Food and Drink

The general standard is high enough that a random basement restaurant will usually be good. Specialisation is the norm — a shop makes one thing, has made it for decades, and does not also do curry.

Where to actually eat

• Ramen shops — often a ticket machine at the door, a counter, and one broth done properly.
• Izakaya — the closest thing to a pub, ordering small plates over drinks across an evening.
• Standing bars and soba counters — fast, cheap, and frequently excellent.
• Department store food halls, in the basement. Enormous prepared-food selections, discounted late in the day.
• Convenience stores. Genuinely good, not a compromise — onigiri, egg sandwiches, hot food and coffee.

Ordering when there is no English

Many shops take orders by vending machine before you sit: insert cash, press a button, hand the ticket to the staff. The top-left button is almost always the signature dish. If the machine defeats you, look at the staff — someone will help immediately, and this happens constantly.

Plastic food models in the window are not decoration. Photographing one and pointing at it is a completely normal way to order.

Etiquette worth knowing

• Tipping is not practised and can cause confusion. The price is the price.
• Slurping noodles is normal, not rude.
• Say gochisōsama deshita as you leave — roughly 'thank you for the meal'. Always well received.
• Ramen is meant to be eaten quickly while the noodles hold their texture. In a busy shop the seat is wanted.

[ADD YOUR OWN] The single best thing you ate, where it was, and what it cost. That paragraph is worth more than all the general advice above it.