If you walk in the East Village, or at least the area around St. Marks St. around 3rd Avenue, you will see a trend of  Japanese supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants, and hair salons. This provides anyone a sense of how living in Japan is like without traveling having to there! Many college students from NYU, Parsons, and Cooper Union roam this area looking for cheap eats and in Japantown. Therefore, you can find affordable and delicious dishes to eat. At New York Food Tours, we bring you to the best eating establishments to sample and learn about the development of this neighborhood. Some places to highlight include:

• Otafuku – The most authentic eatery serving takoyaki (Japanese octopus balls), okonomiyaki, and yakisoba. It is a small stand and normally people stand outside eating their food.
• Yakitori Taisho – This is known for its yakitori (grilled meat sticks) and numerous other cheap Japanese dishes.
• West Udon – This restaurant specializes in making udon, and has seats at the bar so you can watch them make your bowl of udon.
• Sunrise Mart – A supermarket that has everything one would need, including Japanese snacks and vegetables, along with Japanese drinks, cosmetics, and sauces. You can find rice balls with a variety of fillings and Japanese cookie sticks like Pocky!

This excludes all the sushi restaurants in the area and there are plenty of those that are cheap. This is a really fun area to explore and experience a piece of Japan while being in New York! Check out more details on our site and be sure to book quickly while the nice weather lasts.