Frequently Asked Questions

A service that translates restaurant menus into your language simply by taking a photo. Rather than swapping words, it conveys what each dish actually is, shows reference images, and supports you from ordering to paying — making dining abroad effortless.

Display and translation are available in 12 languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian. Original menus can often be read from other languages too. The service covers 50 countries and regions.

Both the web version (menupaan.com) and the iOS app are scheduled to launch on 31 July 2026. The web version runs in your browser with no installation required.

No. MENU-PAAN requires a free account to use. Once you register, you get the sign-up benefits — a free Pro-translation trial allowance and a free daily Lite-translation allowance — along with saving translation history and recording favourite dishes.

The billing unit is the "meal"; one unit translates up to five menu images together in a single operation. There is no monthly auto-billing (no subscription) — it is a one-time purchase model. Specific prices, units granted and validity periods are shown on the in-app pricing screens and in the Commercial Disclosures.

Yes. As a sign-up benefit you can try 3 meals of Pro translation, and Lite translation is free up to a set number of times each day (reset on Japan time). Some features are paid.

On the web, credit cards (via a processor such as Stripe); in the iOS app, Apple in-app purchase. Card numbers and other sensitive payment details are never stored on our servers.

As digital content, purchases are generally non-refundable. However, refunds may apply for a serious failure attributable to us, incorrect granting of units, or double charges. See Article 7 (Refund policy) of the Terms of Service for details and exclusions. Refunds for Apple in-app purchases follow Apple's procedures.

State-of-the-art AI translates with the dish's content, ingredients and preparation in mind. As automated AI translation, however, accuracy is not guaranteed; for important information we recommend checking against the original and with restaurant staff.

Illustrative images shown from the dish name to help you picture its look and taste. They are based on web search results and do not represent the exact dish served at the restaurant.

Rights in content you upload remain with you or the rightful owner (a menu itself may be the restaurant's copyrighted work; please use it within the scope of private use). AI-generated translations and descriptions are provided for personal, non-commercial use and may not be reproduced, redistributed or resold commercially. See Article 10 of the Terms of Service.

Yes. You can show staff an order screen of your chosen dishes, and display staff-facing phrases (e.g., "Could we have plates for sharing?") in multiple languages — so you can get from ordering to paying even without a shared language.

Yes — handwritten, brush-style and vertical menus are supported. We confirm at the start of scanning and use the most suitable method.

The cautions the Service shows about ingredients you have registered as ones you would rather avoid are reference information generated by AI. The Service does not provide any food-allergy detection or warning function. Because errors could have serious consequences, if you have a food allergy you must confirm directly with restaurant staff before eating. We accept no liability whatsoever for any allergic reaction, harm to health or other loss arising from any error, insufficiency or omission in the cautions, translations or other content we display, including where no display or warning was made at all (Article 12 of the Terms of Service).

At partner restaurants that publish menus using our restaurant-facing services (RESTO-PAAN, etc.), scanning the store code or QR code imports and displays that restaurant's menu in your language. Importing does not consume any "meals".

It is created and published by the partner restaurant and shown as-is; the restaurant is responsible for its accuracy and currency. Analysis tailored to your preferences and the ingredients you avoid is added as reference information only when you choose to run it (it is not intended to detect food allergies).

Information necessary to provide the service, and — only with your permission — an approximate location at translation time (rounded to a ~1 km grid) and anonymous dish-name data used to understand menu trends by area. See the Privacy Policy for details and purposes.

Our primary database and storage are located in Japan (Tokyo region). Some AI, authentication and hosting infrastructure may be provided by overseas providers (e.g., in the US), and data is transmitted abroad to that extent (Section 8 of the Privacy Policy).

Yes. You can change location permission at any time in your device settings. Core menu-translation features work even if you decline.

On first access we show a cookie-consent banner so you can accept or decline by category (necessary, analytics, etc.). You can change your choice at any time, and analytics runs only if you consent to analytics cookies.

Anytime from the settings screen — 12 languages, plus text size and appearance (theme) adjustments.

You can request account deletion from the in-app settings. Handling of data on deletion follows the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.