JJapan Trips

Foreigners getting charged more at restaurants?

  • October 28, 2025

Wondering how common this is. I was in Kyoto and stumbled across a small coffee shop near the station. The vibe was off the moment we stepped inside – felt unwelcome. We had a menu shoved in our faces, asked to order and pay upfront. The coffee was kinda pricey but figured it was due to being in a touristy area.

I went online and read a ton of poor reviews. Turns out the English menu prices are higher than the Japanese one. The owner seems to hate having foreigners and frequently kicks them out. Locals don’t have to pay upfront either.

Has anyone had a similar experience anywhere else?

Edit: The coffee was mediocre btw…

The rest of my trip was fantastic!! Everyone else was very welcoming and helpful.

by SwiftCEO

38 comments

  1. I only hear about that here on Reddit; never had that experience personally (I live in Tokyo-to, not the 23. Been here over two years).

  4. I’ve seen 3 restaurants charge more on their English menu compared to the Japanese one across 5 trips (popular chicken skewer place in ginza, ramen near shinjuku gyouen, another yakitori place in kyoto), I’d say it’s uncommon but definitely not unheard of. Always check the cost of an item in both languages whenever you see a kiosk.

  5. Wow just read the reviews of the cafe and their responses are actually sickening and disgusting (also stupid, why bother running a business if you only want to accept a certain type of customer?)

    I don’t live in Japan but I visit frequently and I’m happy to say I haven’t experienced blatant discrimination like this. Sorry you had to experience that, but clearly they’re not well.

  6. Be careful at Tokyo bars too, if they offer an English menu, check to see if the Japanese prices are different!

  8. I was just in Tokyo, and the price on the menu in both languages were identical and whatI paid for. At least among all chains and some local shops.

  9. While not the same, I have found a number of restaurants offering different menus – for example sushi restaurants omitting whale from the English version of the menu.

  10. is there a list of restaurant/cafe that welcome tourists for cities like tokyo, osaka, etc?

  11. I feel like in Kyoto it’s more common … I’m living in Japan for a while now and haven’t seen that outside of Kyoto so far … well but I also usually order from the Japanese menu

  12. I’ve never experienced this. I’ve been visiting Japan every year for the last 11 years.

  13. Their sign is in English if they don’t want foreigners coming, they shouldn’t have signs in English.

  14. These owners seem to be total assholes from their comments, but just for reference for other places, some things to consider:

    1. Tax is charged less when it’s takeout compared to eating in, so once you ask for something to go, you can’t stay there

    2. If people are going to take seats, everyone needs to order

    3. If kids can’t sit down and be quiet, some places are just not appropriate

    4. Some places are just not appropriate for working on a laptop. A chain coffee shop is your best bet

    5. Read the room. If it’s a quiet chill place, your large group who wants to chat excitedly is probably out of place

    Again, this place in particular is 100% at fault for providing shameful service anywhere in the world, but especially in Japan, but hopefully some of the above tips can avoid problems at other establishments

  15. Based on the reviews (and the owner’s replies), it almost seems like the point of the cafe is to be rude? Very strange behavior, but some of the replies are very funny.

    Edit: they seem to hate Koreans, especially. Yikes.

  16. From my understanding this practice is becoming more common in tourist areas. Foreigners will get another menu with different prices. I think the general growing anti-foreigner sentiment is likely the cause for your bad experience. Especially in a place like Kyoto where it’s overrun with tourists, you’re likely to encounter more people like that.

  17. One time I got charged 500yen for water even though I’m sure it was tap water in Tokyo. That’s about it.

  18. We felt this happened to us in a sushi restaurant in Omicho market. We got given a plate up front to use for reasons and when looking around none of the locals had the same plate. It got counted as a plate and added into the bill but honestly we weren’t bothered, some of the nigiri was only ¥150 and it was super fresh and well prepared. We still felt like we were getting too good of a deal.

  19. Sometimes the prices on the English menu are higher because on the English menu, taxes are included while on the Japanese menu they are not (or in small print).

  21. I would say that you’re probably just seeing the case of Japanese prices being without tax and English menu having a tax included in the price.

  22. Seen this in a ramen shop in Tokyo. I used the Japanese menu and ordered in Japanese, so got charged regular price. The markup isn’t bad anyway.

  23. I’m living close to this restaurant and I’m tempted to go there just to see their reaction lmao

  24. The only place in Japan I’ve encountered rude staff was in Kyoto, I think they feel the full brunt of overtourism and a lot of them seem to be very pissed off about it.

    (Note: I’ve been to Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, Takayama, Osaka, Hakone, Kawaguchiko, and Kyoto was the only place I experienced very rude staff)

  25. I never had that problem in the 3 months I was there recently; and not encountered it on there previous visits over the years.

    We were always given an English menu (in restaurants/cafes that had English menus) but we also scanned the Japanese menu. In some case, the Japanese menu had more items on it but the prices between the English menu and the Japanese menu were exactly the same. We usually ordered off the Japanese menu and staff weren’t concerned.

    Some izakaya have signs posted behind the door or somewhere visible (in Japanese and English), regarding a one drink minimum order per person.

    Some cafes also had a one drink minimum order per person. I did get caught out in one instance – went inside to tell my partner where I was going, while she ordered a coffee. I didn’t get a chance to leave and they were insisting I buy a drink. I t was never my intention to stay. That was rude and annoying.

  26. It’s rare if you stick with Tokyo but it happens from time to time. And it’s not against the law to be racist in Japan unfortunately.

  27. How can I see the owner’s responses to the reviews? They are not showing up when I look at the reviews.

  28. In Kyoto I went to lots of places that are friendly and even have signs up welcoming tourists. Plenty didn’t have a touristy vibe either.

  30. Had the opposite experience at the restaurants under the Tokyo Station. As a vegetarian, I asked at most restaurants if they served. They tried hard to understand, and replied in the negative. Finally found one that has only one vegetarian dish, and they were very polite and courteous. Even explaining how to eat etc.

  32. ive never had it actually happen but then again im rarely ever mistaken for a tourist at all

  33. Yeah, sometimes they have different prices on the English and Japanese Menu. I think it’s fine to leave if you’ve just sat down and haven’t even touched anything yet. I’ve done it a few times. They’ll get over it and maybe consider that their attitude is scaring people away.

  34. some ppl are racist. if I see a different menu with different pricing… I walk. not everyone deserves your time…. dont support racist stores and let them loose in revenue

  36. I’m actually very surprised to see this! I went there last June and it was fine, the staff was very friendly and welcoming, we were also not required to pay upfront or anything. Wild how experiences can vary but based on all the crazy reviews I think I just got really lucky!

  37. I’m sorry to hear that. How sad that Japan has become like some poor developing countries. Our values are that we don’t cheat, we treat guests with respect, and we don’t need tips to offer good service. Maybe those days are gone.

  38. We were charged extra as a foreigner for one somewhat popular restaurant. I could tell because the yen on the Japanese menu was about 100 yen less per item.

    The restaurant was Mukai in Tokyo. It is an alternative to tsujihan which is very packed.

    Price wise it is still reasonable, 100 yen extra is not even a dollar. And the staff were still nice and pleasant, food was also good.

    I just noticed that there was a slight upcharge; they also messed up our receipt and charged us more than we ordered and we caught it before we left. Something to be wary of if you get Mukai in the future.

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