How To Order At Yoshinoya

By popular request, here is the strategy guide to ordering at one of the cheapest chain restaurants in Tokyo. Enjoy!

Those of us who have traveled in Tokyo before have seen them...they're everywhere. The 24-hour mega-fast-food restaurants known as Yoshinoya. These restaurants are built for people on-the-go and have a very basic menu with traditional Japanese items, but it's some of the cheapest food you can get in the Tokyo area. What's more, surprisingly, is that it actually doesn't taste too bad, either.

In the mornings, these little restaurants are packed with salarymen and career women commuters on their way to work - and with the lightning-fast service and decent prices, it's not difficult to see why these places are popular.

But for those like us, tourists...travelers...there's only one problem...

「エピック失敗」　（Epic　Fail....）

KANJI-HAME-HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO ENGLISH MENUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO HIRAGANA MENUS!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK ORDERING, GAIJIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Therefore, for those planning on traveling to Japan sometime in the future (hint: some of this stuff doesn't have seafood or seaweed ingredients, so it's very Western-friendly if you know what to order). First let's go through some of the stuff you can eat there. I took these descriptions from the website, trying to keep in mind what the most "Western" dishes on their menu were. I only had a chance to try two of them (marked with a * below), so I can't vouch for the tastiness of everything.

牛 丼 *
Gyuu don
Beef and onions over rice
This is probably their most popular dish.

牛 焼肉 定職　*
Gyuu Yakiniku Teishoku
Beef and onions with rice and cabbage set (yakiniku is lit: "Korean style BBQ" but the beef tasted the same as the Gyuudon to me).

プレーン カレー
Purein Karei
Plain Curry (served with rice)

豚 アイガケ カレー
Buta Aigake Karei
Curry with pork and rice

親子丼
Oyakodon
Chicken and egg over rice (the egg isn't fully cooked)

並 = Nami = small/normal size (note: even for an American belly, a 'nami' is more than enough food. There are technically two bigger sizes, which I have nicknamed 'too big' and 'sumo', but there's no point in discussing them since even THIS gaijin couldn't stomach more than a 'nami').

So now that you have some vocab, here's the next part...how to order.

Now this can be a terrifying experience even for someone with Japanese experience, so let me point out that you can use your hands to help here. You may not remember the word for "one" is "hitotsu", but you can certainly hold up one finger when saying the name of the dish you want. This also works for size...if you don't remember "nami", just make a gesture with your hands that implies "small".

The the exchange works as follows:

[you enter the store]

Clerk: (in a really loud voice)「いらっしゃいませ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！」
"IRASSHAIMASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Welcome [to our store]!"

Don't worry, they aren't yelling at you, they're simply welcoming you into the shop. You'll hear this a lot in Japan, so don't be surprised. Take your seat, preferably one that has a bit of space between you and the next customer over, and look over the menu, keeping in mind the dishes I listed above are already transliterated for you. Now, unlike in American restaurants, the clerk will not come over to take your order on their own (unless the place is empty). You must know the summon spell! Note that this one magic word will cause instant service at _ANY_ Japanese restaurant or other establishment. Basically an employee will drop whatever they're doing the second they hear you utter it and rush over to help you. So say it loud, say it proud, say:

You: 「すみません！」
"SUMIMASEN!"
"Excuse me, but I would like some help!" (lit: "Excuse me!" or "Pardon me!")

And then once the clerk comes over, place your order.

You: 「並牛丼を一つください。」
"Nami-gyuudon wo hitotsu kudasai."
"One small gyuudon, please."

Make sure to specify "nami" if you're getting any kind of donburi dish (oyakodon, butadon, gyuudon) because otherwise you WILL be subject to a fluent Japanese barrage as they try to figure out what size you want. The curry dishes and teishoku (set meals) do not have sizes like the donburi dishes, so you can eliminate "nami" when ordering.

If you want more than one of a particular dish...you can use the following:

一つ
Hitotsu
One [item]

二つ
Futatsu
Two [items]

三つ
Mitsu
Three [items]

四つ
Yotsu
Four [items]

You: 「並牛丼を二つ下さい。」
　　　 "Nami-gyuudon wo futatsu kudasai."
"Two small gyuudon, please."

And so on.

If you want more than one dish, you can use "to" (pronounced "toe") to link your sentence together:

You: 「並牛丼を一つと、プレインカレーを一つください。」
"Nami-gyuudon wo hitotsu to, purein karei wo hitotsu kudasai."
"One small gyuudon and one plain curry, please."

And you can use "to" over and over again to link more dishes together - but unless you're a real pig or ordering for a bunch of people, you really shouldn't have to use it more than once or twice.

Now, finally, after you enjoy your gigantic bowl or plate of Japanese goodness, there comes that awkward moment where you need to pay the check but aren't really sure how to.... AHA! But you have this guide, my friend. In order to receive your check, first summon the clerk via the summoning spell above:

You: 「すみません！」
"SUMIMASEN!"
"Excuse me, but I would like some help!" (lit: "Excuse me!" or "Pardon me!")

So the clerk will rush over again, and you can ask for your check (which can be paid directly to the clerk at the time it is brought. It is NEVER (and I mean _NEVER_) OK in Japan to just leave money on the table and walk out. No tipping is ever required and in most cases isn't even accepted. Anyways, the request for your bill:

You: 「おかんじょう下さい。」
"Okanjo, kudasai."
"The bill, please."

Then pay your yen. It's that simple.