Etiquette while dining

Hi, just a culture-related question here.

Where I come from (Malaysia), we tend to share our food while dining out - pass a dish from one person to another, so we can try as many things as possible. It's quite common to order just 1 meal and share it between 2 people.

Now my mum and I are going to be in Tokyo for a week, and there are many things we want to try - and we don't want to end up over-stuffing ourselves.

So my question is, is it socially acceptable to go into a restaurant and just order 1 meal to be shared between 2 people? Is this done at all?

For example - we want to eat at Katsukura (have read a whole bunch of rave reviews about the Tonkatsu there)... is it acceptable to only order 1 Katsudon set? Or does it vary depending on how posh the restaurant is? We are budget travellers - planning to go to places like Tenya Tendon, Sakura house (for Okonomiyaki), Kyushu Jangara Ramen etc.

Just want to find out so we don't violate some unspoken social norms.

Thanks in advance!

I don`t think that somebody would be sored if you are sharing one dish.
In an izakaya is this way of eating normal. You order many different small portions if food and share it.
You can do that with nearly every food and nobody would complain about it.
but I don`t know how it is handled in expensive western cuisine.
But even if you go to Yoshinoya and order just one Gyu-don would be no problem.
Many japanese people do so.

Thanks a lot dotcom.

That's a relief. :)

No problem in most ordinary restaurants from low to high medium priced places.
Some hotel restaurants and high end places have cover charges per person so if you share dishes, you still have to pay the cover charges which sometimes could be quite expensive. In some places these cover charges are often absorbed into the entree price so once you order separately, they disappear.

Chad

In Japan, even in the highest class restaurants, sharing a dish is very common. You can make a circle with your two hands to gesture for an extra plate, or ask for an "o-tori-zara." The waiter will often ask where he should put the meal, in which you are free to have it placed in "the middle."

Just keep in mind that you are expected to order at least one menu per person. For example, if it's a cafe, one person can order a dish of pasta while the other person settles for just a cup of coffee, and the two can share the pasta. At a tonkatsu restaurant, perhaps you should ask for something light if the other person doesn't want to order something as heavy as a katsudon.

Thank you Chad and Uco.

Will keep what you said in mind.