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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jjsmyth1 on 2025-06-16 03:18:01+00:00.
TLDR; It was a bit bumpy and at times uncomfortable, but ultimately very rewarding.
I felt like a quiet dinner alone last night, so I found a highly reviewed sushi restaurant near my hotel. I was staying in the Naniwa ward in Osaka, south of the busy Dotombori area.
To begin with it was hard to find. Google maps took me to the street on the wrong side. I walked around the building it was apparently in a few times but nothing stood out that told me it was a sushi restaurant. I eventually found this traditional, inconspicuous little building with some kanji written on the front. Google lens let me know that it had ‘sushi’ in the writing, so I thought this might be the place.
There was no window and no way of seeing inside. What’s more, there was an entrance way but the door into the restaurant was closed and also had no way of seeing inside. Wondering if I was going to be welcome here, I gingerly knocked and slid the door open.
It was already dawning on me what kind of place this was. There was probably not much catered for tourists here. It wasn’t really what I’d set out for, but that was fine I thought. It’d be good to get out of the comfort zone of tourist traps, experience something more authentic and support a local business. Still, I was really quite nervous. What if I displease them by breaking etiquette? This seems like very local place where the people inside may know each other. Am I going to be welcomed as an outsider?
Anyway, I opened the door and there was a host standing on the other side. I thought he may have jumped and seemed a little surprised to see me, but that also may have just been my nervousness speaking. Another guy came over to me. There was a bit of an awkward moment where we were both waiting for the other to say something. I offered him Google translate if he wanted to speak Japanese, but turned out his English seemed fairly good so I eventually asked if I could sit. He showed me to a seat. I sat down, had a look around at the patrons enjoying themselves and quickly accepted that I was the only gaijin in the room.
The host gave me a menu. No English but that was fine. I’d memorised ‘Osusume wa nan desu ka’ (what do you recommend) for such a situation and was actually quite glad I got to use it at last. He replied in Japanese, couldn’t understand but I just nodded and said I’ll have that.
The waitress served me some appetisers. They were delicious, but as I ate I could see the staff looking at me from across the counter. I imagine they were doing it in good faith, but being watched while I ate certainly didn’t help my nerves! I smiled and said ‘oishii desu’ and got a nice smile and a bow in return. They seemed happy to have got my approval, but they still continued to glance at me every now and then.
The chef was very friendly and as he served each dish, he told me what it was in English. He put the first piece of sushi on an ornate black dish, sitting on a raised counter about a meter front of me. Two things weren’t quite clear to me: Will he add more sushi, or is it served one at a time? And is the black dish supposed to stay in the same place, or do I take it and put it in front of me? Maybe it was obvious to some, but my anxious brain made me freeze. I just waited to see if he would put more sushi on. But as time passed I saw the chef glancing over more, then two of the staff started talking to each other and pointing at the sushi sat in front of me! I whipped out Google translate, typed my question and got the answer easy enough. The sushi is served one at a time and you don’t take the dish. You just pick it up with your chopsticks and eat it. I hoped they realised it was just a little misunderstanding as they were all smiles afterwards.
After that I started to relax a bit more. The sushi was absolutely amazing. It melted in my mouth like butter and combined with the wasabi, it was like each bite was a flavour explosion in my mouth! There were one or two more faux pas: I fumbled one piece with the chopsticks (still conscious they may be watching), but recovered ok. And had to ask the waitress to repeat a few times when asking for the bill. But they seemed pretty patient and understanding. I paid the bill and exchanged several gochisou sama deshitas (it was a great feast/thank you for a delicious meal). The chef came from behind the counter and bowed to me as I left. Smiles all around and seemed like everyone had enjoyed it, myself included.
My anxious brain still decides to focus on the embarrassing moments and make me cringe. But looking back on it I’m pleased for getting out of my comfort zone and experiencing something closer to the local culture. I can recommend it if you have a bit of money to spare (it’s pricey) and feel like challenging yourself a bit while on your travels.