Japanese Lesson of the Week: Week #4.

Prefacing the section on "money" in our Lonely Planet pocket dictionary and phrase book is a paragraph regarding yen and purchases throughout Japan. It says that while credit / debit cards are slowly becoming an acceptable form of payment in restaurants and stores it is always a good idea to carry yen with you and to assume that credit / debit cards are not accepted, just to be on the safe side.

Something that we've learned from eating out while we've been here is that you don't pay at the table like at most sit-down American restaurants. Instead you go up to the counter near the front of the restaurant, they ring up your purchase (sometimes you will be provided with a receipt - otherwise they somehow know where you were sitting and ring you up accordingly), and you pay there.

When you're eating out in Japan you do not leave a tip. It is considered rude to leave a tip, as if you are implying that the server is beneath you, so you must give them some money to help them out.

All that being said, today we'll learn how to ask, "How much is it?"

• Ikura des ka

Ikura des ka means "How much is it?" If you were to write this out instead of say it, you would not add a question mark like you do in the English language. "Ka" takes the place of the question mark; "Ikura des ka" is correct, "Ikura des ka?" is incorrect.

PS. The feature's name has been changed from "Japanese Word of the Week" to "Japanese Lesson of the Week". I'm going through the past four weeks and changing the label, graphic, and title entry now so bear with me until it is done.

Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law for helping me out with a new title. I'm sorry I missed you on Skype yesterday - boo!