It has grown on me!: Breakfast at Sukiya: Delicious Beef Bowls for Under $4

Last year, my husband and I spent several days in Hakata, staying at the ANA Crowne Plaza Fukuoka—a detail some of you might recall from an earlier post. Rather than sticking with the hotel’s breakfast buffet, we decided to head to Sukiya instead. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you already know I have a deep love for Japanese beef bowls—gyudon (牛丼), as they’re called in Japan. Whenever I’m in Japan, I make it a point to visit popular gyudon chains like Yoshinoya (吉野家), Sukiya (すき家), and Matsuya (松屋). Even back in the U.S., I’ll grab frozen Yoshinoya gyudon from Japanese supermarkets when it's on sale—something I’ve mentioned in earlier posts. So for this trip, we went with Sukiya for breakfast. It was just a short, two-minute walk from our hotel, making it a super convenient choice.

One thing I appreciated was the ordering tablet placed right at the table—it made the process much easier, especially for travelers who don’t speak Japanese. You could select your preferred language from Japanese, English, Chinese, or Korean, which was incredibly helpful and inclusive.

Sukiya Breakfast

Sukiya’s breakfast menu is available from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m., making it a great option whether you’re up with the sunrise or easing into the day.

納豆まぜのっけ朝食 + 牛小鉢

My husband ordered the natto breakfast combo (納豆まぜのっけ朝食), priced at just 390 yen, and added a mini simmered beef side dish (牛小鉢) for an additional 180 yen. Altogether, the meal came to 570 yen—roughly $3.90—which is impressively budget-friendly. The combo itself was surprisingly well-balanced: it included natto, green onions, okra, an onsen tamago (soft-boiled egg), bonito flakes, miso soup, and white rice. It was a nourishing mix of protein, fiber, and fermented goodness, perfect for starting the day with a taste of traditional Japanese flavors.

牛たまかけ朝食

I chose the beef and egg breakfast combo (牛たまかけ朝食), priced at just 420 yen—about $2.89. It came with a flavorful lineup: simmered beef, a raw egg, kiriboshi daikon (dried and rehydrated daikon strips), nori, miso soup, and white rice. For my version, I placed the simmered beef over the rice, then poured the beaten raw egg on top and finished it with a generous sprinkle of shredded red pickled ginger. Simple, savory, and exactly the kind of breakfast I love.