One of the attractions of visiting “the country of the rising sun” is its gastronomy. But going to a restaurant in Japan is not as easy as in other parts of the world. There are several tests to overcome, from choosing the right place to eating with chopsticks, going through the difficult process of ordering food in Japanese. The language barrier, the different rules of behavior and the unknown dishes mean that many tourists do not know how to navigate sushi restaurant. But for that we have created this guide to go to a restaurant in Japan , to solve all these questions in 8 tips.
Of course you can always resort to great places prepared for the foreigner, especially in the most touristic cities. However, the true essence of Japan is in other types of places. Those small businesses, often family owned, where you can eat the most traditional Japanese food , even some very rare and worth knowing dishes. In them, the letters in English are scarce (especially outside the big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka). And it is very common that neither the waiters nor the cooks know how to speak a language other than their own.
For all these reasons, going into a typical Japanese restaurant is quite an adventure. Here’s an 8-step guide to successfully surviving and enjoying great Japanese food.
- – The choice
It is very common for restaurants to specialize in a single type of food or product (for example, tempura , sushi, yakitori or ramen ). If you are looking for something specific, they are the best option, since they focus on one type of cuisine and the quality is usually very high.
However, if there are several diners with different tastes, it is best to opt for an Izakaya . They are somewhat similar to Spanish taverns, where people go to drink and eat something simple. In these places the menu is usually very long and varied, including an infinite number of popular dishes. There are very cheap ones and also of a very good level, and the price is usually according to course.
If you want to try traditional dishes that are more elaborate and served with great taste, it is best to go to a Kaiseki restaurant . Its greatest exponent is Kappo cuisine , which is characterized by having to prepare a tasting menu that necessarily uses seven cooking techniques and in which there must be five colors and five flavors.
- – Types of specialized remainders
First, there are the coveted sushi bars, which seat a maximum of 10 or 12 diners and require reservations well in advance. In them the Itamae prepares, one by one, the nigiris that he serves with his hand to each diner.
The best tempura (Japanese frying) places are also enjoyed at a bar, from which one can observe how they fry, piece by piece, seasonal vegetables and fish.
In addition, yakiniku are very popular , in which you will eat meat that the diner himself prepares on a barbecue that is in the center of his table. In them you can cook different cuts of wagyu , from the tongue to the organs. They are also usually accompanied by vegetables and there is a chicken option for those who are less fond of red meat.
Other special sites are the yakitori . In them, skewers are prepared from all parts of the chicken, including skin, wings, breast, organs and even ovaries .
We can’t forget ramen , perhaps the most popular food in Japan, cheap and comforting. There are thousands of places in each city serving different types such as tonkotsu ramen, typical of Fukuoka. You don’t need to book, you eat at the bar and the biggest difficulty is ordering the food, since it is done in a vending machine in Japanese.
- – The reserve
The language barrier here already becomes a problem. It is not so common, even in big cities, for someone to answer the phone in English. That is why you have to have the help of a Japanese friend or ask for help at the hotel to make the reservation for us.
Another possibility is to book through the restaurant websites, although sometimes we encounter the same problem, since there are many websites that are not translated.
In the most famous and internationally known restaurants, this is not a problem, since almost all of them have their reservation system in English and it is also convenient to do it with plenty of time (in many weeks or months in advance). In some there is another option than to book through Pocket Concierge . This website for restaurant reservations charges a heavy penalty if there is a late cancellation and giving the credit card to reserve is mandatory.
- – The reception
Upon arrival at the restaurant, it is polite to greet with a slight bowing of the head and in Japanese. It is very easy to learn the basic words to be nice and polite. Konichiwa for greeting during the day and konbanwa for greeting at night. An arigato gosaimasu (thank you very much) when we are served will be greeted with a smile and a bow.
In many places you eat on the floor or at tables without chairs, with a practical hole to put your legs. In both cases, you will have to take your shoes off upon arrival, so a great tip is to wear shoes that are easy to take off and put on, as well as nice socks without holes.
Upon arrival, a small hot or cold towel is usually offered depending on the time of year. In addition to serving to cool off, or warm up, it will serve as a napkin during the meal.
- – How to order
When ordering we find ourselves again with the language problem. Nothing better than watching the movie “Lost in Translation”, by Sofia Coppola, to understand how difficult it is to communicate in Japan. You feel it in your own flesh when you want to choose something from a letter with very interesting symbols that we don’t know what they mean.
In specialized restaurants it is simple, since there is usually nothing more than one type of food and there is the possibility (in some cases the only one) of ordering an omakase . It is a tasting menu chosen by the chef in which the price is set before ordering. This price does not include drinks, nor does it include taxes and service.
If you are going to order à la carte, you can use an app to translate, such as Google Translator, although when they are written by hand they do not work. The best thing is to learn the Japanese words of the food we want to order. In our previous article “ 5 typical Japanese foods that are not sushi ” we explained the most popular ones. Asking for things please is polite, and for this you just have to learn the word onegaisimasu .
- – How to eat
Once the previous barriers have been overcome, you have to make yourself comfortable and wait for the dishes to arrive at the table (or at the bar). But when we already believed that all the adversities had been left behind, we found that in most restaurants there are no cutlery . In front of us are two long, round wooden chopsticks, with which they expect us to eat any dish that does not contain broth. For the latter, such as ramen, a spoon is provided.
In Gastroactitud , in a brilliant article signed by Julia Pérez Lozano, it is explained how chopsticks are used . The most important thing is to know that you never pierce food with them, that they should not be supported on the table in an upright position and that, with a little skill and practice, in the end it is not that difficult to manage to bring food to your mouth .
It is also interesting to know that in sushi restaurants it is not necessary to take the nigiris with the chopsticks. It is very common to eat them by hand and it is perfectly seen. Another hint that may help is that noodles (soba, udon, or ramen) can be eaten by slurping , which helps a lot. In fact, the Japanese slurp bluntly and vigorously, as it is not considered impolite.
- – The drink
It is very common to start and end meals with Japanese tea , it is even used to accompany all dishes. Even some restaurants, like the fabulous Abysse in Tokyo , offer pairings with different types of teas . One of the best known is matcha tea , which is usually drunk hot at the end.
But we Spaniards prefer to pair with alcoholic beverages. And to the Japanese too, since one of the most popular drinks is beer. There are very varied and the best known brands with Asahi, Kirin, Yebisu. They can be taken from the bottle or from the tap, and the word to ask for them is biru .
There is also usually a wine list, among which some more than decent Japanese white wines surprise.
With sushi, it is most often paired with sake , a Japanese drink made from rice. Contrary to what we usually think, it is not very alcoholic (it usually has almost the same degrees as a wine) and it is becoming a highly valued drink outside of Japan, due to its quality and its great versatility to pair with different flavors.
- – The account
At the end of the meal you have to ask for the bill. It is surprising how in the vast majority of traditional restaurants it arrives written by hand on a piece of paper, without breaking down, and with a round figure.
We know that they include taxes and service, but it is impossible to know how they round off the final price. It only remains to trust and pay the exact amount. Of course, without tip. The concept of a tip does not exist in restaurants in Japan and they do not understand that you leave more money than you put on paper.