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Eating Out in Japan When You Don't Speak Japanese: Show Your Phone (Translation App Tips and Phrases)

A handwritten Japanese lunch menu with dish names and prices in black and red ink
A handwritten lunch menu at a seafood restaurant in Naha (Okinawa). Menus like this are where a camera translation app helps most.Photo: NORTLAUKAU 26088 JP, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

Not many people in Japan use English every day, so restaurant staff can look a little unsure when a guest speaks to them in English. That isn't unfriendliness. Most of them simply want to get it right. Our one-point advice for enjoying food in Japan is to show your phone: a short sentence translated into Japanese, held up on the screen, usually gets a kind and helpful answer. This guide gives you ready-made phrases to show, and the Google Translate, Google Lens and browser features that make paper menus, menu photos and QR code ordering easy to read.

  • Why a translated screen works better than speaking English
  • Phrase cards in Japanese you can show staff as they are
  • Paper menus: point the camera; saved menu photos: translate them before you go
  • QR code and app ordering: translate the page in your browser

Why showing your phone works

English is taught in Japanese schools, but many people rarely speak it, and a fast question in English during a busy service can make staff freeze for a moment. A sentence in Japanese on your screen changes that. They can read it at their own pace, understand exactly what you mean, and answer by pointing, nodding, speaking slowly or typing a reply into your phone. Staff are usually glad you made the effort, and many are happy to explain.

If the restaurant is busy, you may hear ちょっと待ってください (chotto matte kudasai) or the more formal 少々お待ちください (shosho omachi kudasai). Both mean "please wait a moment". It's a polite "I'll be right with you", not a "no", so stay where you are and they will come back to you. With a little patience, you can almost always get your question across.

Show this screen: how it works Showing a translated sentence to restaurant staff A guest holds up a phone to a server in an apron. The screen shows the Japanese sentence お店のおすすめは何ですか？ with the English "What do you recommend?". Steps: 1, type or say your question in your language; 2, turn the screen so the staff can read the Japanese; 3, let them answer by pointing, speaking or typing. If they say ちょっと待ってください, it means "please wait a moment". お店のおすすめは何ですか？ What do yourecommend? 1Type or say it in your language 2Turn the screen to the staff 3Let them point, speak or type ちょっと待ってください= please wait a moment
Our advice for eating out in Japan. Staff answer in different ways; a smile and a little patience go a long way.

Phrases to show staff

Each card has the Japanese to show (large), how to say it, and what it means. Show the screen, or read it out slowly if you like. You can also type the same question into Google Translate in your own words.

お店のおすすめは何ですか？

o-mi-se-no o-su-su-me-wa nan-de-su-ka

What do you recommend here?

お刺身の盛り合わせには、何が入っていますか？

o-sa-shi-mi-no mo-ri-a-wa-se-ni-wa na-ni-ga hait-te-i-ma-su-ka

What's in the assorted sashimi platter?

これは何を使った料理ですか？

ko-re-wa na-ni-o tsu-kat-ta ryō-ri de-su-ka

What is this dish made with?

卵アレルギーがあります。卵を使っていない料理はありますか？

ta-ma-go a-re-ru-gī-ga a-ri-ma-su. ta-ma-go-o tsu-kat-te-i-nai ryō-ri-wa a-ri-ma-su-ka

I'm allergic to eggs. Do you have dishes without egg? (Swap 卵, egg, for your allergen.)

これをください。

ko-re-o ku-da-sa-i

I'll have this, please. (Point at the menu.)

Wi-Fiはありますか？

wai-fai-wa a-ri-ma-su-ka

Do you have Wi-Fi?

ちょっと待ってください。

chot-to mat-te ku-da-sa-i

What staff may say: "Please wait a moment." They'll come back to you.

For allergies, a short card is a start, not a guarantee. Restaurants differ in how much they can check, and sauces and broth can hide ingredients. Read food allergies in Japan for a fuller card and what to ask. To call staff over, a polite すみません (sumimasen, "excuse me") with a raised hand is normal; many places also have a call button on the table.

Google Translate: type, speak, or talk in turns

The free Google Translate app covers most situations at a restaurant. These features are described on Google's own help pages (checked October 2026); menus and button names can change with app updates.

Most features still work best with a data connection, so a phone plan for Japan helps; see eSIM or Pocket Wi-Fi for Japan. Some restaurants also offer free Wi-Fi to customers. It's fine to ask with the Wi-Fi card above.

Paper menus: point the camera

For a printed or handwritten menu, use the camera. In the Google Translate app, tap Camera and point it at the text; Google's help page says the translation appears on the screen, and its Android version notes that camera translation works offline for languages you've downloaded. Google Lens does the same job: Google says Lens can translate text into all Google Translate languages, and on iPhone you can reach it through the Google app or Google Photos.

Handwritten menu sheets pinned on the wall above an izakaya counter
Handwritten menus on the wall of an izakaya. Point the camera, or point at a line and ask the staff.Photo: Ryohei Noda, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brush-style lettering, vertical writing and handwritten specials on a board can be harder for the camera to read. If a result looks odd, point at the item and show the card これは何を使った料理ですか？ instead. Staff are usually happy to explain.

Before you go: save the menu on hotel Wi-Fi

If you've already decided where to eat, you can do the reading before you arrive. Restaurant pages on gourmet and restaurant-search sites often include photos of the menu or the dishes. Gurunavi, for example, has an English site for finding and booking restaurants in Japan. While you're on your hotel's Wi-Fi, take screenshots of the menu photos or save them to your phone.

Then translate them at your own pace. In the Google Translate app, open the camera and tap Gallery to translate text in an image you've already saved (Google's help page). On Android, Google's Lens help page says you can open the photo in Google Photos and tap Google Lens. You can choose what to order before you even sit down, and simply point at it on the day. If the restaurant takes bookings, see restaurant reservations in Japan.

QR code and app ordering: translate the page in your browser

More and more restaurants let you order on your own phone: you scan a QR code on the table and a menu page opens in your browser. If it opens in Japanese, your browser can usually translate the whole page in a moment.

Text that is part of a picture, such as a photo of a dish with its name written on it, may stay in Japanese. Take a screenshot and translate it with Google Lens or the Translate app's Gallery. Before you confirm an order, check the item count and the price. Some izakaya also add a small seating charge with a starter dish; see otoshi, the small dish and table charge.

Which tool for which menu Translating menus: before you go, paper menus and QR code ordering Before you go, on hotel Wi-Fi: save the menu photos from the restaurant's page, then translate them in the Google Translate app (Camera, then Gallery) or with Google Lens. Paper menu at the table: open the Translate app's Camera or Google Lens and point it at the menu. QR code or app ordering: translate the page in your browser; in Chrome, More menu then Translate; in Safari on iPhone, Page Menu then Translate to your language. Tip: download Japanese for offline use before you go out. Before you go (hotel Wi-Fi) Save the menu photosfrom the restaurant's page,then translate: Translate app(Camera, Gallery) or Lens Paper menu at the table Point the cameraTranslate app Cameraor Google Lens QR code or app ordering Translate the pageChrome: More menu, TranslateSafari (iPhone): Page Menu,Translate to your language Tip: download Japanese for offline use
Based on Google Translate Help, Google Search Help, Chrome Help and Apple's iPhone User Guide (checked October 2026). Button names can change with app updates.

A few more tips

Last reviewed: October 5, 2026. App features, button names and restaurant ordering systems change; check your app if something looks different.

References

Related guides

More nationwide: Food & dining

Photo credits

  1. A handwritten Japanese lunch menu with dish names and prices in black and red ink. Photo: NORTLAUKAU 26088 JP, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
  2. Handwritten menu sheets pinned on the wall above an izakaya counter. Photo: Ryohei Noda, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. A restaurant window display of plastic food samples with price labels. Photo: Lombroso, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  4. A hand holding a smartphone showing a map. Photo: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  5. A bowl of creamy pork-bone ramen with sliced pork, egg and greens. Photo: Alasdair at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  6. Plates of sushi in different colors moving along a conveyor belt. Photo: JIP, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  7. An empty wooden sushi counter with seats close together. Photo: Bobby.Creations, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  8. A red lacquer bowl of miso soup with tofu, wakame seaweed and mitsuba leaves, seen from above. Photo: Douglas Perkins, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  9. A home dinner on a wooden table: a bowl of white rice, miso soup with tofu and mushrooms, grilled fish and small side dishes. Photo: サフィル, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  10. A plate of sashimi: slices of salmon and white fish on green leaves, a small mound of grated wasabi, a little wasabi on the salmon, and a sprig of shiso flowers. Photo: Ikusuki, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  11. The front of a small Chinese restaurant with a big red sign and a lit "open" sign on a street in Nagoya (Aichi). Photo: Eugene Ormandy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  12. Bite-size pieces of boiled octopus with purple-red skin and white flesh, topped with lots of chopped green onion. Photo: jim212jim, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  13. A Japanese roast beef bowl: thin pink slices of beef piled over rice, topped with a raw egg yolk. Photo: Pocsywe, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  14. A Japanese supermarket shelf lined with rows of soy sauce bottles in many sizes and label colors. Photo: Kanesue, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  15. A small white dish of Japanese pickles: yellow takuan, orange carrot and green cucumber slices. Photo: Douglas Perkins, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  16. A piece of tuna nigiri on a blue and white patterned plate. Photo: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  17. A metal oden pot at a convenience store counter in Japan, with daikon, eggs, shirataki noodles, fried tofu and skewered beef tendon simmering in separate sections. Photo: Ocr7041r38, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  18. A bowl of gyudon: thinly sliced simmered beef and onion over rice, in a patterned bowl on a wooden table. Photo: Ocdp, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  19. A Sushiro conveyor-belt sushi restaurant on the upper floor of a building, with a red and white sign, banners and a parking area with a van and bicycles below. Photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  20. The front of a MOS Burger shop with green signs and big windows, with bicycles parked outside and a menu board by the door. Photo: Tjeerd Wiersma, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  21. A takoyaki food stall with a bright octopus banner. Photo: whalt, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  22. The lit entrance of a small izakaya with a white sign. Photo: Japanexperterna.se, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  23. Japanese yen banknotes and coins. Photo: ASTELUS, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  24. A set restaurant table with a reserved sign. Photo: David Baron, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  25. A plate of sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce. Photo: Douglas Perkins, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)

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