A local tonkatsu restaurant — how and what to order even if you don't read Japanese.
You most definitely do not need to dish out the cash to eat well in Tokyo.
One of the best "hacks" for eating relatively cheap, high quality meals in Tokyo is lunch specials. Most restaurants have them, and the cost of the dish is often significantly dropped. This is great when you want to have meals that can typically be a more expensive dish, such as tonkatsu.
Even better than this, though, is the cultural experience you can get eating at mom-and-pop shops in Tokyo. These are local restaurants with no English, so you'll almost never see other foreigners here.
How do I order if I don't speak or read Japanese?! Easy, my friend.
These types of restaurants often serve just one dish. And for lunch, it's even easier as they often have a lunch meal set. All you need to ask for is the main dish that the restaurant makes (tonkatsu, tempura, ramen, curry, etc.).
Hyakumangoku in Asakusabashi is one such shop.
This shop is run by a sweet old couple who serve tonkatsu. Go for lunch and order simply by asking for "tonkatsu teishoku" (tonkatsu meal set). The meal set includes the fried pork cutlet with the ever-delicious tonkatsu sauce, and the usual sides of thin slices cabbage, Japanese pickles, rice, and tea. Oh, and this place also gives you a tiny bit of mayo slathered pasta salad (we love the odd, random delights of Japan).
The pork is high quality and prepared with care. As you await your order, you hear the crackling sound of frying pork as you watch the old man carefully prepare it. The wife busily runs around attending to everything else and delivering the food to the customers. The air is filled with her near-constant apologies to the customers ("gomen-nasai!" "sumimasen!"), just to show respect to them for waiting.
The food is completely delicious, it's a cultural experience, and for a lunch meal set at 1,000 yen (~$7 USD), it really can't be beat.
I've eaten countless plates of tonkatsu at this point. My personally established standard practice is to only pour that liquid gold sauce on the pork a few pieces at a time, so as to retain the crispiness. When I was eating at Hyakumangoku, the chef/owner/old man looked over and happened to catch a glance of my plate of momentarily un-sauced pork. He made his way over and make sure that I knew that the pot of tonkatsu sauce was there for my using. Now, they NEVER talk to you while you're eating in Japanese restaurants. In an act of kindness, he was just looking out for me as I was probably one of the rare, if not only, foreigners to come into that shop. His wife quickly noticed that he was talking to me and gave him a verbal smack and addressed me with a smile and said "gomen-nasai."
As always, just remember that you are in local territory and to be considerate!
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