One of the funnest parts of living in any large Japanese city, or Japan for that matter, is experiencing the multitude of restaurants available. With the exception of deep rural Japan, most Japanese cities offer an abundance of dining options. The tricky parts are, of course, finding these restaurants, and then enjoying your meal without emptying your wallet.
One great way to enjoy a meal out without breaking the bank is to use one of the many online 'gourmet' websites available. These websites provide restaurant information such as maps, menus, and recommendations by area/cuisine. What's more, they often offer incredible coupons and deals available only online. There are even, believe it or not, a few English- language sites available too, such as http://pc.tabemo.com!
Smart Ways to Save
There are two smart ways to use these websites: 1) to search for a bargain at a restaurant of a particular cuisine in a particular area, or 2) to find coupons to use at a restaurant you already frequent. The coupons offer surprisingly good deals - such as 10% off the entire bill at checkout, a free beer for all the members of the party, or a special free desert for the birthday boy/girl. In some cases, special event or limited time coupons offering up to 30-50% off may be available at certain restaurants, with the coupons often sent and used through your mobile phone.
Tabemo
The English-language site with the largest database seems to be Tabemo. The service is best accessed through a mobile phone (can also be accessed through the PC), and requires registration. Once registered, you can search for restaurants on a PC/mobile phone and also search for coupons. Say, for example, that you have arranged to meet friends for an early dinner and you want to eat Indian. A search by location and cuisine in English for "Today's Coupons" through either the mobile or PC site tells you that a special 20% off coupon for parties of two or more is available until tonight (3:00-8:00 PM) at the Indian restaurant Taj Mahal. Check out the site (http://pc.tabemo.com/eng/explain.html for a great explanation of the Tabemo 'Mobile Dining Club' service in English. Very cool, and very frugal!
Gourmet Navigator (Gurunabi)
Another PC-based option is the foreign-language edition of Gurunabi, the major Japanese-language site in this genre, with 44,000 restaurants listed! The English-language site (http://www.gnavi.co.jp/en/) is surprisingly easy to navigate (if charmingly translated), and features search and listing services for Tokyo-Yokohama, Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe, Kyushu, Nagoya, and Tokyo. Hundreds of restaurants, menus, and maps are listed, and a large number of establishments also offer coupons (look for the blue 'Coupon' listing to the right of the restaurant in the search results). The site is also available in Chinese and Korean. The Japanese site, of course, features a much larger selection of restaurants and coupons (http://www.gnavi.co.jp).
I've used these coupons on a number of occasions, and always been pleasantly surprised by the results - be they a free desert or bottle of wine, or a significant chunk off the tab. Make sure that the English- and Japanese-language sites don't contain discrepancies in conditions, however - nothing like walking up to the cash register and getting a 'rude surprise'. Also, it's best to present your coupon BEFORE you order. Hope this helps you save a little money while enjoying dining out!
By Wendy J. Imura. Copyright 2005.