itadakimasu and gochisosama

[lonna_senpai]

So do you say it to the waiter or waitress after your done eating and their going to take away your plate? Or like the sushi chief if your at the sushi bar? Or to the people at the register when you pay for the bill at a restaurant or do you give the bill money to the waiter or waitress normally?

(Sorry for all the questions....but what to do this right!)
Thanks

[Taurus]

I would say 'itadakimasu' to anybody who I'm eating with, and 'gochisosama deshita' to whoever has paid for the meal (after they pay the bill); or to anybody who made the meal (after finishing, if I'm round at a friend's house); or whoever served/made the meal (on my way out of the restaurant, if I'm at a restaurant).

In a recent lesson Peter-san also pointed out that you can also say 'gochisosama' to a friend *before* they pay the bill, to tease them into paying...

[Belton]

So do you say it to the waiter or waitress after your done eating and their going to take away your plate? Or like the sushi chief if your at the sushi bar? Or to the people at the register when you pay for the bill at a restaurant or do you give the bill money to the waiter or waitress normally?

(Sorry for all the questions....but what to do this right!)
Thanks

You can say gochisousama to the owner/cook in small establishments, I'm sure they'd appreciate the compliment. I've also managed conversation with them now and then.
Most if not all the places I've eaten you pay at a cash desk near the exit, not at the table. So I say it to the cashier. Maybe I don't eat in posh enough places!
Service is usually fast and the bill is left at your table when the food is brought and added to if you order extras. In izakaya style they keep track of what you've been ordering until you ask for the bill.
Also I can't remember the table being cleared while I was still at it. (except for more formal multi-course dining) In izakaya they clear away to make more room usually. I've only been hurried along once and that was near to closing time.

[toliveintokyo]

I agree that when I was in Tokyo, the chef / waiters were amazed and very grateful when I said gochisosama deshita to them.

Is there something else japanese say when they are finished eating. I noticed when I was in those "vending/ticket" restaurants (where you pay money into a machine and get a ticket) when the japanese left they said something very fast and undecipherable. Was this just an extremely slurred gochisosama deshita? I don't think I ever actually heard anyone say that phrase. In the same way that I never actually heard "Sumimasen" more like "Sumimass (holding the s a little).

Or is there something else that would of been said?

[Jessi]

I'm pretty sure what you heard was just an extremely slurred gochisosama deshita. When it's extremely slurred it might sound nothing like the original phrase

[salivia_baker]

It's sort of like grace in the Christian way without religious overtones.
Maybe a bit like Bon Appetite too.

I always understood it like that. Like Bon Appetite in French or Guten Appetit/Mahlzeit in German. I also have friends and family who cross semselfs before the meal like a silent prayer even when they're alone. I take itadakimasu as a mixture between those two.

[oskar2008]

Usually even eat alone I say Itadakimasu , so when my friend from Tokyo visit my country in restaurant I say automatically with not thinking same. And my friend really stay surprised. It not Bon Appetite, (Bon Appetite is limited only to eat) this is for all , food, drink any stuff etc when receive. My Tokyo friend say exactly this explanation.

And because no clear translation to some of west languages, just say.Use the phrase everyday. It work.


ゾラン

[Foniks]

I had dinner a few times recently with some Japanese friends in Tokyo - and I noticed that everyone of them said Itadakimasu before eating. But while I didn't think there were religious overtones, some of them would put their hands together and bow slightly while saying it...

[oskar2008]

Itadakimasu and palm together not connected with any religion

Palm together and saying Itadakimasu, it is nothing than humble (very humble) expression to say "I receive thanks"
You can receive food or anything other.
Women will be close palm every time.
(I remember this)

Do not think just use until become you usual.

[nihongojackie]

I lived in Japan two years and heard these words constantly. My students used them as well as the adults. Even if I offered my friend something I was eating they'd sing out "Itadakima~su!" before digging in.