The Complete Guide to Lunch in Japan

What is lunch like in Japan?

Everyday lunch in Japan

An average home-packed lunch usually includes rice or pasta/noodles plus a main dish and some sides. Often, home made lunches include leftovers and a mix of fresh and prepared dishes. On the other hand, it’s very common even for locals to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant rather than bringing their own! A standard lunch set at a restaurant is usually between 800 and 1200 yen. At traditional Japanese restaurants, teishoku lunches include a main dish chosen by the diner, then miso soup, rice, and sides selected by the restaurant. In an urban city like Tokyo, foodtrucks, convenience stores, hot takeout bento, and more have all become normal parts of lunch time in Japan. No matter what you enjoy as your mid-day meal, the interesting culture surrounding Japanese lunch time is sure to make it more delicious.

The origin of Japanese lunch culture

Most Japanese people’s lunch routine starts early in life with kyushoku provided by their schools. Kyushoku still carries the Japanese tradition of ichiju-sansai, consisting of a soup dish and three main plates for a balanced and filling meal. The balance of a perfect meal goes even deeper with the phrase “Mago wa Yasashii,” which, broken down into its component kana, provides guidelines for a nutrient-rich meal. 

Some schools make their own lunches on campus, and students will even be invited to help in the kitchen or serve in classrooms. School lunches in Japan can range from health-nut approved to “well-balanced” sets of noodles served with curry and rice and a roll on the side. In many cases, monthly menus are monitored by registered nutritionists to manage both flavor and quality.

How bento boxes frame Japanese lunch

Once kids move on to high school, bento lunches become the norm. Some students make their own from dinner leftovers and simple refrigerated sides thrown in a box, while others head to school with over the top designer lunches. Arranged into small lunch boxes, designer meals like chara-ben turn bento boxes into tiny dioramas filled with edible art. 

Home made bento can be a way for parents to show affection and support for their children, a tactic that continues into adulthood. When wives prepare bento boxes for their husbands, sometimes it includes a sweet message, and sometimes a spat the night before leads to less-than-desireable lunch at the office the next day.

Not all bento are home made though; around lunch time, food trucks set up shop in office plazas and local restaurants prop up tables to sell their lunch-time specials in takeout containers. Occasionally, individuals will even set up vending stands outside major train stations, although modern conveniences have all but erased these bento sellers. Supermarkets also offer clam-shell boxes at lunch, complete with a main dish, rice, pickles, and usually some other little pieces to nibble on. These supermarket lunch boxes are a fantastic deal, but unfortunately get cold and soggy quite quickly.

From school to office – the role of lunch in modern Japan

Around an office, lunch tends to swing one of two ways: a glorified snack, or a single sit down worth a day’s energy. This is partly because of the long hours of working culture in Japan, which can make it hard to make time for a full meal (in the case of a snack-esque lunch) but also mean that an employee might only be eating once a day, and it needs to count! 

For some locals, lunch is needed as a way to balance out the volume of other meals. When leaving early for the office, it's easy to skip breakfast, leading to a big appetite for lunch. After work, dinner is sometimes replaced by corporate parties or nomikai, which are mostly light snacks and drinking, and a larger lunch makes sure individuals stay satisfied until they can have a proper meal the next morning. On the other hand, a meeting with an important client might mean eating a multi course dinner and then drinking into the night, making a lighter lunch appealing.

Traditionally, lunches enjoyed outside the home were priced under 1000 yen, but lately prices are creeping towards 1500 for the same meals. This tradition has made it difficult for some restaurant owners to keep up business, as the lunch crowd expects their same-as-ever bottom dollar meals, no matter the economic climate. It’s not uncommon to see office workers waiting in line outside for a favorite local lunch restaurant. Many adults choose to eat out for lunch because of the wide variety of restaurants available and attractive pricing.

What do people eat for lunch in japan

Lunch Sets

Other than bento, lunch sets and teishoku are by far the most popular thing to eat for lunch in Japan. A lunch set usually includes a main, a side or appetizer such as soup or salad, and often a choice between tea or coffee. This structure applies to all kinds of restaurants, but especially those that deviate from East Asian cuisines, such as Indian, French, Italian, and so on. 

Teishoku

Teishoku are the classic Japanese lunch choice. Mirroring the layout of childhood meals, a teishoku includes rice and soup, plus the diner’s choice of main dish, and then usually some side items selected on the restaurant side. With Chinese food and genres like ramen, soba, and udon, the teishoku format shifts slightly to accommodate for noodles as a main dish.

Just like kyushoku, teishoku often follows ichijusansai or ichijuisai pattern of rice, soup (miso), pickles, side dish, and main dish. Very common lunch teishoku include: yakizakana (grilled fish), karaage (boneless fried chicken), shougayaki (ginger pork), tonkatsu (panko-fried pork cutlet), and hambagu (salisbury/chopped steak).

Bento

Bento is used as a general term for make and take lunch, whether brought from home or purchased. The grand majority of bento are expected to be eaten cold, but foodtruck/carts/stands in office districts and street-side bento sold by local restaurants come warm. Ekiben are bento boxes made specifically to be eaten on the shinkansen and long train rides. They don’t always taste fantastic, but it’s a vital cultural experience and many of them are quite good – some even self-heat for a fresh meal right on the train. 

Mid-day deals

Course menus are often less expensive during lunch, even for the same course menu. Sometimes mid-day diners get a discount of as much as $100 off compared to someone having the same meal at dinner, making lunch courses an especially good deal. In contrast, traditional Japanese coffee shops/cafes called kissaten tend to offer a very similar menu to breakfast at lunch, but it’s usually one or two-hundred yen more expensive. 

Great foods to have for lunch in Japan

Curry

Curry is a great option for lunch, especially at retro kissaten and contemporary spice-curry shops, because many of these kinds of stores aren’t open for dinner! The standard curry chains are open even beyond typical business hours, but some of the most special, worth-the-trip curries are limited to lunch service.

Unagi

Unagi can get quite expensive, but heading to an unagi specialist for lunch often means getting to try this amazing piece of Japanese culture with much less headache. A casual unaju lunch usually hovers around 3500 yen, which is just over $20 at time of writing. It’s easier to find welcoming-looking unagi restaurants for lunch than dinner, but a reservation is always helpful.

Teishoku and Donburi

Teishoku is the lunch food of Japan. While some diners and izakaya offer teishoku at dinner, in most cases it is a dining style firmly rooted in lunch culture. Trying at least one teishoku style meal while traveling in Japan should be a high priority. In a similar way, donburi format meals are a lunch staple. Instead of serving the main dish on its own, donburi pile toppings onto a bowl of rice and serve it just with miso soup for a more efficient meal that can literally be shoveled in. Think everything from okayodon to stamina-don and chirashizushi. It’s far more common to find restaurants offering donburi casually for lunch than dinner, so take the chance to try one when you have it. 

Chuuka (Japanese-style Chinese) and Chinese food

Japan has an incredibly long history of trading food and flavors with the Chinese mainland. Thanks to this exchange, Japan has also developed its own list of localized Chinese foods, such as hoikoro (twice cooked pork), reba-nira (liver and chives) and much-loved ramen and gyoza. While having Chinese food in Japan isn’t always the first thought that comes to mind, enjoying a teishoku from a local machi-chuuka (町中華) is a great piece of deep Japanese culture.

Korean food

In much the same way, Japan’s long history with Korea has led to local versions of Korean food. Some stay rooted in classic Japanese diners, like buta-kimchi, but some have found their permanent homes in yakiniku restaurants. Visitors to Japan who want to enjoy Korean food will get their fix by visiting a yakiniku spot at lunch, when they often serve chilled noodles, bibimbap, and soondubu.

Onigiri

Onigiri stands are becoming less common in Japan, but when they can be found, lunch is the best time to go. Many of them are only open around lunch-time anyway, when hungry office workers come by. Instead of getting cold, factory made onigiri at a convenience store, lunch time in Japan is the ideal moment to get your hands around a warm, fresh ball of rice.

FAQ: Know before you go tips for lunch in Japan

What time do restaurants open for lunch?

Most local restaurants open for lunch between 11 and 12:00 noon. Restaurants with short business hours accept their last lunch-time orders at 1:30pm before closing to prepare for dinner. Restaurants in office districts are open longer, sometimes until 3pm but rarely all the way to 4. Chains are more likely to operate all day, but may still serve a dedicated lunch menu during certain hours.

Is the dinner menu available at lunch?

Usually、 no. At fine dining establishments, a dinner course can often be booked for lunch. However, ordinary restaurants offer separate menu options for lunch. The most common are set meals formed from select dishes from the dinner menu, but some venues even serve completely different menu options between lunch and dinner.

How does ordering and payment work for lunch?

Lunch menu items usually don’t allow for sharing, and a-la-carte ordering varies by location, but isn’t the norm, and shouldn’t be expected. Generally shortly after sitting down the lunch order is taken, and then staff won’t return except to fill up water or deliver plates.

It’s not uncommon for a restaurant to take cash only at lunch, but then credit cards at dinner. In the same way, a restaurant that has a table fee and/or otoshi (an appetizer served as part of the table fee) at dinner, probably doesn’t have either at lunch time.

What should I expect about lunch portion sizes?

More often than not, going to lunch in Japan can be very heavy and filling, sometimes even more than dinner. Portions are served as a fixed set, which can actually be daunting for light eaters. Each party member is expected to order one whole meal set per person, unlike dinner, where plates are ordered for the table. If this sounds like a challenge, rely on noodle-soup restaurants (ramen, udon, soba) and contemporary chains for a-la-carte ordering. The choose-your-own combo (soup/salad/sando/etc.) format popular overseas is not common in Japan.

Should I make a reservation for lunch when visiting Japan?

If you want to visit a high-end restaurant or a very popular venue, you should make a reservation. Casual restaurants usually welcome walk-ins at lunch. Lunch-hours-only shops are not uncommon either, and people will wait in line for ramen and teishoku shops, even on a tight lunch break. It’s not expected that diners will linger and converse during lunch hour; most guests just eat and go. Higawari menus, where the lunch offerings change daily, are especially fun for travelers who buy into the ichigo-ichie philosophy, and keep things interesting for regulars.

Can I have omakase for lunch?

A lunch omakase course can actually be a great way to get a table at difficult to book restaurants. However, depending on the venue, the lunch menu may vary dramatically. For example, at mid-range sushi counters, lunch may be either a set of 10-12 nigiri made all at once or slices of sashimi served as kaisendon, not omakase. If you make a lunch reservation at a sushi place, make sure to check whether it's a lunch set menu or a full course menu.

Great restaurants on OMAKASE for Lunch

La Maison Confortable / French / Tokyo

A new 2025 Michelin selection, La Maison Confortable welcomes diners to its serene space. Guests leisurely enjoy elegant courses of French cuisine, as if sitting in their own dining room. The executive chef、 Yosuke Akasaka、 worked at Pierre Gagnaire Tokyo before opening La Maison Confortable on his own in Minato ward. The beautiful white surroundings act as canvas for emotional, stunning courses of seasonal ingredients.

Ippongi Ishibashi / Kaiseki / Fukuoka

Master Ishibashi’s sukiya-style space in residential Fukuoka exudes an atmosphere of tradition and formality. While tradition is there in spades – from the familiar procession of kaiseki appetizers to the chef’s roots firmly planted in Kyoryori – the formality gives way to warm service and a friendly atmosphere. Fukuoka is quickly growing into one of Japan’s newest hubs for gastronomy, and the incredibly fresh fish that guests enjoy at Ippongi Ishibashi is no exception. 

Tempura Kyorinsen / Tempura / Kyoto

Located in the Hotel Granvia connected to JR Kyoto Station, Tempura Kyorinsen is a well-trafficked tempura specialist that knows how to please a crowd. Their tempura is light and simple, heavily featuring kyoyasai, Kyoto’s regional heirloom vegetables, and fresh seafood. As the saying goes, tempura is only as good as its ingredients, which Kyorinsen goes to great lengths to select. Lunch courses start as low as ~$30 USD, making this a convenient and delicious option for premium Japanese cuisine.

Nihonryori Ruka / Kaiseki / Hokkaido

After spending a quarter of a century collecting fine tableware from around the country, the chef of Nihonryori Ruka proudly displays his collection of lacquerware, pottery and glassware in an unforgettable kaiseki course menu. This exploration of both craft and cuisine immerses guests in the philosophy of the master from two angles. The chef will even invite guests to view his expansive collection of ancient and modern tableware in not a wine cellar, but a “tableware cellar.” Complemented by the heartfelt flavor of locally grown Hokkaido rice, lunch at Ruka will leave a lasting memory of the important human element of Japanese food.

Kodaiji Jugyuan / Kaiseki / Kyoto

This Two-Michelin star ryotei in Kyoto offers some of the most stunning views in the city. At lunch, diners can enjoy it for two-thirds the price of dinner. It’s the first ryotei by the Hiramatsu group、 located in a 1908 sukiya overlooking Kyoto’s famous pagoda. Offering premium kaiseki courses, guests at Kodaiji Jugyuan will have a taste of the cuisine that defined Japan’s culinary culture in the place it was first developed. This is an amazing lunch experience, not to be missed while visiting the old capital.