Cafés, izakaya and the bill: what to actually say in Japan
A café at nine in the morning and an izakaya at nine at night feel like opposite ends of a day in Japan, but they run on the same two questions: what would you like, and are you staying. Answer those and most of the rest is pointing. What trips people up is everything around the edges — the point-card question at the counter, the little dish that lands on your izakaya table before you have ordered anything, and the moment a server says something warm and walks away, leaving you unsure whether you were just told to pay at the front.
This page runs the three moments in order: getting a coffee and answering for-here-or-to-go, the opening two minutes of an izakaya, and asking for the bill without trying to pay at the wrong place. Everything is in polite です／ます form, which is what you want with strangers and staff.
You will hear far more Japanese than you say, so half of what follows is not your lines at all. It is theirs, written out, so the question arrives as something you recognise rather than a wall of sound.
How do you order coffee at a Japanese café?
Most chains and plenty of independents run counter-first: you order, you pay, and you carry the cup or a numbered buzzer to a table yourself. Nobody is coming to take your order once you sit down, so if you have been waiting politely for five minutes wondering why you are invisible, that is why.
Sizes are sometimes S/M/L and sometimes shop-invented names printed on a board you cannot read. Asking for the smallest one is a completely normal thing to say, and it ends the conversation faster than guessing.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| One of these, please. Point at the menu photo as you say it. | Kore o hitotsu onegaishimasu. | これを一つお願いします。 |
| The smallest size, please. | Ichiban chiisai saizu de onegaishimasu. | 一番小さいサイズでお願いします。 |
| Light on the ice, please. | Koori wa sukuname de onegaishimasu. | 氷は少なめでお願いします。 |
| That's everything, thanks. Closes the order when they keep offering extras. | Ijou de onegaishimasu. | 以上でお願いします。 |
| Can I use a power outlet? | Konsento wa tsukaemasu ka? | コンセントは使えますか？ |
| Is this seat free? | Koko, aite imasu ka? | ここ、空いていますか？ |
Why does every café ask whether you are eating in?
The question comes in several dressings — 店内で (ten'nai de, in the shop), こちらで (kochira de, here), お持ち帰り (o-mochikaeri, taking it away) — and it is always the same question. It is not only about seating and lids. Consumption tax is applied at a different rate to food and drink you consume in the shop and food and drink you carry out, so the same latte can ring up a few yen apart depending on your answer, and the register decides which rate to use from what you told them. That is why they ask even when you are visibly settling into an armchair.
You do not need a full sentence. Ten'nai de or mochikaeri de, on its own, is a complete and polite answer.
What do izakaya staff ask you the moment you walk in?
Four questions, usually in under a minute, usually before your eyes have adjusted. How many of you. Is a counter seat acceptable. Is the two-hour table limit understood. And do you want the all-you-can-drink plan. None of them are traps, but they arrive quickly and in keigo, which makes them sound harder than they are.
The two-hour limit is standard at busy places and is not a hint that you are unwelcome — it is how they seat everybody. A member of staff will come back near the end to tell you time is nearly up.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Two of us — do you have space? | Futari desu ga, seki wa aite imasu ka? | 二人ですが、席は空いていますか？ |
| We don't have a reservation. | Yoyaku wa shite imasen. | 予約はしていません。 |
| Excuse me, we'd like to order. Many tables have a call button — press it instead of raising your voice. | Sumimasen, chuumon onegaishimasu. | すみません、注文お願いします。 |
Why did the izakaya bring a small dish I didn't order?
That is otoshi (お通し), sometimes tsukidashi. It is a cover charge wearing a costume: a few hundred yen per person for the seat, delivered as a saucer of simmered vegetables or something pickled. Nobody is giving you a free snack and nobody has misread your order. At most izakaya it stops being optional the moment you sit down, and it lands on the bill as お通し or 席料 whether you touch it or not. Some of it is genuinely good.
If you would rather know the number before you commit, ask at the door. Staff answer that question without any awkwardness, because tourists ask it constantly.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a seating charge? Ask before sitting, not after. | Seki-ryou wa kakarimasu ka? | 席料はかかりますか？ |
| What is this charge for? | Kore wa nan no ryoukin desu ka? | これは何の料金ですか？ |
| Is a service charge included? | Saabisu-ryou wa fukumarete imasu ka? | サービス料は含まれていますか？ |
What do you order first at an izakaya if you don't drink?
Drinks come first and they come fast — staff will be at your table asking for the round before anyone has read a word of the food menu. That is the rhythm, and ordering a drink is how you buy yourself the ten minutes to read everything else. Nothing is eaten or drunk until the glasses meet and somebody says kanpai, so hold your first sip.
Not drinking is entirely unremarkable here. Oolong tea is the standard order for the sober person at the table, and non-alcoholic beer and soft drinks are on every menu because Japanese customers order them too. The only thing to decline is the all-you-can-drink plan, which is priced around alcohol.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| I don't drink alcohol. | O-sake wa nomemasen. | お酒は飲めません。 |
| Do you have anything non-alcoholic? | Nonarukooru no nomimono wa arimasu ka? | ノンアルコールの飲み物はありますか？ |
| An oolong tea, please. The default sober order — nobody blinks. | Uuroncha o onegaishimasu. | ウーロン茶をお願いします。 |
| Two of these, please. | Kore o futatsu onegaishimasu. | これを二つお願いします。 |
How do you ask for the bill in Japan?
At an izakaya you usually ask at the table and they either bring the slip or point you toward the front. At casual restaurants — and at the older kissaten where somebody took your order at the table — the little paper already sitting there is the bill, and you carry it to the register by the door. There is also a gesture: two index fingers crossed into an X, understood everywhere, though saying it is warmer.
Two register lines catch people out. If you pay by card you may be asked about instalments, and the answer you want is one payment. And when they ask whether the receipt is yoroshii, they are asking whether you are fine without it — say hai and it goes in the bin. If you want the receipt, skip the hai and simply ask for it, because a yes followed by a request is the one thing that genuinely confuses the person at the till.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| The bill, please. The izakaya-flavoured version. | O-kanjou onegaishimasu. | お勘定お願いします。 |
| Could we get the slip, please? Denpyou is the paper you carry to the register. | Denpyou o onegaishimasu. | 伝票をお願いします。 |
| Where do I pay? | Doko de haraeba ii desu ka? | どこで払えばいいですか？ |
| Is it cash only? | Genkin dake desu ka? | 現金だけですか？ |
| Sorry, we didn't order this. | Sumimasen, kore wa tanonde imasen. | すみません、これは頼んでいません。 |
What will you see written on the door, the menu and the bill?
Seven bits of writing do most of the work. Recognising them turns a lot of spoken questions into things you already knew were coming.
- 店内 / お持ち帰り — ten'nai / o-mochikaeri: eat in, take away.
- お通し・席料 — otoshi, seki-ryou: the per-person cover charge on your bill.
- 飲み放題 / 単品 — nomihoudai / tanpin: the drink plan, or ordering one at a time.
- 二時間制 — ni-jikan sei: two-hour table limit.
- ラストオーダー — rasuto oodaa: last orders, usually well before closing.
- 現金のみ — genkin nomi: cash only. Believe the sign.
- お会計はレジにて — o-kaikei wa reji nite: pay at the register, not at your table.
What else is in PlaneHopper for this
Everything above is free to read and use. The full course adds 3 more scenarios for these situations — each with the complete phrase set, every reply you might hear, and a 10-second roleplay that makes you produce the line under time pressure instead of just reading it.
☕ Ordering at a café
The full counter run-through in the paid course — naming your drink, fielding hot-or-iced and size, and changing the milk without stalling the queue behind you.
- hotto koohii o hitotsu onegai shimasu ホットコーヒーを一つお願いします
One hot coffee, please. - aisu de onegai shimasu アイスでお願いします
Iced, please.
+9 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
🍶 At an izakaya
A drilled walkthrough of the izakaya hour, from the opening round to last orders, with the staff keigo you will actually hear over the noise.
- Toriaezu, nama futatsu onegai shimasu. とりあえず、生二つお願いします。
To start, two draft beers, please. - Kanpai! 乾杯！
Cheers! (glasses up — don't drink first!)
+9 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
🧾 Paying the bill
Settling up in detail: splitting a bill between friends, paying by card or IC card, and asking for a proper receipt at the register.
- o-kaikei onegai shimasu お会計お願いします
Check, please. - betsubetsu ni dekimasu ka? 別々にできますか？
Can we pay separately?
+9 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
None of this needs to be fluent. The whole job is recognising four or five questions on the way in and one or two on the way out, and having a short answer ready for each. Everything between those bookends is pointing at a menu and enjoying yourself.
If a line comes at you too fast, sumimasen plus an apologetic face buys a repeat every time — staff will slow down and simplify, and usually enjoy the exchange more than you expect.
Frequently asked questions
What is otoshi and do I have to pay for it?
Otoshi is a small dish brought to every izakaya table that functions as a per-person seat charge, usually a few hundred yen. It appears on the bill whether or not you eat it, and declining it once you are seated is not really a thing. Treat it as the price of the table rather than a mistake in your order.
Is it rude to order only soft drinks at an izakaya?
Not at all. Oolong tea, ginger ale and non-alcoholic beer are on every menu because plenty of Japanese customers order them. Say O-sake wa nomemasen and nobody will push you further.
Do I pay at the table or at the register in Japan?
At most casual restaurants you take the slip from your table to the register near the door. At counter cafés the question does not arise, because you paid when you ordered. Izakaya vary — some settle at the table, many send you to the front. If a server says something and gestures toward the entrance, that is what is happening.
Why do cafés always ask whether I am eating in or taking out?
Two reasons at once. The practical one is a mug and a seat versus a lid and a bag. The other is tax: eat-in and takeaway fall under different consumption tax rates, so the same drink can total a few yen apart depending on your answer. Ten'nai de or mochikaeri de answers the question completely.
Do Japanese cafés and izakaya take cards?
Chains and city-centre places nearly always do, and many also take IC cards and QR payment. Small owner-run izakaya are the ones most likely to be cash only, and they normally say so on the door. Ask Genkin dake desu ka before you sit if it matters to you.
Should I tip at a café or izakaya in Japan?
No, and trying creates a small problem. Change left on the table reads as forgotten money, and staff will follow you out to return it. Say gochisousama deshita on your way out instead — it lands far better than cash.