Despite what you may have heard, meat isn't too terribly expensive here in Japan, with the exception of beef. Two large chicken breasts cost around $3 and this surprisingly thick pork steak only cost $4. Alternatively, a small beef steak costs around $12. I don't really miss beef though. Because beef is so expensive, Japanese supermarkets often carry 30% beef, 70% pork ground meat that tastes almost as good.
In general, Japanese people don't eat meat in steak form so the above pork steak was something of a rarity. Usually meat is ground (including chicken) or divided into very think slices for ShabuShabu. It was nice eating such a big steak for the first time in a while. I'm reminded of how my grandmother used to cook steak, cut it up and keep it in the refrigerator for her grand kids to snack on. That is not something typically done here.
Something else worth noting is the quality of the fresh food here in Japan. While in the US, locally grown, pesticide-free food is sold at a premium, in Japan, this is taken for granted. All the fish is extremely fresh and most of the produce is grown locally. People have tried to market natural foods in Japan, but what we consider "natural" is already the status quo here.
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