Etiquette question: sharing food

Hello! My husband and I are planning a trip to Japan. We are in the habit of sharing our meals, and I was wondering if this practice is somewhat frowned upon in Japan?

My husband has decided he wants to sample at least three different ramen shops at Tokyo Ramen Street, and whilst he might not have a problem polishing off three bowls, I'm afraid my stomach capacity isn't quite as impressive. I don't want to have to leave half the bowl uneaten because I simply can't fit any more in (and I have a feeling this might be considered rude). So my question is, is it acceptable to order just one bowl of ramen to share between the two of us?

Thank you so much in advance!

It's not rude to leave your ramen unfinished- ramen shops are busy, down-to-earth places, and it's unlikely the wait staff would even notice. I can't often finish an entire bowl of ramen, so I just do my best and leave what I can't eat.

While it's not unusual to share at some kinds of restaurants- pasta restaurants and izakayas are common ones, and staff at that kind of restaurant will bring small plates called torizara, usually at noodle restaurants people order a bowl each. It's kind of impractical for two people to eat from the same ramen bowl at the same time, since it's hard to do without someone dripping soup everywhere.

You could do it and take turns to avoid making a mess. but it would look about as unusual as two people eating soup from the same bowl in a restaurant in your home country. Feel free to do it if you want, it's pretty unlikely anyone will say anything to you, but I think you're better off ordering a bowl each.

Please ignore the last poster's advice, and don't "feel free to do it if you want." It's very rude - the staff might not make a fuss because they don't want to get into an awkward situation with someone who doesn't speak Japanese, but everyone in the shop will think you're rude.

Ramen is fairly inexpensive, so just order a bowl and leave what you can't eat.

Well, we're going to have to agree to differ there, Umami. I checked with my husband, who often eats at ramen shops before answering, and he doesn't think anyone would consider it rude, just weird.

How often do you share one order in your country? Often there is a min. order per person.
It is the same in Japan that restaurants don't want you take a seat free while they can be serving other customers who may be waiting to eat.
There are a lot of other selections in noodle bowel styles and tastes that you might like better than ramen, i.e. Champon. But if you don't want a full portion. order a small portion a la carte like Gyoza.
Also during lunch hours ramen shops often have half ramen & half fried rice or gyoza or other combination at a discounted price.
Order something, then you can leave unfinished as long as you pay for it

One more thing.
Most ramen shops are bustling and fast serving.
They are not a place to hang around in a leisurely manner any time of the day. If not crowded, avoid. It would take less than 20min. from enter, order, eat, pay and come out. So if you are not hungry, walk around and time your husband's chop stick skill.

So my question is, is it acceptable to order just one bowl of ramen to share between the two of us?

Actually this is something that we do all the time with our young daughter. Its a slightly different situation, but it goes to show that the staff is completely unfazed by it. That said, it's normal restaurant etiquette for each patron to order something.

the staff might not make a fuss because they don't want to get into an awkward situation with someone who doesn't speak Japanese, but everyone in the shop will think you're rude.

The staff will never make a fuss anyway even if you did speak Japanese, but in reality they could care less. And the other patrons won't notice what you do (or even batt an eye if they do).

Regardless, I would recommend that you and your husband each order different ramen and swap bowls part way through. That way you can try different types of ramen, eat as much as you like, and your husband can finish off the rest.

If 2 persons order 2 or more foods, yes, they can share.
取り皿もらえますか？
tori-zara morae-masu-ka?
(Can we have serving small dishes?)
As Sira said, it's usual in many restaurants that are not busy fast-food stores.
Although some ramen-restaurants are just busy fast-food stores.

And you can order small-sized ramen in some ramen-restaurants.

You can order
麺、少な目で or 少しだけ
men, sukuname-de / sukoshi-dake
(noodles, small quantity)
Altough maybe the price is not fall in some ramen-restaurants.

BTW, to leave unfinished has NO PROBLEM, but it's a bit rude to food ingredients, chef and so on.
In Japanese, it's called mottainai.
Ah, it's just quite digression.(x_x;

And I always think the ramen restaurants sould supply very small-size ramens for sample!

I agree that there is an unwritten law that all adults order something. I know some restaurants that even avoid foreign tourists just because they try to get away without ordering anything. And while many may leave their food, the chef won't really be happy, plus it's not good for the Earth's environment to drain down the leftovers.

Besides asking to see if they have small portions and simple plates, the cheapest ramen is usually the most simple ones that don't make you too full. At places big enough to have tables rather than just a bar counter, you can also get away with ordering just a drink for yourself rather than food.

Anyway, try to spend money if you are occupying their seat. It will make you look handsome ;) It is not always a rule, but it's "etiquette."

Thank you all for your responses. Personally, I'm not a big fan of leaving food uneaten - I sort of assumed it would be considered rude because if I were the chef, I wouldn't be happy if my patrons only ate half of their order either. But I wasn't aware there would be small items on the menu, or even smaller portions of the ramen itself. I will order those - seems like a good solution to this problem!

Thanks again to all!

I just remembered that I do usually do as Amazinga suggested, which is to walk around or simply wait outside, not only when my family members are eating ramen but soup noodles in general.

If it's a "bar," he will/suppoed to take no time to eat. So walk around and check out the neighborhood so that you can give him new tips for sightseeing when he comes out.

If it's "table" seats, he might want to/can hang aroung for a beer or two. Then you can sit for a coke without ordering food.

This is very interesting question: Basically I agree with the previous posters as for the etiquette at the present time.

But I think it may change, or “small portion” might become more and more popular in many types of restaurants including ramen shops in the future. Obviously, leaving the food in the restaurants (and at home also) is considered to be inappropriate, especially in Japan. And as the OP says, the food provided by the restaurants is sometimes too much for some people (sadly, I rarely experienced that kind of feeling :). So, if the motto of the restaurants is “customer first”, they should provide appropriate volumes depending on the individuals. If you can use some Japanese, you might request, as ajapaneseboy said, small volume of ramen, like “Ryou wo herasite moraemasenka?” (Could you serve small size?). In fact, many Japanese food is said to originates from the request of the quest, like Katsu Curry. Even at present, most steak restaurants in Japan provide various volumes of steak. I know some ramen restaurants do the same, but I think most of them do not provide “half-sized” ramen. I hope more restaurants serve half size in the near future.

Anyway, you can share a bowl of ramen in so-called the “food court” in big supermarkets or in the cafeteria in Universities, if they are not so crowded.