I ate alone twice a day in Tokyo. Here's the only etiquette that matters.

I ate alone twice a day for two weeks in Tokyo and never once felt weird about it. The thing I used to worry about wasn’t where to go (TikTok covers that), it’s whether I’m doing something wrong at the table. So here’s the whole guide, start to finish.

Walking in

At a lot of places you order from a machine before you ever sit down. There’s a kiosk or a vending machine at the door. You press the picture, take the ticket it spits out (do not lose this), hand it to whoever’s behind the counter, and sit. Sometimes they have a little cup to put your ticket in with your order.

Keep a translation app open while you’re at the machine. The English on these is rough. And keep cash handy, the older ones don’t take IC cards or credit cards. Once the ticket’s in your hand, the hard part is over.

Ok now for etiquette

You’ll usually get an oshibori, a rolled wet towel. It’s for your hands, not your face or the back of your neck, no matter how much you want it to be in August.

Chopsticks: three rules, then stop worrying

People overthink this. There are really only three that matter, and the first two matter because they’re tied to funerals:

• Don’t stand your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice.
• Don’t pass food chopstick-to-chopstick with someone else.
• Don’t wave them around or point at people with them.

If there’s a shared plate, flip your chopsticks around and use the clean end to take your portion.

Bowls, slurping, and the small stuff

Pick up the small bowls. The rice bowl and the miso soup bowl are meant to come up off the table and toward your mouth, held in your free hand. The big plates stay down.

Slurping your noodles is genuinely how people eat here. The first time feels strange, but it’s actually a sign that you like the food.

Try to finish your rice. It reads as appreciation for the food. And if you need to blow your nose, step away from the counter to do it.

Leaving

On your way out, “gochisosama deshita.” It means “thanks for the meal.” Even a quick version of it is more than enough.

Push your dishes back roughly to how they came, lids back on. There’s no tipping in Japan, and if you leave coins on the counter someone will likely chase you down the street to return them. Most counter places you pay at a register by the door after your meal, not at your seat.

The hard part is figuring out what to eat. Once you’ve done that once, alone, and it worked, the rest of it stops being a question. You just eat.