Not sure if this is a dumb question, but when travelling in a group, is it common to split the bill in Japan?
Or would you just have one party member pay and then settle it between you?
I’m sure some places you order and pay and then go sit down Etc so that’s easier if there’s a group of you, so you can pay for your own meal. But I’m curious when it’s table service…
Thanks for your help !
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As far as I know it’s not too difficult to have the bill split. Of course much easier if everyone only order one thing so each can say what they got and pay just for that, or if it’s shared food you can just say split equal for each.
Oh and some places you would order/pay in a vending machine when you enter, so that is obviously not a problem.
When I lived there, we would split the bill, but it was pretty much all cash based (edit: i.e., we weren’t asking the cashier to split credit card payments). If it wasn’t a fancy or western restaurant, we’d often order plates for the table that everyone would share. At the end of the night, we’d split the bill equally, adjusting if someone at the table didn’t drink alcohol. It was more about equally sharing the cost of the experience than being too concerned with paying only for what each person ate. (Edit again: coworkers at semi-casual lunch would tell the cashier what we ate and they’d ring us up separately. Tax is included and there’s no tipping, so that makes things easier than if you’re in the US.)
It’s common but don’t be surprised if they refuse. Even if they don’t, it’s still a nuisance to split the tab and make sure all items have been billed for when you’re a large party and there’s also a language barrier. I’d encourage you to avoid it in places where you order multiple items per diner or share a bunch of small plates.
As mentioned above, it’s not very popular to split the bill at the cashier unless it’s something super simple like two items. Having one person pay for all and using an app like Splitwise etc. for bookkeeping is one way to do it.
It might just be easier to have one or two people put in the money and figure out amongst yourselves how much you each owe and just pay them back whether that’s picking up another bill or Venmo or whatever. Everytime I’ve been out with a group while living here we’ve always just all put in money collectively so you could do that too.
Tokyo resident here. My colleagues and I go out for lunch every day (3, 4 sometimes 5 of us) and always just pay separately for what we ate, on the way out, at the cashier. Pretty much everyone else also does this at lunchtime.
You can do this easily if it’s a simple meal with one or two items each, and you will have no problem in most places. If you have a large bill with several items or lots of drinks, then it’s more common to have one person pay and sort it out later. Don’t expect always to be able to pay with a credit card at smaller or local places. Some places also accept cards only at night or for larger amounts.
Some places make it easy, others don’t allow it – you can always ask the host who seats you or your server.
In my experience, getting seperate tickets for one table is easy if it’s allowed and started before anyone orders food.
Otherwise I usually pay and let my friends reimburse me.
IME it varies by restaurant. Some will happily do it, others will staunchly say no.
Some places would ask if outright u would like a bill split when u bring the bill slip to the cashier. The more fancy places usually wouldn’t ask and most wouldn’t do it
When with friends, usually one of us pays the complete sum, and then we split afterwards (you get a receipt). It is much less a hassle and is faster.
Ask: “Besu besu dekimasuka?” If the waitress responds positively, then yes, they will separate the bill. If they respond negatively, then no. Most places can split it.
For anything that’s an even split we usually just have one person pay and someone keeps tabs then work it out at the end of the trip. For anything that’s easy to pay separately then you can just pay separately though.
During my last group trip, we used Splitwise to calculate what we owed to each other. You can itemize the receipts on there if your members are ordering different items. At the end of the trip, you have the option to pay each other through Venmo or other means.
Yes, it’s usually easy and common to split the bills. Just say “betsu-betsu onegaishimas” and they will handle the rest.
The easiest, fastest and increasingly common way is to pay by PayPay and use the split bill option in the app
edit: Sorry, I didn’t notice it’s the travel sub. The above is only true for the residents of course