Guide
Teishoku, shokudo & neighborhood Chinese
Ticket machines, manners at teishoku and shokudo diners, using chain restaurants, and dining with kids.
Finding a restaurant3
- Signs that show whether a shop is openWhat signs like 営業中 (open) and 準備中 (not open yet) mean, plus notices about last order, private bookings, and full seating.
- Opening hours, midday breaks, and last ordersThe midday break between lunch and dinner service, when last orders typically close, and shops that open early or stay open late — what to check before you visit.
- Dining with kids, a wheelchair, or big luggagePractical notes on eating out with children, getting around with a wheelchair, and what to do with a suitcase or large bags.
Ordering8
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
- How to read a vertical menuIn shops with strips of handwritten menu items on the wall, the top-right spot is often used for recommendations.
- What staff say, and how to respondCommon set phrases you'll hear at restaurants, with what they mean and what to do when you hear them. You don't need to memorize them — just recognizing them is enough.
- Words you'll see on a menuWhat common menu and chalkboard words mean, plus how to read "〇〇 free" offers.
- Words about taste and cookingBroth types, spice levels, and noodle firmness — words you're often asked to choose when ordering.
- What to know if you have dietary restrictionsHow allergen labeling works, where fish-based dashi, pork, and alcohol turn up, and phrases for checking with staff.
- How to use chain restaurantsA guide to ordering and paying at family restaurants, gyudon and burger chains, and conveyor-belt sushi — useful first stops before trying smaller shops.
- How Japanese seasoning tends to tasteWhy Japanese food can taste mild to some visitors, the role dashi and umami play as a flavor base, what soy sauce, miso, mirin, and vinegar each contribute, what "spicy" usually means, and adjusting flavor at the table.
Manners5
- Basic table mannersFrom what itadakimasu means, to getting seated, chopstick basics and what to avoid, how to hold your dishes, and the culture of not leaving food — the everyday manners that apply no matter where you eat.
- Seating and table mannersRemoving shoes for tatami seating, using an oshibori, and a few habits around chopsticks and shared dishes.
- At teishoku diners, shokudo, and machi-chukaA guide to the teishoku set-meal format, free rice refills, table placement, and paying at a shokudo-style diner.
- Eating aloneDining alone is completely normal in Japan. Here's how to find shops that welcome solo diners, and a few things worth knowing.
- Sharing plates and using serving chopsticksHow dishes get shared at izakaya and Chinese diners, when to use serving chopsticks, why some meals aren't meant to be split, and what happens to what's left on the plate.
Paying2
Foods you'll meet here
Other scenes
- Ramen shops
- Soba & udon shops
- Sushi restaurants
- Izakaya & yakitori
- Yakiniku, shabu-shabu & hot pot
- All-you-can-eat & drink
- Kissaten, cafés & sweets shops
- Convenience stores & supermarkets
- Depachika, regional fairs & antenna shops
- Stations & airports
- Markets, morning markets & michi-no-eki
- Festivals, street stalls & beer gardens
- Breweries & factory tours