Eating out in Japan can sometimes be costly or a chore, but it doesn’t need to be – with a population of over 125 million residents, there is a cornucopia of cheap chain restaurants in Japan, suitable for families, couples or solo dining.
This post may contain affiliate links to tours and hotels. These help us earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.
From oodles of noodles to tons of tonkatsu, it is easy to eat cheaply in Japan. Big chains like Yoshinoya have over 2,000 branches nationwide and many restaurants like Marugame or Sukiya serve delicious dinners for less than 400 Yen.
Whether it is katsu curry in Coco Ichibanya or tempura in Tendon Tenya, here is our guide to the 20 best chain restaurants in Japan and Japanese family restaurants.
Please note – All the Japan chain restaurant prices below are correct as of May 2024
You might like these Tokyo neighbourhood guides:
Akihabara
Asakusa
Ginza
Harajuku
Ikebukuro
Nakano
Odaiba
Ryogoku
Shibuya
Shimokitazawa
Shinjuku
Also check out our
Where to stay in Tokyo guide
Best chain restaurants in Japan
1. Matsunoya Tonkatsu
Could this be the no.1 chain restaurant in Japan? Well based on the number of times we went, yes – cheap and cheerful but still damn delicious, Matsunoya Tonkatsu is a must do if you love pork or chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs.
With tonkatsu set meals starting from just 590 Yen (around £3 / $4 USD), Japan’s Matsunoya is a great place to sit down and tuck into tasty tonkatsu and cheap combos.
Matsunoya Tonkatsu is always very busy and popular (be prepared to queue at peak periods) and some Matsunoya restaurants are even open 24 hours – because good tonkatsu is timeless.
With over 380 branches in Japan, check out our to eating at Matsunoya Tonkatsu >
2. Kura Sushi
Kura Sushi has to be Japan’s most joyful revolving sushi bar (“kaitenzushi”) and conveyor belt restaurant.
All of the sushi and drinks arrive by conveyor belt, plus putting away your finished dishes has been ‘gamified’. For every five dirty plates you drop into a slot on your table, you get a free go at an online game – great for families and big kids of all ages!
As prices at Kura Sushi in Japan start from just 110 Yen ( less than $1 / £1 a piece), it is one of the most affordable and authentic revolving sushi bar experiences you’ll encounter.
From ordering food to sushi conveyor belt etiquette (plus our visit to Japan’s largest Kura Sushi), here is our ultimate guide to eating at Kura Sushi in Japan >
3. Coco Ichibanya Japan
Japan’s number 1 casual curry restaurant (Ichibanya literally translates as ‘number 1’), Coco Ichibanya is iconic for its curry and katsu based dishes.
Popular Coco Ichibanya plates include pork cutlet curry for 928 Yen, sausage curry for 908 Yen and chicken cutlet curry for 917 Yen.
Ordering via a tablet is simple and most of the stores are busy day and night (especially at lunchtime with all the workers). It also works as a family restaurant in Japan as they do cut-price kids meals.
What is also a nice touch is that you can customise your curry in terms of spiciness, sides and size of rice.
P.S. We prefer the more flavourful and darker Kanazawa style curry of the other main Japanese curry chain Go! Go! Curry – more on this later…
4. Saizeriya Italian Restaurants
OK, ok we know this isn’t traditional Japanese food but please hear us out!
A little bit of Italy in Japan, Saizeriya is a cheap and cheerful Italian chain restaurant which is popular with younger diners, families and tourists (possibly not Italians though). Amazingly, there are over 1,100 Saizeriya Italian restaurants in Japan.
Whilst the quality of food varies, Saizeriya in Japan is one of THE CHEAPEST places to eat out in Japan (and their wine is ridiculously cheap – not amazing, but CHEAP).
As well as standard dishes like margarita pizza or carbonara pasta and spaghetti bolognese, Saizerya is popular for pan-European dishes like grilled snails (escargot) and incredibly cheap wine and other alcohol, plus their salad bar and all you can drink soft drink bar.
From the price of pizzas to menus and specialities, here is our guide to the Japan Saizeriya restaurant chain >
Check out these Japan Beer and Brewery Tours >
5. Denny’s
From Italy to the USA – yep, it may surprise you that one of the most popular fast food chains in Japan is all the all American classic Denny’s.
Like Saizeriya, dining at Denny’s Japan isn’t exactly an authentic Japanese dining experience but it is a cheap and cheerful place for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Packed with families at the weekends and business meetings in the week (plus senior citizens every day), Denny’s in Japan is a Western style diner experience with a MASSIVE menu and low, low prices. Kids will love the colouring in and activity books too.
In 2024, Denny’s Japan is celebrating its 50th anniversary after the first Denny’s Japan opened in Yokohama in 1974. There are now over 300 Denny’s in Japan
From the Denny’s menu to their incredible set menu deals, here is our ultimate guide to Denny’s in Japan >
BRAND NEW FOR MAY 2024
Join our Facebook Japan Travel Tips Group!
Need help with your Japan itinerary or have any questions?
Head on over to our Facebook group and ask the experts!
Click here to join our group >
6. Hub Pubs & 82 Ale House
Kanpai! Walk around any major Japanese city and it won’t be long before you see the gleaming lights and hanging pub sign of a HUB Bar or 82 Ale House.
One of Japan’s biggest bar chains with over 100 pubs, the 82 Ale House and HUB pubs are British themed pubs that have (VERY) happy hours, pub grub style food plus bar interiors just like British pubs.
The bars are popular with both locals (especially ‘salary men’) and overseas tourists (particularly from Europe, the USA and Australia). So if you want a fish and chips fix in Japan or cracking karaage chicken, head on over to the Hub Pub.
NB – This is one place on our list that possibly isn’t so family friendly, as it mainly drinkers.
Read our guide to Hub Pubs in Japan (with photos) here >
Love craft beer? Check out Japan’s only dedicated beer museum brewery: Sapporo Beer Museum >
7. Ichiran Ramen
Our favourite chain ramen restaurant in Japan, Ichiran Ramen is all about the dining experience – if you are so inclined, it is possible not to speak to anyone during the entire ordering and eating process.
Order at a machine choosing your preferred ramen requirements – you are then ushered into your very own dining booth (pull down the divider if there is more than one of you). Complete a tick box paper sheet saying how spicy / how much garlic / which noodles etc you want.
A few moments later, the hatch in front of you magically opens up and your noodles are plonked down in front of you. There are even little wooden signs you can use if you don’t want to speak to staff (also handy if you don’t know Japanese).
There are around 100 Ichiran Ramen restaurant across Japan – it is one of the best ramen chain restaurants in Japan, usually costing around 900 Yen per bowl.
You might like – Our guide to visiting the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama >
8. Yoshinoya
The familiar orange restaurant fronts are a common sight across Japan – there are around 1300 Yoshinoya’s in Japan and it is so popular, it even has its own gachapon range and mini Tomica Yoshinoya toy restaurant and van.
Yoshinoya in Japan serves up big beef bowls at low prices and is the second largest gyūdon (beef bowl) chain restaurant, after Sukiya.
It is also one of the longest established restaurants having opened in 1899 at Nihonbashi fish market, before moving to Tsukiji Fish Market / Outer Market.
Billed as ‘tasty, cheap and fast’ beef bowls / gyudon, a standard Yoshinoya beef bowl costs 426 Yen for a medium bowl. Other meats and sides (like cheese, green onions etc) can be added on.
Always popular, this is a cheap as you can eat meat dish in Japan.
You might like – Our guide to the coolest gachapon capsule toys in Japan >
9. Marugame Seimen
Cheap udon noodles ahoy! Marugame Seimen (also known as Marugame Udon overseas) has over 800 branches in Japan) and is rapidly expanding across the world.
We love Marugame Seimen because it serves up super inexpensive bowls of udon noodles (with veggie options available), katsu curry and top tempura too.
Service is always quick as dining is cafeteria style. You pick what you want from the counter, they make the noodles in front of you and then you choose your tempura sides.
They also usually have a free ‘sides’ bar where you add unlimited spring onions / scallions, temperature bits and various sauces. Bowls of udon noodles at Marugame Seimen start from around 300 Yen for the kake udon.
You might like – Our guide to the 40+ Japanese Kit Kat flavours or the cult of Pocky chocolate
10. Sukiya
Welcome to Japan’s biggest gyudon / beef bowl restaurant chain – with over 2,000 Sukiya’s across Japan, beef bowls are big business. They also specialise in cheap curry rice, variety bowls and Teishoku (set meals).
Weirdly we liked Sukiya not for their lunchtime and dinner options for their incredible breakfast ‘teisoku’ meals – they do cheap breakfast bites like grilled mackerel or salmon with nato, egg and okra or Western style breakfasts.
A Salmon teisoku costs 570 Yen whilst a medium beef bowl at Sukiya costs 430 Yen – add cheese or kimchi to make it 620 Yen a bowl of gyudon.
You might like – Guide to all the Japanese convenience stores including 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson and konbini egg sandwiches
11. Tendon Tenya
Time for Tokyo tempura – there are over 130 Tendon Tenya restaurants across Japan but the vast majority (over 70) are based in Tokyo.
Tendon Tenya specialise in tempura bowls (often served with soba or udon noodles) where you can get shrimp, vegetables, fish and more battered in a light tempura coating.
We visited Tendon Tenya a lot in Tokyo as they often did new monthly specials and bowls of several tempura types usually cost around 600 Yen. If you are feeling thirsty, reward yourself with their tempura and draft Kirin Ichiban set for 790 Yen.
12. Nakau Japan
A well-known Japanese fast-food chain, Nakau has almost 500 branches across Japan with most stores located in Tokyo and Osaka.
Nakau’s best known dish is Oyakodon, a rather nice rice bowl topped with chicken, onion and scrambled eggs, cooked soy sauce which costs 490 Yen for a medium bowl. You can also add value sets on the side like fried chicken and pork miso soup
The sister brand of Sukiya, Nakau Japan is also popular for udon noodle dishes, beef curry bowls and breakfast sets served with raw eggs.
Try this – Shinjuku Izakaya Food Tour in Tokyo >
13. Hanamaru Udon
Well hello Hanamaru Udon – with over 440 udon restaurants across Japan, that is oodles of noodles.
Similar to Marugame Seimen (which we personally always found tastier), Hanamaru Udon is a noodle restaurant that serves steaming bowls of noodles and meat for not very much Yen.
Kake udon, bukkake udon and special limited edition bowls are all part of the mix, plus you can choose tempura sides or non noodle dishes like curry rice or beef bowls.
Expect to pay around 150 Yen for one piece of tempura or oden. Udon style noodle dishes usually cost between 330 Yen (kake noodles) up to 690 Yen for beef udon.
Try this – Top Japan food tours with Viator >
14. Go! Go! Curry
OK, so perhaps the most popular curry chain in Japan is Coco Ichibanya but for us, the darker Kanazawa style curry at Go! Go! Curry was much better.
We discovered Go! Go! Curry in Shinjuku after finding one outside our hotel – damn, it was good!
Famous for their Go Go Gorilla logo, we aren’t monkeying around when we say give Go! Go! Curry a go next time you are in Japan.
Typical dishes include chicken and pork katsu curry, sausage or shrimp curry plus their calorie busting World Champion Curry (possibly only suitable for sumo wrestlers). You can add toppings to your curry like cheese, kimchi and rakkyo Chinese onion (pickled ginger is available for free).
There are over 70 Go! Go! Curry restaurants in Japan (plus some in the USA) – it is King (Kong) of the curry restaurants in our opinion!
You might like – Plan My Japan’s Guide to Tokyo’s Underground Ninja Sake Bar or trendy Takeshita Street
15. Ippudo
Rrrrrrramen! Possibly one of the few Japanese restaurant chains to make it really BIG overseas, we found Ippudo in Japan quite a different experience.
From the tablet ordering system to the old school interiors (complete with wooden sign boards) a trip to Ippudo in Japan is an inexpensive but edifying experience.
On top of their game with their famous tonkotsu ramen, Ippudo has 50 restaurants in Japan at the time of writing.
Their broths are always very stocky and packed full of flavour – Ippudo always tastes like good quality traditional food with lots of seasonal variations. Recommended.
You might like – Things to do in Dotonbori, Osaka >
16. Shakey’s Pizza
Japan’s famous all-you-can-eat pizza and salad buffet, Shakey’s started out as an American pizza chain which branched out into the Land of the Rising Sun.
Whilst not Big in Japan (“…ah-ha, Big in Japan.”), Shakey’s Pizza has 10 restaurants in Tokyo (sadly our favourite Shinjuku branch recently closed) and a further six Shakey’s Pizzas across Japan.
Whilst you could argue the quality isn’t amazing, you get all you can eat pizza, salad and soft drinks for around 1,700 Yen at weekday lunchtimes and around 2,200 Yen on weeknights and weekends.
We also used to be a fan of the all you can drink beer for 1,000 Yen (our record was 8 beers in 1 hour – we know!)
You might like – 35 Best Japanese foods >
17. Bikkuri Donkey
Not to be confused with the Donki / Don Quijote stores, Bikkuri Donkey is a Japanese hamburger steak chain, where all the burgers are served with grated horseradish and various sauces and sides of your choosing.
Bikkuri Donkey started out in 1968 – and based on the Sapporo branch we visited, it felt like the stores haven’t been updated much since!
Cheap and somewhat cheerful, there are around 345 branches of Bikkuri Donkey as of April 2024.
They have heaps of different hamburger steak dishes to choose from including big cheese strips on top through to the more healthier pineapple chunks.
If you aren’t a burger fan, chow down on a Bikkuri Donkey caesar salad or grab some grilled squid with mayonnaise.
You might like – Guide to Don Quijote, Japan’s famous discount store >
18. Royal Host
The Queen of all Japanese chain restaurants?
Well we would say this was our favourite breakfast place in Japan as it is such good value, the serving staff are always incredibly nice plus literally every Royal Host branch we went into (even the newly built ones) felt like stepping back in time several decades.
Royal Host first opened in the early 1970s and there are now over 230 Royal Host chain restaurants across Japan. It genuinely feels like they want the interiors to seem timeless, maybe to appeal to all generations.
We rave about the Royal Host breakfasts (that soft bread served with western style bacon, eggs and sausage) but Royal Host has a massive menu of Japan.
There is something for everyone from lobster to lasagna, melon bread to mussels. It’s a bit like Denny’s but with a slightly nicer menu and warmer welcome.
You might like – Our guide to Studio Ghibli Things To Do In Tokyo (including Totoro Cream Puffs)
19. Mister Donut / Misdo Japan
Japan’s Mister Donut chain (Misdo) is a popular place for sweet treats, decadent desserts and sublime limited edition donuts and colourful, chewy collaborations – it is the no.1 donut in Japan!
With over 1,000 branches in Japan, you may think Mister Donut isn’t a chain restaurant but some branches serve sit down meals like pizzas and hot-dogs as a precursor to your donut!
So why is Mister Donut so popular in Japan? Most of their stores are in high footfall locations like train stations, Metro stations and popular shopping areas and malls like Ginza.
Their Pon De Ring donut is also the thing of legend, as are their limited edition Mister Donut collaborations.
From marvellous matcha creations to Pokémon Mister Donuts and more, here is our guide to the cult of Mister Donut in Japan >
Our final best Japanese chain restaurant / family restaurant in Japan
20. MOS Burger Japan
Who needs McDonalds or KFC when you have Japan’s Mos Burger? With over 1,300 Mos Burger chain restaurants across Japan, this hamburger joint started from humble beginnings in Narimasu, near Ikebukuro in Tokyo.
MOS stands for Mountain Ocean Sun (the founder loves nature apparently) and their iconic original MOS Burger costs 440 Yen, is cooked to order and is topped with beef and pork meat sauce and tomatoes.
We like MOS Burger has they often have some quite interesting burgers like salmon or shrimp plus rice burgers and plant-based burgers..
So make the MOS-t of your time in Japan and wolf down one of these wonderful hamburgers.
Found this Japan chain restaurants article useful?
Did you enjoy our Japanese chain restaurant blog post? Let us know in the comments or by sharing it on social media.
You can follow us on:
Instagram
Tik Tok
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube