Urara I know but now most of these places have those tablets that have like four different languages. I even had a robot server at Coco’s ( I believe -can’t really remember). It was really interesting. Lol now I don’t have the waiter speaking “mombo-Japanese” but still wondering about job security.
My "problem" is lighter but sometimes I can't read the menu 😂 it's embarrassing because I'm supposed to be able to understand and read kanjis but for food sometimes I'm clueless. Menus with pictures or English are lifesavers haha
It might be more cost effective, if you are a single person, to find four or five really cheap restaurants as buying groceries and also the cost of cooking can be expensive. Restaurants like Yoshinoya will have meals that are cheaper to purchase than to cook at home.
During Golden Week, I went to a nice dinner/bar place in Osaka. I made a reservation beforehand and requested vegetarian dishes. I had gone there at Christmas time for lunch so I knew they were able to accommodate me. However, when I got there, they took me to another part of the restaurant where they didn't have the live music and when I asked to switch locations, the waiter said it would be difficult to accommodate the vegetarian food in the other section! I didn't understand as I had already made the request over the phone. I had to repeat this twice to the waiter and even gave the name of the guy I spoke to when making the reservations. Finally they switched my seat. And even then, the waitress was very unfriendly. After 30 minutes of being seated, she said it was last order at 9 pm. But on their restaurant website, they wrote open until midnight. Worst is they charged cover charge 700 yen per person AND service charge of 10%. Definitely not going back! I wrote a review on their website complaining.
@japanibabe What an awful experience! And to try to hide you in the back like that? That tells you all you need to know really? Whoever the waiter/waitress was this time round had a problem with you obviously
I am surprised no one has mentioned it so far, but when I first arrived in Japan, even if I was speaking Japanese there was always this invisible barrier that prevented smooth communication between me and my waiter. It was annoying as heck and was really stupid. I remember ordering a beer with my wife at dinner and ended up getting Orange Juice. After correcting the waiter and asking for a beer again, he leaves only to come back 5 mins later with another glass of Orange Juice. Eventually I got my beer and it was on the house thanks to the mix up. Is it just me or does this stuff happen a lot?
@Mason It’s true and it’s usually because the Japanese person doesn’t know how to act. Some people think there are rules of engagement when dealing with foreigners and because they “don’t know these rules”, they start acting strange. Or their expecting to hear English and their brain won’t let them process the Japanese correctly (strange because I hear terrible English all the time but I can still understand what someone is trying to say). Happened to me all the time in places I would frequent; I’d order the same thing and there’s always be a new person who’d have to hear it twice.
I appreciate the people who just treat me like everyone else. Those people can be hard to find.
The reverse is true, too. I know a Japanese guy who tried to order a milk (think mi-ru-ku) in the U.S. and ended up with a Coke. In his frustration, at one point he asked for "white juice." I can totally understand why the server didn't understand what he was trying to order, but I have no idea how he ended up with a Coke.
So try to understand that it cuts both ways. I don't think most Japanese are trying to misunderstand, they just don't.
A bit of a tangent...I had a funny experience at a ramen shop staffed by Japanese young people in Vancouver, Canada. A couple at the next table, German speakers, were trying to explain that they couldn't handle "knoblauch" and neither could they remember the English word garlic nor knew the Japanese word ninniku. I phoned my German and English bilingual grandmother and she translated! It was fun, everybody learning the word in different languages. And she knew the word ninniku because of me, her wayward grandchild in Japan cooking Japanese food.
My problem I have while dining in Japan is finding restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes. Many establishments don't understand what vegetarian food is. For example, they think seafood is vegetarian. Or they ask if milk or cheese is ok. Most times, the staff will just offer a salad which consists of green leaves and few small slices of tomato and onions. One waiter even asked me if I was able to have toasted bread!
I know that some places tag on seating charge in order to eat and drink y their establishments but I don’t particularly like it when it’s done without notifying the patrons first. This happened to me when my cousin and her friends came to Japan to visit. We entered a restaurant and they’d added an extra ¥500 per customer onto the bill and only told us at the last minute. I did not appreciate the underhandedness of it and think it was one of those places that tries to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists
Urara I know but now most of these places have those tablets that have like four different languages. I even had a robot server at Coco’s ( I believe -can’t really remember). It was really interesting. Lol now I don’t have the waiter speaking “mombo-Japanese” but still wondering about job security.
My "problem" is lighter but sometimes I can't read the menu 😂 it's embarrassing because I'm supposed to be able to understand and read kanjis but for food sometimes I'm clueless. Menus with pictures or English are lifesavers haha
It might be more cost effective, if you are a single person, to find four or five really cheap restaurants as buying groceries and also the cost of cooking can be expensive. Restaurants like Yoshinoya will have meals that are cheaper to purchase than to cook at home.
During Golden Week, I went to a nice dinner/bar place in Osaka. I made a reservation beforehand and requested vegetarian dishes. I had gone there at Christmas time for lunch so I knew they were able to accommodate me. However, when I got there, they took me to another part of the restaurant where they didn't have the live music and when I asked to switch locations, the waiter said it would be difficult to accommodate the vegetarian food in the other section! I didn't understand as I had already made the request over the phone. I had to repeat this twice to the waiter and even gave the name of the guy I spoke to when making the reservations. Finally they switched my seat. And even then, the waitress was very unfriendly. After 30 minutes of being seated, she said it was last order at 9 pm. But on their restaurant website, they wrote open until midnight. Worst is they charged cover charge 700 yen per person AND service charge of 10%. Definitely not going back! I wrote a review on their website complaining.
I am surprised no one has mentioned it so far, but when I first arrived in Japan, even if I was speaking Japanese there was always this invisible barrier that prevented smooth communication between me and my waiter. It was annoying as heck and was really stupid. I remember ordering a beer with my wife at dinner and ended up getting Orange Juice. After correcting the waiter and asking for a beer again, he leaves only to come back 5 mins later with another glass of Orange Juice. Eventually I got my beer and it was on the house thanks to the mix up. Is it just me or does this stuff happen a lot?
My problem I have while dining in Japan is finding restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes. Many establishments don't understand what vegetarian food is. For example, they think seafood is vegetarian. Or they ask if milk or cheese is ok. Most times, the staff will just offer a salad which consists of green leaves and few small slices of tomato and onions. One waiter even asked me if I was able to have toasted bread!
I know that some places tag on seating charge in order to eat and drink y their establishments but I don’t particularly like it when it’s done without notifying the patrons first. This happened to me when my cousin and her friends came to Japan to visit. We entered a restaurant and they’d added an extra ¥500 per customer onto the bill and only told us at the last minute. I did not appreciate the underhandedness of it and think it was one of those places that tries to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists