Restaurant tips

I notice when I go out to eat that some of the restaurants don't have English menus, and a lot of the people who work in the restaurants don't speak any English. I speak Japanese so I have no problem, but I thought about most of the people on the base and how they don't.What do they do? Charades are a lot of fun and can make for an interesting dining experience, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

So, I'm going to share some important phrases and tips to remember when dining out in town.

If you want some water, you say "Omizu o kudasai" which translates to "water please bring me."

When ordering one of something, you say "hitotsu" which means "one". There are different ways for saying one, depending on what you are using it for. When ordering a food item, it's "hitotsu" (sounds like hetoetsu). Two would be "futatsu", three is "mitsu", and four is "yotsu". If the menu has pictures, you can point to the item and say, "Kore o hitotsu kudasai" which literally translates to "this one please give me." You just ordered one of what you pointed to.

Another important thing to know is how to order beer. Not for me because I don't care for beer, but it is one of the things I am asked about a lot. Apparently some people are more concerned about how to order beer than they are about how to order food. Beer in Japanese is just "beeru". "Bin beeru" is bottled beer and "nama beeru" is draft. When you order a nama beeru, they might ask what size you want. The beer mugs come in different sizes at some places. "Dai"is large, "chu" is medium, and "sho" is small.

I'm sure most of you have already noticed this, but there is no tipping in Japan. In Japan, the servers are paid a decent salary so it's not necessary.

Another thing I get asked is, "what are they saying when you walk in?" They are saying "Irashaimase" which kind of means "welcome" or "please come in". You'll usually get that when you walk into any type of a business. They will also usually say "Arigato gozaimashita!" when you leave. I'm sure most of you already know that this means, "Thank you very much!"

Also, some places will give you a check to take to the register, but some places don't. Usually, the ones that don't have the table numbers programmed into their register and they just punch in your table number.

On that same note, some places are very nice and will let you pay separately. Each person can just go up and tell the nice person at the register what they ordered. Some places will not let you do that though so please be prepared to just pool money together to pay the bill and then figuring it all out later. A lot of izakayas are like that. That's why for izakayas, I just split it evenly between the number of people in my party. You still have to pay it all at once and they usually won't break bills for you. The ramen places and Maple City are wonderful about letting each person pay for what they ate. Actually, now that I really think about it, I think almost all places except for izakayas will let you do this. To ask them to write separate checks or ring you up separately, just say "betsu betsu" This means "separate" or "not together."

If you need a fork, most places have them. Sometimes the forks they bring out are super small, but they do the job. Fork is just "foku" in Japanese. So if you say "foku o kudasai", you are saying "fork please bring me."

Looking for some ketchup? Ketchup is "kechyappu"

When you are at the conveyor belt sushi restaurants, please do not pick up an item and then put it back because you decided you didn't want it after all. This is considered rude in Japan. Once you pick it up, it's yours.

If you make reservations at an all-you-can-eat restaurant for 10 people, please make sure you show up with 10 people. They prepare and purchase food based on the number of people you made reservations for so if you only show up with 7, they are sometimes stuck with extra food. Some places will let it go, but there are some places out there that will make you pay for 10 since that is what you reserved for. I usually collect the money from everyone ahead of time and tell them if they don't show up, they don't get a refund. If you call and change the number in your party ahead of time then it is fine, but try to let them know at least 24 hours prior. Even if call them the day of, it's better than not letting them know at all.

And when you are leaving, if you want to let them know you really enjoyed the food there make sure you tell them "arigato" which is thank you or "gochisosama deshita" which is something Japanese people say after a good meal. It's kind of like a thank you for the wonderful food....or that was really good food. It's a compliment to the restaurant though and they love to hear it.

This one is very important. Not all restaurants take credit cards. It's always a good idea to make sure you have enough cash on you when you go out to eat.

I hope this helps some of you as you venture outside the gate for some great food. The important thing is get out there! Most of the people are very friendly and helpful out there. And if you do have an encounter with someone who wasn't so friendly and helpful, don't give up. Try one of the places I've blogged about.

What else do you want to know about eating out in Japan?

Ramen no Ichotei

Another wonderful ramen place I like to go to is located on Route 2. Their soup and noodles are a little bit different from Nagahama Ramen, but theirs is yummy too.
I went to Ramen no Ichotei for lunch a few days ago and they were pretty busy. We got one of the last tables available.
The menu is not in English, but they do have pictures!!

They have a set menu too. You get ramen and whatever item is pictured for the price below the item. For instance, you get the gyoza that is pictured and a bowl of ramen for 880yen. You also get a bowl of rice and they have Japanese pickles you can get. The pickles are to your left when you walk in and you can take as much as you want.
They don't speak English very well so you might have to do some charades with them. Charades are another wonderful part of the dining out in Japan experience.
They also ask how you want your noodles. I always say "futsu" (normal) and it is perfect to me. Not too hard, and not too soft. I don't like mushy noodles.

I ordered the fried chicken set. Because they were so busy, our server told us it would take a little while. We told her that was not a problem.
But our food only took about 15 - 20 minutes. Not bad. I guess it is a long time for ramen, but we didn't care.

If you do not like pork, or you can't eat pork, they will gladly make it without the big slice of pork that's usually on top. Just tell them when you order.

My fried chicken. It was a little greasy and a little fatty, but it tasted good. Maybe I should have went for the gyoza....

Someone else ordered the gyoza set and it looked pretty good.

It's pretty roomy inside. They have a decent amount of tables (I think about 8). They do get pretty busy at lunch time. I always take that as a good sign because that usually means it's good.

Once again I forgot to get a picture of the outside. Goodness......sometimes I want to sing that song from The Wizard of Oz...."if I only had a brain...." I'm just very easily distracted...so maybe I need to find another song.

Now that it is getting cooler, it is ramen and udon season! I love it!!!!!
To get to Ramen no Ichotei, go out main gate and go to 3 corners. Turn right and follow that road all the way down until it takes you to the light that turns onto Route 2. At that light turn left and go straight for a little while. You'll pass McDonald's on your right and Fresta (wonderful grocery store!!!) on your left. Keep going. After a few minutes, you will see a nursery (plants and flowers) on your left. The ramen place is right across on your right. I think the sign is black and red.
I think I said this in my post on Nagahama Ramen. You should definitely try a few places before you decide on a favorite. Everyone has different tastes and you might like this one more than Nagahama, or you might have a place you already go to that you prefer.
Please come back and post a comment if you decide to check out Ramen no Ichotei! I want to know your thoughts.

Mike's Tex Mex

Okay. I can hear some groans already. Stop it.

I have lived in Southern California so I do know what good Mexican food is. And I do agree that Mike's Tex Mex isn't as good as the hole in the wall places in the Oceanside/Camp Pendleton area, BUT it is the best Mexican food you're going to get around here. Don't go there with super high expectations and you should be just fine.

Some of you may remember when Mike's first opened in Iwakuni. It was a very small space across the street from Andersen Bakery. I was so excited that there was finally a Mexican restaurant in Iwakuni! I was really missing all the good mexican food I used to get in California so I couldn't wait to go.
Once I got there, I couldn't decide what to get. I finally decided to get a combo platter and then patiently (okay....maybe not the right word to use...I TRIED to be patient). It was pretty busy so it took a little while (FOREVER! ....40 minutes is almost like forever when you're hungry) for the food to come out. When it did, I couldn't wait to dig in. I took my first bite and .......well..... I was a little disappointed. It wasn't awful. It was okay. Maybe even a little bit better than just "okay". I just had super high, Southern California expectations. Once I remembered where I was and how it was awesome that we finally got a Mexican restaurant here, it tasted even better. So, if you are familiar with how wonderful mexican food is in some places in the States, erase that out of your mind before going to Mike's. I think you'll have a better experience. I have heard quite a few negative comments about Mike's from people, but some of them were comparing it to that great place they always went to in Oceanside, or in Texas. So go with an open mind and enjoy!

I went recently with the guys from the office for lunch. I ordered the enchillada lunch set. It's funny how the guys now know to let me take pictures of their food before they dig in.

They even hold their plates up for me. My co-workers are pretty awesome.

Their menu is in English and they have staff that speaks a little bit of English. They also have parking which is always a plus! They didn't have parking at their old location.

This is another place that is great for parties. I've celebrated some birthdays at Mike's and they let us bring in a cake (we did ask ahead of time).
So.....like I said, please do not go there expecting the wonderful food you had while you were in California, or any other place in the States that has good Mexican food. I know. It's hard to do. I have a bad habit of going into places with high expectations and then I am disappointed.
If you get in the mood for some Mexican food, give Mike's a try and then decide for yourself. Please come back and post your thoughts and comments on my Facebook page or comment on this post.