Tokyo Eating Out Survival Guide, Part 2 : How to Order

You have decided where to eat, and you got your wallet ready for whats to come. But what happens if you are unsure as to how to order? What happens now? Are you heading to the closest convenient store to get some Nissin Big Bowl Curry Cheese instant ramen? Fear not, as Part 2 of this series will help you go around these obstacles, or better yet, surpass them. If you have yet to read part 1 on where to eat, do click here. If you are already full and need some booze to knock down, you can head off straight to the third part by clicking here.

Of course the best way in solving this problem is to get a local or have some basic understanding of Japanese. But what if you don't have either? Here are some pointers for you to start off with.

Food Words

Probably this is the best to start as most people would now know most names of dishes like yakiniku and tempura. Most places however have signs that are in Japanese characters outside their shops. Note that  very few would actually have their pronunciations in Romaji, let alone English translation with them. Here are some food words of popular dishes both in English and Japanese for your ease of reference. Of course for simplicity sake, I will be skipping the differences of the writing scripts. This is after all not a language class.

Mizu (Water )@ 水 [obviously not a food item, but essential nonetheless, hence the top of this list]

Tempura @ 天ぷらor天麩羅. If this comes in a rice bowl, it becomes "Tendon" @ 天丼
Sushi @ 寿司 or すし

Takoyaki (squid balls) @ たこ焼き or  蛸焼き
Ramen @ ラーメン
Tonkatsu (fried pork chops) @  豚カツ, とんかつ or トンカツ
Yakitori @  焼き鳥
Pro tip: note that  Yakitori means grilled meat in general, but if you order by saying yakitori you will get chicken as it directly translate to grilled chicken. If you want pork then ask for "Yakibuta".

How to order

Now, we come to the practical part. There are a few ways in dealing with this. The two most common ways are either by the ticketing machine, or a waiter will come by ( or at times you approach a waiter) to ask for your order. Ticket machines are relatively simple. You just choose your order and pay. Some places have pictures and some do not. This is where the Japanese words in this post comes in handy. There is an unwritten rule that the house specialty is always at the top left corner button. So if you really are not sure, why not be a little adventerous and do that?

Once you get your ticket, you would pass it to a waiting staff or put it in a basket near the cashier. I have experienced both. For a full blown experience on ordering with a ticketing machine, why not have a look at my post on Sutadonya? Here is the link.

However, you are now with the latter and you have to SPEAK IN JAPANESE NOW! What should you do? Here are a few key phrases to get you started

Basic Phrases

• Domo

Most people would know "konnichiwa" as their go to greeting for saying "hello". However, this is more commonly used for afternoons. And don't get me started with the differences with "ohaiyo" and "konbawa. "Domo" is a phrase as an introductory greeting that can be used for any time of the day.

• Sumimasen

This means "excuse me" or "sorry". The ideal way for asking for a waiter to come over or to check if a place is open. A good sentence opener if you want to ask for directions also,

• Hai

Most people know this. This means "Yes", or "OK"

• Arigatou gozaimasu

Well alot of people would know this already, as this is the go to phrase for "Thank You".

• [fill in the blank]- o kudasai.

This is usually used when you want to ask for something . Treat "kudasai" as "may I have some please" and "o" is a "divider" for what you want.

Here is a sample sentence: mizu o kudasai.
It roughly translates for "Can I have some water please". Or if you put your Yoda on, it will be a little clearer as the literal translation is : Water, may I have?

• Kin En/ Kit Su En

The phrase translates to roughly "Non Smoking" and "Smoking" respectively.

• O kanjo onegaishimasu

This is for "Can I have my bill please?". If this is too much of a mouthful, the universal hand gesture of writing your signature in the air works too.

If all else fails, just go to a kaiten restaurant (tramline restaurant) as all you need is to take something off the tramline and no speaking is necessary. This is a very viable option, but you will miss a great deal as Japanese hospitality is a major part of the eating experience.


These are some pointers that can keep you going. And you probably would be asking, why not use Google Translate? This is possible, but as Google Translate does not interpret context, it can bring about inaccurate translations at times. Even when preparing for this post, I only use Google translate to find the relevant Japanese characters but omitted them in the phrases section. You can still use them but it can lead to awkward situations.

I have covered a great deal of content already and I hope what I have learnt will help you along your way in making your stay in Japan a great one. However, if you are still thirsty for more, please read on.

BONUS EXTRA!

Food Words for Sushi

As you are aware, there are several types of sushi and ways of making them. As such, this became an almost inexhaustible list. For simplicity sake, I have compiled the most common names and terms that are used just to keep you going. You will not find novelty ingredients here.  Anything more will be too overwhelming and would sound more like a JLPT class.

As explained earlier, the general characters for sushi is  寿司 or すし .

As for the way they are prepared, these are the usual methods:
Nigiri  (hand pressed sushi, the most common) @ にぎり
Maki (rolled sushi that is then sliced to portions with a seaweed skin) @ 巻き
Uramaki (rolled sushi where the seaweed is used inside) @ うらまき
Temaki (hand rolls, which resemble cones) @ 手巻
Sashimi (no intro necessary, you know what it is) @ 刺身

As for fillings or toppings, here is the list of the most common stuff used:
Tamago (Egg) @ 卵 or 玉子
Nishin (Herring) @ ニシン
Unagi (Eel) @ 鰻
Uni (sea urchin) @ 雲丹, 海胆
Ikura (salmon roe) @ イクラ
Maguro (the general name for tuna) @ 鮪
[note as parts of the fish as its own name, I will omit that as it will create a totally new list]