Iced tea versus hot tea

How do I say Iced Tea if I'm ordering in a restaurant like McDonanlds and I want to make sure I don't get hot tea?

You say "ice tea"- they use the English words here. Make sure it is on the menu first as you will not be able to get it if it isn't. Iced tea is a common menu item in Japanese restaurants though, and places like McDonald's also have English menus so you can check.

If you just ask for "tea", you will almost certainly be asked "hot or ice?" again they use the English words and you should be able to easily recognise them.

My kids and I generally got served cold water when we lived in Japan but my wife, who is Japanese, got hot tea. If you want something cold usually cold water is your cheapest choice.

"Ice tea" in Japanese is pronounced exactly like the English words so you're unlikely to have a problem.

But if you're in McDonald's, I'm sure you'll be looking at an illustrated menu, so all you have to do is to point at it. Take a look at their link and you'll see ice tea and hot tea at the very right-hand bottom.
http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/menu/regular/index.html

Also, do you have a phrase book? I usually point at my phrase book when I travel to places where I don't speak the language. Just for reference;
アイスティー iced tea
ホットティー hot tea

Thanks for you responses.I wasn't looking for something cheap, just want to order something healthier than soda, lemonade or milk shakes. I have several phrase books but it's always surprising how they lack some very basic phrases. They all tell me how to say "No" and "Thanks" but not one tells me how to say "No Thanks." Apparently it's "Kekko Desu" and not "Iie arigato." All of them tell me O-cha is tea but none tell me to just say Iced Tea.

I'm Japanese and I've never needed a Japanese phrase book, but for all the foreign countries I've traveled so far, I find that pocket size phrase books have the most appropriate words and phrases in them for short-term travelers.

For example, unfortunately we can't view the latter half of the following Pocket Japanese Dictionary, but from the looks of it it seems pretty handy.
http://www.flipkart.com/pocket-japanese-dictionary-yuki...

Pocket size phraze books and dictionaries are often sold at airports and touristical spots. I personanlly like the Berlitz series, because the phrases are also fun as reading material (especially the Dating chapter!), but any pocket size does it for me.

I wonder what other foreign visiters use.

"No Thanks." Apparently it's "Kekko Desu" and not "Iie arigato.

"Iie ariagto" would be a word for word literal translation of "no thanks", when translating words of different languages and grammer word for word translations are not exactly how it works. For example in Vietnamese the word for Camera literally translated word for word would be "machine that takes photos".

Any case, kekko desu is the Japanese version of "I'm fine", "It's cool, It's OK", or "No thanks".

So if you're ordering make sure it's an item menu. Which again would be written in katakana, and would pretty much "sound like" ice tea.

Usually you have your choice, Hot tea or if you want something cool, it's water, or they will have bottled green tea, if I recall is not called Iced Tea.

ExpressTrain, I think the OP knew all that about the language.

Btw, ice with water from the tap is free in Japan. Bottled green tea is usually available only through vending machines and stores, but ice bottled Oolong tea is usually served through the menu at restaurants. It's also a typical non-sweatened non-alcoholic beverage at bars.