Michelin gastronomes may have recently sprinkled stars on Tokyo's most refined restaurants but it's the cities low-key izakayas that get the locals' vote. Roughly defined as bars that serve food each izakaya follows the same basic formula; an open counter where the chefs work, a selection of sake and menus that include made-to-share dishes of sashimi, yakitori (grilled vegetable and meat skewers)
![Top 10 cheap eats in Tokyo](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/92cf984860fe796afe82194125a23a5f2b796dcc/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fstatic%2Fsys-images%2FTravel%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2008%2F02%2F25%2FSashimi4.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26overlay-align%3Dbottom%252Cleft%26overlay-width%3D100p%26overlay-base64%3DL2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctYWdlLTIwMDgucG5n%26enable%3Dupscale%26s%3Da59a76857b234bf577dd6d4f9492d429)