You don’t need to read Japanese to order sushi well in Kyoto. You need to recognize a handful of characters — maybe eight or nine — and the rest resolves itself once you’re at the counter, since a knowledgeable chef is usually happy to guide you through anything unfamiliar once they see you’ve made the effort to learn even a little.
The basics worth memorizing
A short list covers most of what you’ll actually encounter at a standard counter or on a conveyor belt. 鮪 (maguro) is tuna, one of the most common orders and a good baseline for comparing quality between places. サーモン (sāmon) is salmon, almost always written in katakana rather than its kanji (鮭), since raw salmon sushi is a relatively modern addition to the menu in Japan. 海老 (ebi) is shrimp, 烏賊 (ika) is squid, 蛸 (tako) is octopus, 鰻 (unagi) is eel, and 雲丹 (uni) is sea urchin. With just these seven, you can recognize the large majority of what shows up on a standard menu or rotating belt.
Why katakana is your friend
Japanese writing uses three systems, and katakana — the angular, blocky script used for salmon and many newer or imported ingredients — tends to be visually simpler than kanji, which makes it easier to spot the pattern even before you can actually read it. If a menu word looks square and repetitive rather than dense and pictographic, it’s very likely katakana, and it’s worth training your eye to notice this distinction early, since it narrows down what you’re looking at even when you don’t know the specific word yet.
A few extras that expand your range
Beyond the core seven, a handful of additional characters open up more of the menu. 玉子 (tamago) is a sweet egg omelet, often used as a palate cleanser or a way to judge a chef’s basic skill, since it’s deceptively hard to make well. 鰤 (buri) is yellowtail, richer and fattier than tuna. 鰹 (katsuo) is bonito, often served seared. And 中トロ (chū-toro) or 大トロ (ō-toro) mark the fattier, more expensive cuts of tuna belly — worth recognizing if you want to order strategically rather than by accident paying for the most premium cut on the menu.
Reading beyond the fish itself
A couple of non-fish characters are worth knowing too. 巻き (maki) indicates a roll, useful for distinguishing rolled items from plain nigiri on a menu. And 握り (nigiri) itself is worth recognizing, since some menus separate their nigiri and roll sections under these headers, which helps you navigate faster once you know roughly what section you’re looking at.
Where to actually use this: Sushi Tetsu, Pontocho
Sushi Tetsu, tucked into Kyoto’s narrow Pontocho dining alley, is the place to put this into practice. It’s Edomae-style, with genuinely fresh fish, and the kind of counter where knowing even a handful of characters changes the experience — you can follow along with what’s being prepared rather than relying entirely on the chef’s recommendations translated secondhand. The quality speaks for itself regardless, but being able to recognize maguro or uni on the counter in front of you adds something a fully translated menu simply can’t replicate.
A practical way to practice before you go
Writing the seven core characters on small flashcards, or using a spaced-repetition app for even fifteen minutes a day in the week before your trip, is enough to make recognition automatic by the time you’re actually at the counter. You’re not learning to read Japanese — you’re learning to pattern-match a small, fixed set of shapes, which is a much smaller task than it might sound like at first.
None of this requires fluency or even real literacy — it’s closer to learning a handful of icons than learning a language. But that small effort changes a sushi counter from something you navigate by pointing and hoping into something you can actually read, at least well enough to order with real confidence.