Ideas for cheap eats in Japan

THE article on eating cheaply in Japan had some good suggestions [“Stretching Your Yen in Tokyo,” Jan 14]. Yes, there are convenience stores everywhere, and the variety of food products they carry puts ours to shame.

It was noted that department stores have food in the basement, but I found that most of this food was prepared and packaged to take home to eat; it is definitely not OK to eat or drink in public in Japan. I followed the standard tour book suggestion of looking for the large food court that every good-sized train station has and dined quite well (and inexpensively, a major concern).

After a while I tired of fish and fried food and yearned for some leafy greens and perhaps a sandwich, so I ended up eating at Starbucks a few times (oh, the shame). The selection of salads, sandwiches and baked goods is similar to what you find here, and it’s an easy and fairly cheap way to have a quick meal.

RON PARKER

Santa Monica