Easy Japanese Phrases for Ordering at a Restaurant | Watch Before Your Trip to Japan 

Perhaps one of the most useful phrases is “kore o kudasai” which means “this please”. You use it while pointing to something in the menu, which is especially easy when they have menus with pictures and also when they have English menus, but when the staff doesn’t really speak or understand much English.

Just wanted to mention that Satoshi's English has improved SO much over the years on RU-vid! I am impressed. I try to learn the basics of many languages, but English is probably one of the most confusing. And it's my first language!

Hello, Tabieats! Since I can be mistaken as Japanese based on my looks, I'm often handed the Japanese menu and while my basic Japanese is passable, my Kanji is very limited. So I think the line "Eigo no menu ga arimasu ka" is very useful. :D

Know what the most difficult thing is in a restaurant? Saying Sumimasen with the right inflection to call wait staff!!! The number of times I have tried to call someone with no response is unbelievable and I have heard similar stories from many non-Japanese living in Japan. Sumimasen is a word used in so many different ways it really needs the right inflection for the right situation and getting it right for calling someone over is for some reason ridiculously tricky.

This is excellent thank you. I have made notes on this and your last video. My big problem is me. There are large amounts of things to remember in-context and I'm just over 60. When it comes to language memory, a goldfish will do better than me. As much as I want to learn, I can study say 5 words for an hour, then an hour later, they are gone!

Yes please make that video! I'm traveling to Japan next year and would love to learn more! I have a problem remember these words and phrases so I'm watching your videos everyday!

I lived in Okinawa twice, for a total of 6 years. My wife and I have been planning a vacation there for months now. We have been watching all of your videos about places to eat there. Even after all the time I lived there, there was still so many things that I hadn't seen and places that I hadn't eat. She absolutely loves watching you guys try new foods! Keep up the great work!

Thanks! That’s comprehensive! And one should sayいただきますbefore eating

Love seeing your Mom, reminds me on mine. Both 87 yrs old., we go thru the same exact things. It cracks me up, to know Mom got a twin ! So nice seeing you taking her shopping and restaurants. You will treasure these episodes, they are heart warming and so real!

I love these Japanese phrases videos! Please continue to make them.😀

Thank you for this! We will be in Japan for the whole month of August and this will really help! Love you guys!

Thank you so much for making this! Would it be possible to make a video on how to take an order in Japanese? Or can you recommend such a video on another channel? I work at a cafe in Boston that is a popular spot for Japanese business workers and tourists, and I’d like to make ordering a little easier for guests who may struggle to order in English。 Such a video would also be useful for English speakers who may be seeking part-time work in Japan!

Thank you so much for this! There are several traditional Japanese restaurants in my area and I think it will be lovely to use these phrases to let them know exactly how much we appreciate their services. And by the way, Satoshi' English has improved so much over the years. In my opinion, English is one of the hardest languages to learn and he's killing it! Love you guys 💘

This helps a lot . Thank you ! Pls continue this series

I have to say, "Arigato Gozaimasu" to you both! Your videos for Japanese phrases and restaurant edition have really saved the day for my family and I. Currently traveling through Japan. I unfortunately didn't pay much attention when I was in Nijon Gakko as a kid, so this was better than any class I have taken! Definitely a must if you are traveling to Nihon!

Love your videos as always. Thanks so much for these helpful phrases! My family is going to Japan next month and we are so excited!

I love your videos and the past two have been so timely for me as I'll be in Tokyo in 2 weeks!

Thank you. This is very informative.

Super helpful! Thanks guys!

This was great. Thank you!

Very nice comprehensive guide. Ty

These videos are really useful.

Thank you for this much appreciated valuable information. ❤

Thanks for such an informative video :)

This is a fantastic video. Thank you!

i'm so glad that you made another of these helpful videos. I said it last time and I'll say it again. You are really great teachers! 👏 Now that - finally, after waiting all through the Covid years - my next visit is actually happening, these come at such a great time for me. Please keep them coming 🙏😘

Thank you so much for your help! I have experienced (even only with the basic phrases) the biggest happiness in the face of the Restaurantowners and their Staff.

Just found your channel and this will be very helpful for me cause hopefully next year I'm going to Japan and just trying to practice my Japanese to get a bit better thank u so much guys

Yes guys, more retaurant language and etiquette videos please! Thank you!

❤❤❤very happy to watch this video and looking forward to seeing more of your videos on Japanese learning 👏👏👏

great video with lots of useful info. More about how to order foods and drinks please!

good refresher 👍

Hey Shinichi and Satoshi! I hope you guys will continue this series soon. It’s very insightful and not to mention it is helpful as well.

Great timing, I'm coming in October but I'm starting my research now, and this is exactly what I was looking for.

I’m loving this series - just in time for our trip in September 😊 I’d really appreciate some tips on language/etiquette around putting your name on the reservation lists outside busy restaurants.

This is super helpful, ありがとうございます!

Just in time for my families trip in July. Thx for the lesson.

i learned a lot from your vlogs. very informative. arigatou gozaimasu to your vlogs

I am going to visit Japan in June 2023. This video and the 10 Japanese phrases video that you both made will be very helpful. Thanks for the videos!

Going to Japan next month.. Very helpful video.

Your videos have helped me so much with my trip to Japan. I was last in the country in 2018. This time with the help of videos like yours & Google translate have totally changed my experience this. I’ve also noticed that more Japanese are willing to communicate & practice their English with me. Google translate for menus and signage is absolutely amazing.

Brilliant vlog - more please - especially food related ones. Hearing Satoshi has helped improve my pronunciation really easily

I'm glad I found this! I'm going to Tokyo for the first time next week and there were a few new ones in here I'll probably be using!

Thank you so so so much for making this! I studied these videos for my recent trip and it really made everything so much better. Especially learning “gochisosama deshita”. Wow! The smiles received in response was such an incredible experience! We don’t have such phrases in the US and it was so nice to be able to culturally connect in that way. Wished we could have met to show my gratitude! All the best to you both

Love this

Nice video. Very good information

Great work 💪🏽

I'll be in Tachikawa in three weeks and this video is super helpful!

Please keep these Japanese learning videos, i love them and its easier with u guys bc if i have questions i can ask and u are slower

Love these language videos

Another very useful video, keep the language ones coming, ありがとうございました

great stuff .....more please

this has beenvery useful. i would like more lessons please.

Haha this was so useful! I was just in Japan for my first time and was quite nervous that I didn't know the right phrases to be polite!

Yes please make more of these useful phrases videos 😅😊❤

Loved this video. This will be So helpful for people. I honestly was surprised at how much I was able to get thru ordering and having basic conversations with the staff when I was there. My favorite story is the lady at a cafe in Kyoto ❤️❤️🥹🥹 but two struggles I had was when I walked in not seeing the old school ticket machine 🎫 by the front door, sometimes only in Japanese or one of the restaurants that had a more updated pad in the front that was only in Japanese and I tried to rush using my Google lens to translate while I had this giant line behind me. 😭😭 A Japanese couple behind me tried to assist 🥹🥹

❤ love this.

This brushed me up on my Japanese. ありがとうございます🥰💜. I don't know if I'll ever get to visit, but hopefully one day.

Thanks!

Thank you very much i learned a lot! Please make more Japanese phrases videos on top of your food vlogs :) like phrases to use in train stations, konbini :)

Thanks for all the tips. Another fantastic and useful video. Wishing both well and happy. Have a wonderful day ❤

Thank you so much for this! My fiancé and I want to go to Japan for our honeymoon next year, and I'm an American-raised hafu so I know a few phrases / am actively studying for fun, but my fiancé doesn't speak Japanese at all and wanted to learn some basic travel phrases, so this is perfect!

Please, please, please make more of these videos. They are super helpful!! ❤

Thank you !! I've checked on so many channels to get info on how to ask for separate bills (I am going in Sept with 3 other individuals), and you're thr only one I have found that gave me everything I needed lol

Hey guys good to see y'all thanks for sharing this video take care 😘😘❤️💯🌈🙏😍🤩🥰🌹🌹

This is great information. I would enjoy a video on visiting an Onsen? Also a video asking directions.

It helps me a lot As a waitress working in Japanese aestaurant Thank you po

Thank you for the video! Can you consider making a video about how to make reservations, phrases, etc? Many of the fancier and most demanded places require a reservation well in advance.

Thank you! Salamat 😊 Requests: Simple phrases for May we have fresh towels please? May we have our room key please? We'd like to leave our room key please? Where is the nearest Family Mart? How much is a day pass now? Where is the nearest park? We are so tired! Your parks are so beautiful! Your food is so good! The weather is so fine today! I'm going back to --fill in--( For example Asakusa) today! So happy! 😂

I had a friend Shitoshi many decades ago. Very smart. I think he went back to Japan.

Dear tabieats, Another great videos of yours - please keep goin with it😊 I was in japan with my wife last October and we did a guided tour from osaka until tokyo. In every city we stayed they had a problem with paying seperatly and also out guide told us that its not common in japan. One pays all and next time the other person pays. Was it just by accident or is it really more usual to pay for the whole group? Kr and happy to hear from you

So helpful thank you! I have learned to read hiragana and katakana, kanji is next... My last visit (2019) I was not brave enough to try an izakaya but hope to remedy that on my next visit.

Love your video's! Please do include the pronunciation, like you did in your 10 important phrases video.

Thank you for the language videos! They're helping me practice for my trip this summer. Would you share how we can let restaurant staff know that we have food allergies? Not for any substitutions, but in the hopes they might let me know I'm making a mistake with my order.

Thanks for the great video! Could you make one specifically for vegetarians / vegans? Or maybe you could bring out a kind of text board with special phrases that you can then show in the restaurant?

I have food allergies so when I first traveled to Japan, I carried an allergy card that had my allergies marked off and the phrase "tabemono arerugii ga arimasu" or simply "arerugii ga arimasu" (translated to "I have [food] allergies") helped to some extent though I feel like I missed out on some foods only because I wasn't sure what it contained or Google mistranslated ingredient lists. I started learning Japanese shortly after this trip specifically because of this so for this reason I think it'd be really helpful to do some kind of food edition so everyone can familiarize themselves with what common foods/ingredients are called in Japanese. I'm traveling to Okinawa this coming November so this video was a helpful refresher!

Thanks for these phrases guys! Would you guys be able to record ordering in some of your videos?

Love your videos! In my experience from living a few years in Japan, several Japanese restaurants and cafes went out of their way to accommodate my dietary needs. Restaurant chains, maybe not so much. But I’ve had very good experience eating at independent eateries. I lived in a small village town near Narita and often went to a little cafe run by a Japanese couple who made me a special vegan set every time I went for lunch. Grilled vegetables, soup and rice. It was DELICIOUS! I had similar experience at other places too. So if you’re vegan or vegetarian, I recommend avoiding chains. Although some chains do have vegan options for example MOS burger. Cheers :)

I love your video’s guys. 25 till 30 September we will be visiting Tokyo for the first time of our lives. A long dream come true. I hope we can meet sometime. We are 4 people coming from the Netherlands with diverse roots. I am the Dutch guy, my wife is from Indonesia, my friend is from Italy and his wife is from Suriname. We will be staying in Shinjuku next to Shinjuku Station in the Sotetsu Fresa inn. After that period we leave for Kyoto. We stay in Japan for 14 days.

That was absolutely wonderful, guys! I've pinned this invaluable video to my Pinterest travel board. 😊 I assume that while many restaurants in big cities have English on their menus, in smaller cities or villages English appears _much_ less frequently. In smaller cities and villages, are there usually photos or food models of dishes to help with ordering? In cases where there are no visual aids to ordering, is it acceptable to use a language translation app to order? Thank you, Shinichi and Satoshi, for these super helpful and fun language videos. The more you post, the more I'll pin! 💜💜

Hello! Great video, thank you! I wanted to know the phrase used to ask for more rice. Thanks so much!

Have been watching y'all for a very long time and this video is super helpful for our trip to Japan in September! I'm so nervous but I think with the basics we should be ok. I did have a question though. What's the etiquette on sharing? Is sharing allowed? Like we want to try okonomiyaki but they look huge!!

Hi Guys! Zillion thanks for the great video. LOVE IT!!! It'll be super useful for everyone going to Japan. It would be great if you could attach a kind of pdf-synopsis to the video. PS. SuperMegaExtraUltraBIG THANK YOU for the card! ❤❤❤

Thanks for the tips fellas. It’ll be my second time in Japan later this year and I’m still a little nervous of going into old school udon/soba noodles. Aside from me just asking for English menus or pointing to pictures and saying kore wa kudasai my restaurant knowledge is minimal.

Very well made, very clear. Thank you. Could anyone help me with this question ? Supposing I go into an Izakaya and, as I can't read the menu, I wanted to tell the chef that I place myself in his hands, I will eat his choice. Would "omakase shimasu" be ok ? But then how would I pollitely say "enough, I am Full" , or something similar ? Thank you again

Thank you so much for this! I'm going to Tokyo for the first time this March! Is it OK to share a dish? And if so, how do you say "we're sharing" or do you even need to?

How do you navigate allergies? We have someone with a pretty severe seafood allergy in my family, so asking what has fish oil/oyster sauces/seafood etc is super important for us.

Hello, thank you so much for this video, this will be super helpful. I was wondering, when in a shabu shabu all you can eat, when you want to place additional orders of meat, what would be the proper phrase after calling them over with sumimasen? Should I just say "(meat) o kudasai"? Also if you need more water, would it be "sumimasen, motto mizu o onegai shimasu"?

Hi, the video will be very helpful for since me and my family plan to go to japan. But i have a question, im a family of three, is it acceptable or polite to order just 1 set menu for three people since most of japanese set we see on youtube is quite oversize for us. Please advise. Tq

Can you make a shopping/combini version too 🥹

Mahalo this is helpful. May I ask when do you use “wa arimasuka” instead of “o kudasai”?

Guys can you please tell us how to ask for the set menu and what the person serving would recommend? 😊

Hi! We are BIG fans! We will be visiting Tokyo next week (21-27 September) and staying in Shinjuku. I know you are very busy and popular, but if you are free (and would consider it) we’d love you to be our guests at your choice of restaurant. We would absolutely love to hear your thoughts about cuisine and learn more about your adventures!! Always SO great to get to talk to locals!! We’re from Vancouver Canada. We’ll be my husband, my mom and my aunt. We are easygoing, cheerful, involved with media and the arts, love to travel, love to cook and eat😊 (I know you can’t personally reply to all the comments you get, but I thought I’d give it a try. Thanks!! Angie)

The thing that helped me most on my first trip to Japan was plastic food in the window..

I just want to hire you and go on a dope tour

Arigato Gozaimasu!

Aloha 🌺🥰

Are soft drinks typically served cold or with ice in Japan?

Hello, great video! I would love to know how to say that you are allergic to something :)

This morning getting a coffee at 7-11 I had no idea that it was necessary to ask the clerk for the size of the cup. How do you ask for a cup and the size of the cup?