Tips for dining alone?

[cirion]

I will be travelling to Japan for the first time in March. For part of the trip I will be alone in Kyoto. I have heard that Kyoto cuisine is delicious and would like to experience as much of it as I can, but am unsure what the etiquette is for eating alone there (or elsewhere in Japan).
Do restaurants welcome people who eat by themselves? Are there particular types of places I should seek out or avoid? Would it be better for me to eat at times when restaurants are slow?
If possible, I would love to try a kaiseki meal while I am in Kyoto. I know it's expensive, but do restaurants even serve kaiseki to solo diners?
Any tips that people can offer would be grately appreciated! :relief:

[undrentide]

It is absolutely no problems to dine alone!
:-)
Yes, kaiseki can be very expensive, but is wothwhile to try.
There's a famous restaurant called 美濃吉 Minokichi, which is specialized in
京懐石 Kyo kaiseki (Kyoto style kaiseki).
They have several branches, and one is in HOTEL new HANKYU KYOTO which is adjacent to JR Kyoto station - easy to find, I believe.
http://www.minokichi.co.jp/profile/shop/shop_03.html
According to their webpage the most expensive kaiseki is JPY13,860 (tax incl.) but there are some kaiseki around JPY3,500-4,500 too.

I once went there several years ago, also their another branch in Tokyo. They serve great meals. I hope you'll enjoy it.
(Maybe other members will recommend other places, too, so that you'll have more choice!)

[cirion]

Thank you very much! I appreciate the kaiseki recommendation, and also am glad to hear that dining alone is not a problem. Now I'm looking forward to this more than ever. :wave:

[bezz]

If possible, I would love to try a kaiseki meal while I am in Kyoto.Kyo-kaiseki looks like:

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/nosan/resources/11710065.gif
Kyoto dining (http://hellokcb.or.jp/eng/kyoto/dining/) Kyoto food (http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/dining/)
Traditional Cuisine Association Links (http://www.kyo-ryori.com/area_index.html)

[hydrangea]

Many of restaurants have counters for peple come bytheirselves.
If not,nobody thinks you're lame or strange though!

[Pachipro]

Many restaurants, including those in department stores, have authentic looking plastic samples in the windows. If you cannot read the menu just take the waitress to the window and point out your selection. They'll be more than glad to assist you. Dining alone? As mentioned above, no problem whatsoever. Good luck!

[Anohito]

I assure you that dining alone is quite common in Japan. In addition to Pachipro's suggestions, I would recommend conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. It is very easy to eat in such places, and the cost is relatively low. All you have to do is remove what you want from the conveyor belt and when you are finished and stand up, one of the staff will add up your bill.

[Jay&Simone]

check out this website - sachiryu.com/en/index.html

Its in Kyoto

Good Luck and Happy Dining!

[TeriyakiPinoy]

Are there any Philippino(Pinoy) restaurants in Nippon? Cause we have good food too! XD! Maybe im an idiot but dining alone was never a problem! Sometimes when you eat your meal alone and you look good and kind you may attract attention from other lonely people who wants to join you at table. well as the rest of ya all! Good luck and thanks for the other tips XD

[Anohito]

Are there any Philippino(Pinoy) restaurants in Nippon? Cause we have good food too! XD! Maybe im an idiot but dining alone was never a problem! Sometimes when you eat your meal alone and you look good and kind you may attract attention from other lonely people who wants to join you at table. well as the rest of ya all! Good luck and thanks for the other tips XD

I've been reading about restaurants and food in general in Japan (mainly Tokyo) for several years, and don't recall seeing anything about a Philippino restaurant. There may be one somewhere, but they probably aren't common. There used to be one in Tokyo (Jingumae, to be specific) in the late 1970s, but it was gone by 1983. Of course, I ate plenty of Philippino food when I was in the Philippines! Pork adobo was one of my favorites.

[TeriyakiPinoy]

Pork Adobo? Yatta! also mine! and thanks for the tip of the restaurant :( But hey Smart Philippino people,.. now is the time to open a restaurant of Philippino food in japan! There isnt any concurrence ;)

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Are there any Philippino(Pinoy) restaurants in Nippon? Cause we have good food too! XD! Maybe im an idiot but dining alone was never a problem! Sometimes when you eat your meal alone and you look good and kind you may attract attention from other lonely people who wants to join you at table. well as the rest of ya all! Good luck and thanks for the other tips XD
A link of a Japanese Philippine restaurant.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Yurinoki/9121/page037.html

map
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=l&hl=ja&q=%E3%83%95%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%94%E3%83%B3%E3 %83%AC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3&near=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD&ie=UTF8&z=7&ll=34.098159,139.361572&spn=5.5753,6.690674&om=1

[TeriyakiPinoy]

Cool Hiroyuki, but i cant read or write japanese XD

@TeriyakiPinoy@

[Anohito]

The Yahoo translation function (perhaps only available if you download the Yahoo toolbar) is not great at translating Japanese, but it often provides useful information. For example, the Geocities site is the "Nationwide Philippine restaurant guide". The blue characters at the top are links to lists for various areas of Japan. The center link at the very top is for the "Kanto area" (Tokyo and environs). The list that the link takes you to is quite extensive, and the translator works fairly well on this page. Unfortunately, only two of the links actually work. They are the one for "Philippine restaurant KAINAN" and "Philippine restaurant Bahay Kubu":

To show a fairly typical example of the problems with digital translation, here is how Yahoo translates the pink text on the home page:

"When the madam and the sweetheart of the Philippine person depended on the homesickness,
We would like to eat the Philippine hood, when is,
By all means in this page
Please search the Philippine pub of entire country.
In addition, information of the Philippine restaurant other than this
The one which you have
Please inform by all means to the curator"