In this lesson you will learn how to navigate the initial steps of eating out in Japan — from buying a meal ticket at a department store dining hall to asking to share a table at a crowded restaurant, requesting an English menu, and telling the waiter how many people are in your group.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Buying a meal ticket at a department store dining hall

Mrs. Proctor is shopping at a department store. It’s lunchtime, and she goes to the dining hall, where one must buy a meal ticket (shokken) at the entrance.

Romaji	English
Purokutaa: Sumimasen. Nihongo ga wakarimasen. Kore no shokken o katte kudasaimasen ka?	Excuse me. I don’t understand Japanese. Would you buy me a meal ticket for this dish?
Nihonjin: Ee, ii desu yo.	Sure.
Purokutaa: Kore, okane desu.	Here’s the money.
Nihonjin: Hai, doozo.	Here you are. (handing her the ticket)
Purokutaa: Doomo arigatoo.	Thank you very much.

Situation 2 — Being seated at a restaurant

Ms. Hamilton arrives at a restaurant with three friends.

Romaji	English
Ueetaa: Irasshaimase. Nan-nin-sama desu ka?	Welcome. How many people?
Hamiruton: Yo-nin desu.	Four.
Ueetaa: Doozo kochira e.	This way, please.
Hamiruton: Eego no menyuu wa arimasu ka?	Do you have an English menu?
Ueetaa: Hai, gozaimasu. Shooshoo omachi kudasai.	Yes, we do. Just a moment, please.
Ueetaa: Hai, doozo.	Here you are.
Hamiruton: Doomo arigatoo.	Thank you.

Situation 3 — At a crowded Japanese-style restaurant

Mr. Johnson finds an empty seat at a table where a Japanese person is sitting. The restaurant has no English menu.

Romaji	English
Jonson: Sumimasen. Koko ii desu ka?	Excuse me, may I sit here?
Nihonjin: Ee, ii desu yo.	Sure.
Jonson: Doomo.	Thanks.
Jonson: Sumimasen.	Excuse me. (calling the waitress)
Ueetoresu: Irasshaimase. Nani ni nasaimasu ka?	Welcome. Would you like to order?
Jonson: Eego no menyuu wa arimasu ka?	Do you have an English menu?
Ueetoresu: Ainiku desu ga, gozaimasen.	I’m sorry, we don’t.
Jonson: Soo desu ka. Jaa, sumimasen ga, chotto issho ni kite kudasaimasen ka?	Oh. Well then, could I trouble you to come with me?
Ueetoresu: Hai.	Sure.
Jonson: Are onegai shimasu.	I’d like that one. (pointing to a dish)
Ueetoresu: Hai, wakarimashita.	All right.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Romaji	English	Kana
shokken	meal ticket	しょっけん
katte	buy (te-form of kaimasu)	かって
kudasaimasen ka	won’t you please (polite request)	くださいませんか
nan-nin-sama	how many people? (polite)	なんにんさま
nan-nin	how many people?	なんにん
yo-nin	four people	よにん
menyuu	menu	メニュー
nasaimasu	do, make (polite)	なさいます
issho ni	together	いっしょに
kite	come (te-form of kimasu)	きて
shinbun	newspaper	しんぶん
zasshi	magazine	ざっし
sandoitchi	sandwich	サンドイッチ
sarada	salad	サラダ

Counter for People

Number	Romaji	Kanji
1 person	hito-ri	一人
2 persons	futa-ri	二人
3 persons	san-nin	三人
4 persons	yo-nin	四人
5 persons	go-nin	五人
6 persons	roku-nin	六人
7 persons	shichi/nana-nin	七人
8 persons	hachi-nin	八人
9 persons	ku/kyuu-nin	九人
10 persons	juu-nin	十人

Grammar & Usage Notes

Polite Requests: kudasaimasen ka

The pattern V(te-form) + kudasaimasen ka is a more polite way of making a request than V(te-form) + kudasai:

Polite	More polite
Katte kudasai. (Please buy it.)	Katte kudasaimasen ka? (Would you please buy it?)
Kite kudasai. (Please come.)	Kite kudasaimasen ka? (Would you please come?)

Use kudasaimasen ka when asking a stranger for a favor.

Meal Tickets (食券 / shokken)

At some restaurants — particularly department store dining halls — you buy a shokken (meal ticket) at the shokken-uriba (ticket counter) near the entrance. Steps:

Look at the plastic food display near the entrance
Note the name and price of the dish you want
Give the name and money to the attendant at the ticket counter
Hand the ticket to your waiter/waitress at your table

If you can’t read the name, ask a Japanese person to buy it for you:

Kore no shokken o katte kudasaimasen ka? — Would you please buy a meal ticket for this dish?

Seating Yourself

At most restaurants (except expensive or Western-style ones), you can take any unoccupied seat without waiting to be seated. If the restaurant is crowded and you need to share a table:

Koko ii desu ka? — May I sit here? (lit., Is here OK?)

The typical response: (Ee,) ii desu yo. — Sure, please.

Asking How Many People

When a waiter/waitress seats you, they’ll ask:

Nan-nin-sama desu ka? — How many people? (polite)

Eego no menyuu wa arimasu ka? — Do you have an English menu?

If there is no English menu but the restaurant has a display window, ask the waiter to come with you:

Chotto issho ni kite kudasaimasen ka? — Would you please come with me?

Then point to a dish and say: Are onegai shimasu. — That one, please.

What the Waiter/Waitress Will Say

Japanese	English
Irasshaimase.	Welcome!
Nan-nin-sama desu ka?	How many people?
Doozo kochira e.	This way, please.
Nani ni itashimashoo ka?	What shall I bring you?
Nani ni nasaimasu ka?	What would you like?

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Number of People

Say the following in Japanese:

3 persons → san-nin
4 persons → yo-nin
2 persons → futa-ri
1 person → hito-ri
6 persons → roku-nin
8 persons → hachi-nin

B. Substitution Drill

Base: Eego no menyuu wa arimasu ka? (Do you have an English menu?)

Practice with: shinbun (newspaper), hon (book), chizu (map), zasshi (magazine)

C. Production and Comprehension

Act out these situations:

Ask someone to buy a meal ticket for you.
- Possible answer: They’ll buy it → Hai, ii desu yo.
- Or they didn’t understand → ask again more slowly.
Ask if you can share a table.
- Yes → Ee, ii desu yo.
- No → (person apologizes, seat is taken)
Call a waitress and ask for an English menu.
- Available → Hai, gozaimasu. Shooshoo omachi kudasai.
- Not available → Ainiku desu ga, gozaimasen.
Ask someone to come with you to the display.
- They agree → Hai.
Order a dish by pointing at the display.
- Are onegai shimasu.
The waitress asks how many people. Answer six.
- Roku-nin desu.

D. Kanji Reading

Kanji	Romaji	English
食堂	shokudoo	dining hall
食券	shokken	meal ticket
百	hyaku	hundred
千	sen	thousand
万	man	ten thousand
円	en	yen

Cultural Notes

Plastic food displays (食品サンプル): Many Japanese restaurants have remarkably realistic plastic replicas of their dishes in display windows near the entrance. These are incredibly useful for non-Japanese-speaking visitors — you can choose your meal visually and either point to it or ask the waiter to come look with you. The name and price of each dish is displayed next to the sample.

Tipping: Tipping is not customary in Japan. Leaving a tip may even cause confusion. The service charge, when applicable, is already included in the bill.

Seating and Asking for Service

What You Will Learn

Lesson Material