The core idea: two questions place every seat
Picture the seat types on two scales. The first runs from shoes on to shoes off: counter and table seats keep you on a chair with your shoes on, while zashiki and horigotatsu mean stepping up onto a raised floor in socks. The second runs from open to closed: at the counter you face the chef and your neighbours, at a table you have your own space, in a han-koshitsu there are partitions, and a koshitsu has a door.
Most seat names are built with seki (席), seat: kauntā-seki, tēburu-seki, terasu-seki. The traditional ones, zashiki, horigotatsu and koshitsu, name the room or the floor instead. Here is the exchange at the door of a busy restaurant, host first.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いらっしゃいませ。何名様ですか。 | Irasshaimase. Nan-mei-sama desu ka. | Welcome. How many are you? |
| 二人です。 | Futari desu. | Two. |
| カウンター席でもよろしいですか。 | Kauntā-seki demo yoroshii desu ka. | Would the counter be all right? |
| テーブル席は空いていますか。 | Tēburu-seki wa aite imasu ka. | Is there a table free? |
| お好きな席へどうぞ。 | Osuki na seki e dōzo. | Please sit wherever you like. |
A floor plan of the seat types
The diagram shows a typical izakaya-style restaurant from above. Shoes-off areas are shaded pink, and pairs of shoes mark where you step out of them. Everything on the plain floor, the counter, the tables and the terrace, you reach with your shoes on.
| Seat | Reading | Shoes | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| カウンター席 | kauntā-seki | On | Solo diners, couples, watching the chef |
| テーブル席 | tēburu-seki | On | Most groups; the safe default |
| 座敷 | zashiki | Off | Groups happy on the floor, families with small children |
| 小上がり | koagari | Off | A small raised tatami area in a casual restaurant |
| 掘りごたつ席 | horigotatsu-seki | Off | The tatami feel without kneeling |
| 個室 | koshitsu | Depends on the room | Business dinners, private talk, parties |
| 半個室 | han-koshitsu | Depends on the room | Some privacy behind partitions or curtains |
| テラス席 | terasu-seki | On | Warm evenings; some terraces allow pets |
Koagari, literally a small step up, is the casual cousin of zashiki: a few tatami platforms along the wall of a neighbourhood restaurant.
Shoes off: zashiki versus horigotatsu
These two look alike from the door, a raised tatami floor with low tables, and that is why visitors confuse them. The difference is under the table. Zashiki (座敷), literally sit plus spread, a floor laid out for sitting, has a flat floor: you sit on a zabuton cushion, kneeling in seiza, cross-legged in agura, or with your legs to one side. A horigotatsu (掘りごたつ), literally a dug kotatsu, has a pit under the table, so you sit on the floor edge and let your legs hang down, as on a chair.
Both mean shoes off at the step. For guests with stiff knees, long legs or a long dinner ahead, horigotatsu is the kind choice, and restaurants advertise it as horigotatsu-shiki no koshitsu, a private room with a horigotatsu. At a zashiki, the host will often say ashi o kuzushite kudasai, literally please break down your legs, meaning sit however is comfortable.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 靴はここで脱ぐんですか。 | Kutsu wa koko de nugu n desu ka. | Do I take my shoes off here? |
| お履き物はこちらの靴箱にお願いします。 | Ohakimono wa kochira no kutsubako ni onegai shimasu. | Please put your shoes in this shoe locker. |
| 掘りごたつの席はありますか。 | Horigotatsu no seki wa arimasu ka. | Do you have horigotatsu seating? |
| どうぞ、足を崩してください。 | Dōzo, ashi o kuzushite kudasai. | Please, sit however is comfortable. |
| 正座が苦手なんです。 | Seiza ga nigate na n desu. | I'm not good at kneeling. |
Private rooms: koshitsu and han-koshitsu
Koshitsu (個室), literally an individual room, is a room for your group alone, usually with a sliding door. Kanzen koshitsu, a complete private room, promises walls and a door; han-koshitsu (半個室), literally a half private room, gives you partitions, a curtain or a bamboo blind but no door, so you will hear the next table. Private rooms may be zashiki, horigotatsu or chairs, so ask which.
Rooms are popular for business dinners and parties and often come with conditions: a koshitsu-ryō, room charge, a minimum number of people, a set course, or a two-hour limit written as ni-jikan-sei. Booking by phone has its own guide, and so does the seating order inside the room, who takes the kamiza. Here, a couple walks in on a Friday and asks at the door.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 個室は空いていますか。 | Koshitsu wa aite imasu ka. | Is a private room free? |
| 申し訳ございません、ただいま個室はすべて埋まっております。 | Mōshiwake gozaimasen, tadaima koshitsu wa subete umatte orimasu. | I'm very sorry, all the private rooms are taken at the moment. |
| 半個室でしたらご案内できます。 | Han-koshitsu deshitara go-annai dekimasu. | We can seat you in a semi-private booth. |
| 個室料はかかりますか。 | Koshitsu-ryō wa kakarimasu ka. | Is there a charge for the room? |
| 個室は二時間制となっております。 | Koshitsu wa ni-jikan-sei to natte orimasu. | Private rooms have a two-hour limit. |
Counter, table and shared tables
The counter is not second best. At sushi, tempura and yakitori places the kauntā-seki is where the cooking happens in front of you, and solo diners are usually seated there first. Tables are the safe default for groups; terrace seats are seasonal and close in rain or cold. Two more requests are worth knowing: madogiwa, by the window, and oku, at the back, quieter and away from the door.
At busy lunch spots, staff may ask whether you mind aiseki (相席), literally together seat, sharing a table with strangers. You can say yes, or wait for a table of your own. A family with a toddler asks for what they need in the last line.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 窓際の席は空いていますか。 | Madogiwa no seki wa aite imasu ka. | Is there a seat by the window? |
| 奥の静かな席がいいです。 | Oku no shizuka na seki ga ii desu. | We'd like a quiet seat at the back. |
| 相席でもよろしいですか。 | Aiseki demo yoroshii desu ka. | Would you mind sharing a table? |
| はい、大丈夫です。 | Hai, daijōbu desu. | Yes, that's fine. |
| テーブルが空くまで待ちます。 | Tēburu ga aku made machimasu. | We'll wait until a table is free. |
| 子ども用の椅子はありますか。 | Kodomo-yō no isu wa arimasu ka. | Do you have a child's chair? |
Beyond the basics: kin'en, kitsuen and the 2020 law
Older guidebooks tell you to expect kin'en-seki (禁煙席), non-smoking seats, and kitsuen-seki (喫煙席), smoking seats, with staff asking which you want. That changed with the revised Health Promotion Act, in full force since 1 April 2020: restaurants are now non-smoking indoors in principle. Kin'en is literally forbid smoke; kitsuen shares its first kanji with kissaten, a coffee shop, and means taking in smoke.
Smoking indoors is still possible in a few set ways, each marked by a sign at the entrance. Nobody under 20, customer or staff, may enter a smoking area, and some local governments, Tokyo among them, add stricter rules. If you smoke, the question is no longer which seat but whether there is a room at all.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 喫煙所はありますか。 | Kitsuen-jo wa arimasu ka. | Is there a smoking area? |
| 店内は全席禁煙となっております。 | Tennai wa zenseki kin'en to natte orimasu. | Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside. |
| Sign | Reading | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 全席禁煙 | zenseki kin'en | No smoking anywhere; the most common sign |
| 喫煙専用室あり | kitsuen senyō-shitsu ari | A closed smoking room; no food or drink inside |
| 加熱式たばこ専用喫煙室あり | kanetsu-shiki tabako senyō kitsuen-shitsu ari | Heated tobacco only; eating and drinking allowed there |
| 喫煙可能室あり | kitsuen kanō-shitsu ari | Smoking with food allowed; small places that existed before 2020 |
Spoken reality: what staff say and what you say
Staff speak set, polite keigo: nan-mei-sama, oseki e go-annai shimasu, shōshō omachi kudasai. You do not need to match it. Plain desu and masu with a smile is exactly right from a customer, and short answers are normal: kauntā de daijōbu desu, the counter is fine.
Two habits help. Hold up fingers as you say the number; staff do it too. And when the restaurant is full, you may be asked to write your name on a list by the door and wait to be called. Here is the rest of a typical exchange.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| お席へご案内します。 | Oseki e go-annai shimasu. | I'll show you to your seat. |
| ただいま満席です。少々お待ちいただけますか。 | Tadaima manseki desu. Shōshō omachi itadakemasu ka. | We're full right now. Could you wait a little? |
| どのくらい待ちますか。 | Dono kurai machimasu ka. | How long is the wait? |
| お座敷とテーブル、どちらがよろしいですか。 | Ozashiki to tēburu, dochira ga yoroshii desu ka. | Would you prefer zashiki or a table? |
| テーブルでお願いします。 | Tēburu de onegai shimasu. | A table, please. |
| カウンターで大丈夫です。 | Kauntā de daijōbu desu. | The counter is fine. |
Common mistakes when choosing a seat
Stepping onto tatami in shoes or slippers. The raised floor looks like a stage rather than a room, so visitors walk up without thinking. Shoes stay below the step, and toilet slippers, if the restaurant has them, never go on tatami. Step up in socks.
Saying kinen for kin'en. Run the two syllables together and kin'en-seki becomes kinen, commemoration, as in kinen shashin, a souvenir photo. Pause slightly after the n: kin, en.
Choosing zashiki for guests who cannot sit on the floor. Two hours of kneeling is hard even for many Japanese people. Ask for horigotatsu or a table when older guests or long-legged visitors are coming.
Assuming a private room is free of charge. Many are, but some add koshitsu-ryō or a time limit. Ask before sitting down, not when the bill arrives.
Confusing aite imasu and suite imasu. Both are written 空いています. Aite imasu means a seat or room is free; suite imasu means a place is uncrowded. Koshitsu wa aite imasu ka asks about a room, while kyō wa suite imasu ne remarks that it is quiet today.