Where to find tempura
The best place to try tempura are restaurants specialized in the dish, known as tempura-ya. Tempura-ya have the reputation of being high-class restaurants, where customers often sit at the counter and watch as the chef prepares one tempura piece after the other. A meal at upmarket establishments typically costs 5000 yen or more. However, cheaper tempura-ya are also popular, with set meals and tendon rice bowls typically available for 800 to 3000 yen.
Casual restaurants such as izakaya, family restaurants, shokudo, and udon and soba restaurants also serve tempura as part of a set meal or as a side dish. Prices vary but typically range from 600 to 2000 yen. Tendon (tempura rice bowls) are also common with prices starting from around 800 yen. Supermarkets and department store basement food floors (depachika) also sell individual pieces of tempura for about 100 to 400 yen per piece.