Japan food are actually surprising affordable (weak ringgit made it feel expensive), what is the best is that most of the food photos and food models are not for illustration purposes, THEY ARE REAL in portion, well maybe except some fast food chain like McD (still better than here), and of course MOS Burger are still very fulfilling.

Even if we not good at their languages, we can just point at the menu and say: kore kudasai

These are the Bentos from family mart website, they all look exactly the same when we went there



We also love the katsu sandwiches there whether to be in conbini or at the other famous shop, at first we thought egg and katsu sandwiches for 300 yen (RM12) is freaking expensive, but we fell in love with it once we took a bite, their fillings are fulfilling, not like the sandwiches we saw here, front look nice but back side of sandwiches are empty.

Matsuya Gyudon, I am not sure if I am being health conscious as I feel their food too salty.



Those were just my opinion and cheap eatery that I like, I do enjoy all range of food when I went there, from 100 yen per plate of sushi to OMAKASE courses that cost like almost 10000 yen per meal.

Now we also aware that tax has been increased to 10% that not affect on food but affect when you dine-in, if you take away then it is still 8%. When I heard this, I was like is Japan government do this to encourage more rubbish as when take-out the food requires more plastic containers and cutlery compare to dine-in.

In Japan, it is still very hard to find Muslim-friendly food, I did saw some girls with Hijab went into Yoshinoya in Haneda Airport ordered gyudon, but at the same time Yoshinoya there do provide buta-don (pork rice), and they just eat there cheerfully, and many food like snacks in Japan do contain Gelatin that Muslim can't take (got Pork DNA). I am not Muslim, I just have some Muslim friend and they told me this.

Well at least ANA flight that fly from KL or to KL are providing Muslim-friendly food on plane, alcoholic beverage also provided upon request.

Best cheap food in Japan are Yoshinoya and Sukiya
Way better than those slash price bento.

500 Yen can get decent meal

If you are trying to tekan your budget, why not just stay in one region? Kansai - Tokyo return is not budget conscious.

prefer order kosher meals in ANA website. it's halal. big portions and very delicious. they also give me faster than regular meals so can sleep afterwards
prefer matsuya over yoshinoya or sukiya.
i brought my family. we are 8 people. maybe some of them only visit this Japan trip once in a lifetime so should explore kansai and Tokyo provided my return airfare from and to narita.

I find Matsuya is cheaper a lil bit (100yen or so) than Yoshinoya. I only go Matsuya 2 times for breakfast because it only cost 290 yen for basic gyuudon set.

Ramen franchises like Ippudo or Ichiran is about the same price. Another chain that I went to is Tendon Tenya (天丼 てんや) which primarily serves beef and seafood don. Not sure if you can find in ur area of visit. Another franchise I tried is Coco Ichibanya (curry rice). All 600-800 yen with good portions. Others mostly I tried is small family restaurants but I see ur need for halal(or pork free) food so that is a challenge. Most restaurants display their menu at front so it helps if you can read them. Otherwise McD, KFC, Mos Burger, Starbucks, is your best choice.

I would usually include meals as part of my trip experience so I prefer to try as much variety and not too worried about the prices but that's me personally.

u want a quick, cheap hot meal?
find ramen store that is standing only

Best cheap food in Japan are Yoshinoya and Sukiya
Way better than those slash price bento.

500 Yen can get decent meal

I find Matsuya is cheaper a lil bit (100yen or so) than Yoshinoya. I only go Matsuya 2 times for breakfast because it only cost 290 yen for basic gyuudon set.

Ramen franchises like Ippudo or Ichiran is about the same price. Another chain that I went to is Tendon Tenya (天丼 てんや) which primarily serves beef and seafood don. Not sure if you can find in ur area of visit. Another franchise I tried is Coco Ichibanya (curry rice). All 600-800 yen with good portions. Others mostly I tried is small family restaurants but I see ur need for halal(or pork free) food so that is a challenge. Most restaurants display their menu at front so it helps if you can read them. Otherwise McD, KFC, Mos Burger, Starbucks, is your best choice.

I would usually include meals as part of my trip experience so I prefer to try as much variety and not too worried about the prices but that's me personally.

hi jap experts,

planning to self drive around Lake Kwaguchiko, and the other lakes as public transport may not be as accessible in the more remote parts of that place.

have about 6 months more to the trip, and i am researching and reading on driving in japan rules and manners.

i came across this video, which the guy in the video actually went through a rest stop. I am wondering why is there an ETC card lane exiting the rest stop?
Do the japanese have to tag in and out of the rest stop?

Thank you in advance!

hi sifus need help to check if the itinerary below is too packed or just nice? will it be too rushing?

Day 1 (osaka)
Tempozan Temples
Kuromon market
Osaka Aquarium
Den Den town
Namba town

Day 2 (kobe)
Travel to kobe
Kobe harbour land
chinatown
mount rokko
back to osaka

Day 3 (kyoto)
Kiyomizu dera temple
jalan2 at the street
any idea to suggest?

Day 4 (kyoto)
Tenryuji temple
arashiyama bamboo forest
Nijo castle
Kyoto station
Monkey park

Day 5 (Nara)
Travel to nara from kyoto
kofukuji temple
Nara deer park
Kagamike lake
Travel back to osaka

Day 6 (osaka)
minami district
midosuji area
amerikuna town
abeno haruka nightview

Day 7 (osaka)
Osaka castle
yodabashi umeda
spa world
hep five
umeda sky building

Day 8 (osaka)
dotenbori
no idea what to do

Day 9
hang around dotenbori
balik kampung
i have no idea what to spend on the 8th day. any suggestion? 

hi jap experts,

planning to self drive around Lake Kwaguchiko, and the other lakes as public transport may not be as accessible in the more remote parts of that place.

have about 6 months more to the trip, and i am researching and reading on driving in japan rules and manners.

i came across this video, which the guy in the video actually went through a rest stop. I am wondering why is there an ETC card lane exiting the rest stop?
Do the japanese have to tag in and out of the rest stop?

Thank you in advance!

hi sifus need help to check if the itinerary below is too packed or just nice? will it be too rushing?

Day 1 (osaka)
Tempozan Temples
Kuromon market
Osaka Aquarium
Den Den town
Namba town

Day 2 (kobe)
Travel to kobe
Kobe harbour land
chinatown
mount rokko
back to osaka

Day 3 (kyoto)
Kiyomizu dera temple
jalan2 at the street
any idea to suggest?

Day 4 (kyoto)
Tenryuji temple
arashiyama bamboo forest
Nijo castle
Kyoto station
Monkey park

Day 5 (Nara)
Travel to nara from kyoto
kofukuji temple
Nara deer park
Kagamike lake
Travel back to osaka

Day 6 (osaka)
minami district
midosuji area
amerikuna town
abeno haruka nightview

Day 7 (osaka)
Osaka castle
yodabashi umeda
spa world
hep five
umeda sky building

Day 8 (osaka)
dotenbori
no idea what to do

Day 9
hang around dotenbori
balik kampung
i have no idea what to spend on the 8th day. any suggestion? 

Just to confirm we can scan QR code from e-ticket (without printing) to get into USJ right? And that applies to Express Tickets too? I don't intend to print so many papers honestly..

MR_alien, care to comment since you just came back from USJ. Thanks!

Kawaguchigo worth to visit or not? cost per pax 300 ringgit  transport just for a day. expensive

More like a quiet place to relax yourself from hustle and bustle of the city, 2 days 1 nite shld be enuf to explore surrounding area. Even the ryokan there is not cheap, cost me 3.5k for 2 nights and hence i decide not to visit hakone

yes, can use e-ticket display from handphone
i saw many just use their handphone
but i choose to print out using a paper because my phone is a battery drainer
and since i bought buy 1 free 1...each order is 2 ticket...not convenient
just open your express ticket for the person to scan when u reach each express lane

Planning to go to Tokyo for a work/personal trip in June of 2020. Not really confident of the hotel internet and still think I need to have my own mobile internet while I am there.

Anyone have experience with the unlimited data sims/hotspot dongles you can find online? Right now thinking between these four.
Samurai WiFi-HotSpot Dongle
NTT Docomo SIM

Sakura Mobile Sim

JAL Unari Kun Sim

Leaning toward the Sakura Mobile Sim since they explicitly say that it can work with hotspots, so I can bring my own hotspot dongle and still get unlimited data without speed restrictions. Prices are around the RM250-RM300 mark.

nope I don't need halal food. I recommend kosher since it's alternative if you want halal food. kosher meals big portion. hence, I aim for that meal.

Ya..tried that before too.
You get a hot meal + free drinks and parking too.
Too much beef Gyudon is quite boring too . Curry rice is tasty and filling and can last you at least half a day.

May I suggest day trip to Himeji? (Mt Shosha & Himeji castle)

why is your day 1 got osaka aquarium which is at a totally different place?(near USJ)
day 2 have to becareful, if u want to cover it all...u might go back osaka pretty late at night...kobe is pretty big
day 3 kiyomizudera thn gion area all the way to kawaramachi (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_higashiyama_half.html)
day 4 can include golden pavilion in there
day 5 u can stop by fushimi inari 1st before going to nara if you're from kyoto