! Thanks for the photos - I’m feeling hungry even though I’ve just stuffed myself! Is Touya a chain of stores as well? I’ve managed to find Otoya, but when I tried to look up Touya, all I got was Card Captor Sakura links!
Jin, that budget is equal to 461,270 Yen. Depending on how much you eat, I’d suggest that you budget more or less 3000-3500 Yen/day for food/transport. That’s a total of 315,000 Yen for 3 months. That leaves you with around 146,270 Yen for accomodation (48,756 per month), which is not much. If you have enough time before you leave, I’d suggest that you rent a backpacker place like Sakura House. They usually will cost you around 30,000 per month if you live in a shared dormitory. They ask for a deposit though (refundable) so make sure you put that into consideration as well.
Another option is to go to a backpacker motel like Hotel New Koyo. My friend stayed there before and he said it’s an okay place. I’d personally suggest Palette Takashimadaira since the place looks cleaner but that’s a bit far (thus require you to spend more on transport since it won’t be covered by JR) and might not be a good idea for a first-timer.
Jyun, Touya is not a chain. It’s just the name of that one particular shop in Akihabara. In other places like Shinjuku, there are other Chirashi-zushi place but they all have different names.
Actually Mos Burger and Ootoya are starting up their chain in other asian countries too :o IE: Thailand~
there’s plenty of mosburger in singapore for quite a few years already. And yes, a burger is a burger >.