(4.Food) Tokyo vs. Cincinnati — Which City Is Less Expensive for a Vacation?
There is much to love about food in Cincinnati, but Tokyo is the world’s best city for foodies. So perhaps not a totally fair comparison.
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Here is the overall roadmap for this series as we look at general costs and expenses for a 10-day trip to Tokyo vs. a 10-day trip to Cincinnati, Ohio:
- Airfares to get there
- Hotels once you’ve arrived
- Ground transportation and getting around locally
- Food and restaurants — this article
- Things to do, cool places to visit
- “Insider tips” for each city
- “Creative” ways of saving money by getting airfares and/or hotels for a fraction of the regular cost
Someone recently mentioned that they hoped “to be able to save enough to someday visit Japan.” That surprised me, because in my experience, you can have an amazing visit to Japan while still spending less than it would cost for a vacation in many parts of the U.S.
So I wondered, category by category, how would the total cost of a trip to Tokyo compare to the total cost of a trip to, say, Cincinnati?
Today we’re focusing on food options in each city.
As I noted above, people enjoy food and eating in Cincinnati, and the restaurants reflect that.
However, it's not an overstatement to say that Tokyo is the world’s greatest city for foodies.
But what do you things look like when we start to compare costs of going to restaurants and eating in each city?
The answers might surprise you.
For each city, we're going to look at food options that locals might select, and we will also have a few higher end, special meals to give you a sense of the quality of food up and down the price spectrum.
The Cincinnati food scene
When you talk with people from Cincinnati, about restaurants, there are certain names that will always come up. Skyline Chili. Gold Star Chili. Montgomery Inn. Eli’s BBQ. Jeff Ruby’s Precinct. Graeter’s Ice Cream. Busken Bakery. Izzy Kadetz.
There are hundreds and thousands of good restaurants all around the Greater Cincinnati area.
Cincinnatians love their food.
Prices in general won’t shock you by being too expensive, nor will they delight you with what a great deal you’re getting. Food and restaurant costs are generally “mid-range.”
I’ve made somewhat generous assumptions about spending. It’s likely that someone visiting for 10 days would end up spending less than the amount I’ve budgeted in the spreadsheet. but I wanted to leave enough budgetary headroom for someone to really enjoy whatever might catch their eye.
Total estimate for 10 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, along with a healthy amount set aside for snacks, coffee, and drinks along the way = $1,050.
Tokyo is hands-down the world’s best city if you enjoy food
Of course there are infinite options if you’re in the mood for classic Japanese foods such as sushi, gyoza, tonkatsu, curry rice, udon and soba, chanko nabe, and yakitori. From infinite street food shops and restaurants where you can have a full meal for $5 to $10 to the highest of high-end restaurants where prices start at $100–200 and only go up from there.
But there are also world-class offerings from every other cuisine in the world, most of which will have options from top to bottom of the price spectrum. Italian, Korean, French, Chinese, Turkish, Persian, Greek, Spanish, Thai, Cambodian…even Philly cheesesteaks! You name it, and there will be options.
And there is so much innovation and creativity in the food scene in Tokyo — again, up and down the price spectrum. So many different kinds of fusion cuisines now nd innovative, creative ways of presenting food to customers. Tokyo is a paradise for foodies!
- Surprice Nippon for onigiri with high-end beef katsu or pork and kimchi instead of fish and vegetables.
- Tempura Motoyoshi Imo — Noto salt-flavoured milk soft serve with pieces of deep-fried sweet potato and topped with crispy tempura bits. This is a high-end offering in terms of food, and yet it costs less than $5 at current exchange rates (¥140/$1). The parent restaurant is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo, but this takeaway store is an easy way to try a taste before committing to “the big dinner.”
- Lotus Baguette — amazing croissants alongside the Meguro River. (Try the Charcoal Croissant with Raspberry and Cream Cheese!)
- Tenma-ya Curry in Shimokitazawa — Curry Pan (Bread)
- Circus Crepe in Kichijoji or Comcrepe Harajuku — amazing crepes at both places, but you will also find crepe offerings all across Tokyo.
I wouldn’t have to try hard at all to come up with a list of 200 or 300 restaurants and food shops in Tokyo that I’d like to return to or visit for the first time.
So with all that said, you might be thinking that it would cost you an arm and a leg to eat well as you explore Tokyo, since Tokyo has had a reputation for many years of being very expensive when it comes to food.
And you would be wrong.
Again, as with Cincinnati, I have been conservative in budgeting for 10 breakfast lunches and dinners along with money for snacks, coffee, and drinks along the way. The total estimate for food and restaurants in Tokyo was roughly the same as for Cincinnati — about $1,035 total.
All that said, my best guess is that for each city you will probably end up spending less than that — perhaps in the $700–$850 range.
Summary Expenses with Airfares, Hotels, Local Transportation, and Food (so far!)
Since the budget for food and restaurants is roughly the same, the total cost so far — including airfares, hotels, local transportation, and food — for each city remains about $1000 apart from each other.
Cincinnati is still about $1,000 more expensive a destination for a 10-day trip than Tokyo is. The running totals for each city are:
Cincinnati: $3,843
Tokyo: $2,836
Related articles:
• Tokyo or Cincinnati — Which City Is More Affordable for a Vacation? (Airfares • Hotels • Ground Transportation • Food) • How Did Japanese Society Improve in Recent Decades While the U.S. Declined? 1. Kaizen • 2. Shikata • 3. Peer Pressure • Ai Ninomiya’s 12 Best Japanese and English Cover Song Performances • Life Expectancy vs. Healthcare Costs in the U.S.
Recent articles:
• The 2 Reasons Populations Are Collapsing in Developed Countries • Fundamental Human Values Are Critically Important for Successful, Enduring Brands • Is It Up to Our Kids to Win the War Against Climate Change? • 3 Key Facts Everyone Is Missing About Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief • The Terrible Damage We Do Voting Blue No Matter Who — (Part 1/9) Centrist Democrats Do Not Reflect the Will of their Voters
Potential to Change the Way You Think
• Six Behavioral Barriers That Prevent You from Changing the Status Quo (Part 1 • Barnacles) (Part 5 • Smart Man’s Disease) • Pressing Where It Hurts: How to Win Fights That Matter • (3a/9) Why Vote “Blue No Matter Who” When Centrist Dems Never Play to Win
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