How do you say "Do I buy the ticket first?" in Japanese?

Name: You Sat Down at the Ramen Counter and Nobody Is Taking Your Order. You Missed the Machine by the Door.
Uploaded: 2026-09-04T06:16:10Z
Duration: 19 s
Description: Learn to say 食券は先ですか？ (shokken wa saki desu ka?) — Do I buy the ticket first?. A 30-second Japanese lesson for travelers from Kōfuku.

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You Sat Down at the Ramen Counter and Nobody Is Taking Your Order. You Missed the Machine by the Door.

To say Do I buy the ticket first? in Japanese, say 食券は先ですか？ (shokken wa saki desu ka?).

You sat down at the ramen counter and nobody is taking your order. You are not being ignored. You missed the machine by the door.

食券は先ですか？ shokken wa saki desu ka? Do I buy the ticket first?

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In this video

食券は先ですか？ shokken wa saki desu ka? Do I buy the ticket first?
すみません、食券は先ですか？ sumimasen, shokken wa saki desu ka? Excuse me, do I buy the ticket first?

Kanji in this phrase

食券: しょっけん
先: さき
券売機: けんばいき

Why this phrase

Small ramen, soba and gyudon shops do not take your order from a person at all. You buy the meal from a ticket vending machine on the way in, and the little paper ticket is your order. The move nobody explains is what happens next: you buy it, you sit down, and you put the ticket on the counter in front of you face up, and staff come and take it. You do not reach across and hand it to anyone.