How to Read a Japanese Menu Without Speaking Japanese
A practical guide to decoding restaurant menus, ordering with confidence, and eating well in Japan without Japanese language skills.
Eisuke Kameta
March 15, 2026
You do not need to speak Japanese to eat well in Japan. But a few strategies help significantly.
The Display Case
Many Japanese restaurants — particularly mid-range places serving ramen, soba, tempura, and set meals — display plastic replicas of their dishes in a glass case at the entrance. These are called shokuhin sample and they are exactly what they appear to be: the menu, made three-dimensional.
Point at what you want. Show the staff your finger on the display. The transaction is complete.
Picture Menus
The percentage of Japanese restaurants with picture menus has increased significantly as international tourism has grown. If a picture menu is available, the staff will usually offer it without being asked when they see a foreign guest.
If you don’t receive one: “Eigo no menyu wa arimasu ka?” — Is there an English menu? — works at any tourist-area restaurant.
Ticket Machines
Many ramen shops, curry houses, and set-meal restaurants use automated ticket machines (shokken kibai) at the entrance. You pay before you eat.
The machines are increasingly bilingual, but if yours isn’t: insert money, choose the price that matches the meal you want from the display case, collect your ticket, hand it to the staff.
The ticket machine is one of Japan’s most solo-friendly dining formats. No interaction required until the food arrives.
Key Words Worth Knowing
Niku: meat (usually pork or beef)
Tori: chicken
Sakana/Uwo: fish
Yasai: vegetables
Tamago: egg
Tofu: tofu
Nashi: without
Karai: spicy
Amai: sweet
Kara: spicy (colloquial)
The phrase “niku nashi de onegaishimasu” — without meat, please — handles most vegetarian requests at casual restaurants, though not all sauces and stocks will be meat-free.
Useful Phrases
“Osusume wa nan desu ka?” — What do you recommend?
”Kore wo hitotsu onegaishimasu” — One of this, please (point at menu or display)
“Kore wa nani ga haitte imasu ka?” — What is in this?
”Okaikei onegaishimasu” — The bill, please
Google Translate Camera
The camera translation function in Google Translate works well on printed Japanese menus, though imperfectly. Use it as a rough guide rather than a literal translation. It is most useful for identifying meat-based dishes when you are trying to avoid them.
The Most Reliable Strategy
Choose restaurants where you can see what other people are eating before you sit down. Walk slowly past the window. Find something that looks right. Order by pointing. Eat well.
This strategy has worked in Japan for decades and continues to work.