You are learning making a reservation: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (reservation request structure), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Tempura Kondo (近藤), Ginza — one of Tokyo's most celebrated tempura counters. Eight seats. Three months' wait. The telephone reservation is the first ritual: precise, polite, complete.
Tempura Kondo is on the eighth floor of a Ginza building. Chef Fumio Kondo is in his late sixties and has been perfecting tempura for over forty years. The batter is made with ice-cold water. The oil temperature changes with each ingredient. The vegetables are sliced to precise thicknesses that vary by season.
Getting a table requires a phone call, weeks in advance. The stranger dials.
「はい、天ぷら近藤でございます。」 A composed voice. The stranger takes a breath. 「あの、予約をしたいのですが。」
「ありがとうございます。何名様でしょうか。」 — 「二名で。来週の金曜日、七時はいかがでしょうか。」
A pause while she checks. 「少々お待ちください。」 A moment. 「ご用意できます。お名前をいただけますか。」
He gives his name. Spells it. 「よろしくお願いします！」 She reads the booking back. Confirmed. Eight words of Japanese have secured the finest tempura counter in Tokyo.