My first restaurant experiences in Japan: sushi, ramen and traditional Turkish food?

Yesterday was my first time eating out in Japan and I did it twice, once at lunchtime and then in the evening. I had some exciting experiences and learnt a lot, but above all it exceeded my expectations. At lunchtime I went out for sushi with a friend, and in the evening I went to a traditional Turkish restaurant with some friends from school - in Japan!

Sushi at lunchtime - my first authentic sushi in Japan

The restaurant was within walking distance, on the second floor of a department store, and was moderately busy, which is to be expected at lunchtime. My classmate explained to me that the sushi there was only ‘medium’ quality, but still tasty and very cheap. However, as I'd already heard that mediocre sushi in Japan is comparable to good sushi in Germany, I didn't really care and was pleased that we now had something good to eat for little money.

The special thing about the restaurant - and I have to say that I've only eaten sushi a handful of times in Germany and I've also heard about it in Germany - was that you ordered the sushi with a tray and within a minute a plate came shooting up on a conveyor belt and stopped until you took the plate to your table. And so we both always got a small plate, the size of a large saucer, with two sashimi, i.e. raw fish served on rice, on each plate. Each plate cost 80 cents, so after 7 plates each we spent the equivalent of around €6.50. We were really full, but that wasn't the best part. What was also exciting was that you could get "drinks" for free, or you could simply take a cup and then tap almost boiling water at the table, which you could then mix with green tea powder. Another special thing about this restaurant was that you could collect your plates and at the end of the meal, for every 5th plate you put in a compartment at the table, you automatically had a chance to win a small prize. The prize itself was probably nothing special, just a small toy in a plastic ball that came out of the machine, but my classmate caught me suggesting that we should each order another plate so that we could crack the 15 plates and still have a chance of winning the toy. It was only then that I realised how clever the system is to get you to order another plate or two.

Anyway, we went to the self-checkout, the only checkout there, so we didn't have a single interaction with an employee, which is probably typical Japanese as they don't like social interaction.

Evening in a Turkish restaurant - a surprise in Japan

As one of my classmates is Turkish, he organised a reservation for us at a traditional Turkish restaurant. There were 13 of us in total in the restaurant and we were actually the only guests because the restaurant was completely full, just with us! It was literally just one room with an entrance area where you put your shoes down and then walked to your seat in socks. I guess that's also typically Japanese. Of course, it was furnished in traditional Turkish style and then the meal began. It should perhaps be noted that you would have had to pay the equivalent of around €2.50 without ordering a drink, which is probably typical in Japan, although unfortunately nobody could explain to me why this is common practice.

The food was great and we all ate together, but in the end we were a little surprised by the price. Each of us paid around 36 euros, which might seem normal in Germany, but was really expensive here in comparison. Unfortunately, it wasn't that much food, but it was a very nice experience and it was also delicious - I learned something new at least!

Lunch at the local ramen restaurant today

Lunch today was a real highlight. There's a local ramen shop right opposite my front door and we went there for lunch today. And that was something completely new again:

Imagine the space like a kebab shop where you can walk in about 3 metres. You sit in a row at the counter, like in a bar, but instead of a barman there is a chef who prepares the food right in front of you and then simply hands it to you when he has finished cooking it.

And the ramen/noodles/rice dishes all smelled wonderful. My ‘carbonara udon’ noodles weren't authentically Italian, but that wasn't the intention. It was very tasty. But here's a picture of it (the next pictures will be better, I promise):

In total, the restaurant could only fit about 10 people, if that, and the rule is that you leave as soon as you've finished so that others who are potentially waiting outside the restaurant can eat soon. I paid 5 euros for my dish and you really can't complain, I think I'll go again tomorrow!

Conclusion - My first restaurant experience in Japan

I was most surprised by the price for lunch yesterday and today. Sushi tends to be a more expensive meal, especially in Germany, which you treat yourself to every now and then, but here you can even fill your belly with it cheaply. And it's delicious too! But the ‘pasta’ at lunchtime today was also amazing and the atmosphere was just as good. The fact that you take your shoes off in some restaurants as if you were at home is completely alien to me, but I'm happy to do it because it's so much cosier. I think that although my stomach is full for the day, I'm just now getting hungry for more restaurants. It's incredibly fun to eat out here, even though I can't even properly order food in Japanese!