What to say in a Japanese restaurant, from the doorway to the food
A Japanese restaurant tells you almost everything you need to know before you say a word โ you just have to know where to look. The machine by the door, the clipboard on a little stand, the plastic food in the window, the split curtain across the entrance: each one is an instruction about what happens next. Read them right and the whole meal runs on about six sentences.
This page covers the part of eating out that phrasebooks skip, which is the doorway. Getting counted, getting seated, waiting properly, hearing your own surname come back at you in katakana, and the places where your order goes into a vending machine and you never speak to anyone at all. Ordering itself โ the full phrase set, plus the questions staff ask back โ is free further down this page.
None of it is hard. A traveller's dinner rarely goes wrong because of grammar. It goes wrong because they walked in and sat at an empty table that was never theirs to take, or stood at a counter waiting for a menu in a shop that stopped taking spoken orders decades ago.
How do you know if a restaurant has a waiter or a ticket machine?
Look at the entrance for ten seconds before you commit. A stainless-steel box with a grid of buttons and a coin slot means there is no table service: you pay the machine, it prints a slip, and that slip is your order. A stand with a clipboard or a small tablet means there is a queue and you are expected to join it. Neither of those, plus a member of staff hovering near the door, means wait to be seated.
The signs themselves are short and they repeat everywhere, so a handful of them is worth more than any sentence:
- ๅถๆฅญไธญ (eigyouchuu) โ open, come in.
- ๆบๅไธญ (junbichuu) โ preparing; the kitchen is not serving yet. Very common in the mid-afternoon gap.
- ๆฌๆฅไผๆฅญ (honjitsu kyuugyou) โ closed today.
- ๆบๅธญ (manseki) โ every seat taken.
- ้ ็ชๅพ ใก (junbanmachi) โ waiting in turn; there is a list, find it.
- ๅธๅฃฒๆฉ (kenbaiki) / ้ฃๅธ (shokken) โ ticket machine / meal ticket.
- ๅฃฒๅ (urikire) โ sold out. On a machine it shows as a dark or unlit button.
- ไบ็ดๅธญ (yoyakuseki) โ reserved. That is the empty table you were eyeing.
What actually happens in the first thirty seconds inside?
Someone will call out a loud greeting the moment the door opens. It is not a question and it does not need an answer โ a nod is a complete response, and every regular in the room is giving exactly that. What follows is either a member of staff coming over to count your group, or a wave towards the seats, or nothing at all, which is your cue to find your own spot at the counter.
Two things catch people out. Some places have a raised wooden floor just past the entrance โ that step means shoes off, into the locker or the shelf. And at a counter shop the seat nearest the door is the one nobody wants, so if you are pointed vaguely inward, it is fine to ask for the far end.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Where should we sit? For when staff gesture at the room and walk off. | Doko ni suwareba ii desu ka. | ใฉใใซๅบงใใฐใใใงใใใ |
| Is it OK to sit here? | Koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka. | ใใใซๅบงใฃใฆใใใใงใใใ |
| Do you have an English menu? Often the answer is a laminated one kept under the counter. | Eigo no menyuu wa arimasu ka. | ่ฑ่ชใฎใกใใฅใผใฏใใใพใใใ |
What do you say if the place is full, or if you booked a table?
Small restaurants in Japan are genuinely small, and plenty of good ones take only a handful of covers a night. Being turned away is not a judgement on you; it is arithmetic. If the answer is no, take it gracefully and go โ the shop two doors down is usually just as good and has no queue outside precisely because nobody has written about it.
If you did book, say the time and your name at the door and nothing else. That single sentence gets you past the counting stage entirely.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Do I need a reservation? | Yoyaku ga hitsuyou desu ka. | ไบ็ดใๅฟ ่ฆใงใใใ |
| I have a seven o'clock booking, under Smith. Swap in your own hour and surname. | Shichi-ji ni yoyaku shita Sumisu desu. | ไธๆใซไบ็ดใใในใในใงใใ |
| Are you still serving? The one to use late at night, from the doorway. | Mada yatte imasu ka. | ใพใ ใใฃใฆใใพใใใ |
How will you know when they call your name?
Write your name on the list in roman letters and keep it short โ one word, the one you will recognise fastest. It comes back to you in katakana, syllable by syllable, with an honorific on the end, so a Smith becomes something closer to su-mi-su-sama and a Rodriguez becomes a small adventure. Listen for the rhythm and the length rather than the exact sounds, and stand up on anything close.
Newer places skip names: a tablet at the door prints a slip with a number, and the number is read out in Japanese. That is a better deal for you, because numbers are far easier to catch than a mangled surname. Learn your own number while you wait and the problem disappears.
What do you do at a restaurant with a ticket machine (shokkenki)?
This is the friendliest kind of restaurant in Japan for someone with no Japanese, once you know the trick. The order is: money in, then choose. On most older machines nothing responds until the cash is inside โ travellers stand there pressing a dead button, decide it is broken, and leave. It is not broken, it is waiting.
Bring small notes. Plenty of machines take coins and 1,000-yen notes only, and the slot will spit a larger note straight back at you without explanation. Newer touch-screen machines often have a language button in a corner and take IC cards or codes on your phone, which turns the whole thing into an airport check-in kiosk. If a button is unlit, that dish is gone for the day; pick another rather than pressing harder.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Where do I buy the meal ticket? | Shokken wa doko de kaemasu ka. | ้ฃๅธใฏใฉใใง่ฒทใใพใใใ |
| Could you show me how to use it? Staff will usually just do it for you. | Tsukaikata o oshiete moraemasu ka. | ไฝฟใๆนใๆใใฆใใใใพใใใ |
| Does it take a 10,000-yen note? | Ichiman-en satsu wa tsukaemasu ka. | ไธไธๅๆญใฏไฝฟใใพใใใ |
| Which button is the ramen? | Raamen wa dono botan desu ka. | ใฉใผใกใณใฏใฉใฎใใฟใณใงใใใ |
| My change hasn't come out. Point at the machine as you say it. The trailing n desu ga turns it from a complaint into a request for help. | Otsuri ga denai n desu ga. | ใ้ฃใใๅบใชใใใงใใใ |
What do you say when something has already gone wrong?
Almost every restaurant problem a visitor has is one of four: the food has not arrived, the food is not yours, the staff came before you were ready, or you cannot follow what was said. None of them needs an apology or an explanation โ one short sentence and a hand gesture solves each, and staff would far rather you said something than sat there quietly eating a dish somebody else paid for.
If your Japanese runs out mid-conversation, say so plainly. It resets everyone's expectations and the reply usually comes back slower, simpler and with more pointing.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| What we ordered still hasn't come. | Chuumon shita mono ga mada kite inai n desu ga. | ๆณจๆใใใใฎใใพใ ๆฅใฆใใชใใใงใใใ |
| I don't think I ordered this. The trailing ga is what makes it polite rather than an accusation. | Kore, tanonde inai n desu ga. | ใใใ้ ผใใงใใชใใใงใใใ |
| Give us a couple more minutes. | Mou sukoshi matte kudasai. | ใใๅฐใๅพ ใฃใฆใใ ใใใ |
| Sorry, could you say that again? | Mou ichido itte moraemasu ka. | ใใไธๅบฆ่จใฃใฆใใใใพใใใ |
| Could we move to a different table? | Betsu no seki ni utsutte mo ii desu ka. | ๅฅใฎๅธญใซ็งปใฃใฆใใใใงใใใ |
| I only speak a little Japanese. | Nihongo wa sukoshi shika hanasemasen. | ๆฅๆฌ่ชใฏๅฐใใใ่ฉฑใใพใใใ |
๐ Ordering food
Water and often tea are free and brought to you automatically โ don't order or pay for them. To get a waiter, just raise your hand and call "sumimasen!" across the room (totally polite here), or press the call button on your table.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| This one, please. (point at the photo or item as you say it) | Kore o kudasai. | ใใใใใ ใใใ |
| What do you recommend? | Osusume wa nan desu ka? | ใใใใใฏไฝใงใใ๏ผ |
| One of this and two of these, please. | Kore o hitotsu to, kore o futatsu kudasai. | ใใใไธใคใจใใใใไบใคใใ ใใใ |
| Water, please. | O-mizu o kudasai. | ใๆฐดใใใ ใใใ |
| That's all / That's everything. | Ijou desu. | ไปฅไธใงใใ |
What they will say to you
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 โ 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.
๐ฝ๏ธ Entering a restaurant
The doorway itself: the greeting you don't answer, being counted before anyone has spoken English, and asking for the kind of seat you actually want.
- futari desu ไบไบบใงใ
Two people. - hitori desu ไธไบบใงใ
Just me. (one person)
+9 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
๐ The wait-list & hearing your name
The clipboard by the door and the twenty seconds when your surname comes back to you in katakana with an honorific attached.
- Futari desu. Dono kurai machimasu ka? ไบไบบใงใใใฉใฎใใใๅพ
ใกใพใใ๏ผ
Two people โ about how long is the wait? - Koko ni namae o kakimasu ka? ใใใซๅๅใๆธใใพใใ๏ผ
Do I write my name here?
+10 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
๐๏ธ Ticket-machine meals
The vending machine that takes your order instead of a waiter, and the two or three things staff still ask you afterwards.
- sumimasen, kore wa dou tsukaimasu ka? ใใฟใพใใใใใใฏใฉใไฝฟใใพใใ๏ผ
Excuse me, how do I use this? - kore o onegai shimasu ใใใใ้กใใใพใ
This one, please. (handing over your ticket)
+10 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
The doorway is the only genuinely unfamiliar part of eating out in Japan. Once you are sitting down with a glass of water in front of you, the rest is pointing, one polite sentence, and a great deal of goodwill from people who are pleased you tried.
Frequently asked questions
Do you seat yourself in Japanese restaurants?
At sit-down restaurants, no โ stand a step inside the entrance and wait until someone counts your group and walks you to a table. At counter shops and anywhere with a ticket machine, yes, take any free seat. If you cannot tell which kind of place it is, standing still for five seconds always works: someone will either come over or wave you in.
What does irasshaimase mean and do I have to reply?
It means welcome, and it is called out to everyone who walks through the door, sometimes by the entire kitchen at once. There is no reply. A small nod is polite and complete, and saying nothing at all is not rude.
How do Japanese restaurants call out a foreign name?
They read what you wrote on the list in katakana, syllable by syllable, with -sama on the end, so it may not sound much like your name. Write one short name rather than your full name, listen for the number of syllables, and answer anything close.
What is a shokkenki and how does it work?
A shokkenki is the meal-ticket vending machine by the door of many ramen, curry and gyudon shops. You pay it, press the dish you want, and it prints a small ticket that goes to the kitchen instead of a spoken order. On older machines the buttons only light up once your money is in, which is the commonest source of confusion.
Can you eat out in Japan without speaking any Japanese?
Easily. Ticket machines, photo menus, plastic food in the window and pointing cover almost everything, and a phone camera covers the rest. These phrases are not there to make the meal possible; they are there to make the awkward twenty seconds at the door disappear.
Do you tip in Japanese restaurants, and where do you pay?
There is no tipping โ money left on the table causes confusion, not delight. In most restaurants you pay at the register by the door on the way out rather than at the table, and at ticket-machine places you already paid before you sat down.