I have heard of many people who visited Tokyo talking about how expensive this city is, but similar to many other metropolitan cities, it is just a matter of digging out where the bargain lies. Among Tokyo's district, there lie many shopping streets known as Shotengai; Shotengai literally translates to shopping street and it is where the locals do their shopping before there were malls, but as malls became more prevalent, many of these Shotengai also start to fade away.
One of the more prominent area with Shotengai will be Asakusa, but as those who have visited would know, it is brimming with tourists and the prices are not cheap at all. The area I want to introduce is called Jujo (十条); Located only 15 minutes from Ikebukuro, this place is nothing like that of the city centre, it is much more laid back and way more economical.
The way to tour Jujo is to go at about noon time, going there too early and the shops will not be open, going there too late and they might be packing up for the day. Start at Toridai where you can get fried chicken balls for only ¥10 each (there’s a limit of 50 per person), before hitting Aisaika for tsukune meatballs (¥20 each) or chicken cutlets (¥160) the size of your hand. If that is not enough for you, head over to Kamataya for over 50 varieties of cheap rice balls! After filling the stomach and if there are still room for some drinks, the nearby Akabane also have plenty of drinking places to offer.
While Jujo still feels very local at the moment, it is also slowly changing. Chain stores are making their way into the neighbourhood, young people with fresh ideas have also moved in little by little. Hopefully, Jujo can maintain its unique local atmosphere while growing into the next hip place for the next generation to move into.