Ultimate guide to izakaya

Izakaya come in many shapes and sizes – there are the large chains such as Torikizoku which seem to dot every train station; small, hole-in-the-wall family-run establishments; more upscale establishments (often with private dining rooms); and everything in between.

Each izakaya often specialises in a certain thing, with the exterior usually giving small clues as to what. Plumes of smoky air and the smell of charcoal often means skewers; a sake barrel outside or a ball of cedar wood means a wide selection of nihonshu and snacks to go with it; a painting of a fish somewhere points to good seafood...

It’s not the done thing to just walk into a place and grab a seat – instead say ‘sumimasen’ (‘excuse me’) when entering, and let the staff know how many people will be in your party by holding up that amount of fingers. Wait until they guide you to a table; don’t just sit down wherever you want, unless they explicitly gesture to do so.

Not all proprietors will be keen to guide you through the menu, especially at smaller izakaya, the staff of which tend to only speak Japanese. Order a beer to start (‘toriaezu, nama kudasai’). After that, you can either struggle through Google Translate for food options, point to whatever someone next to you is having, or leave it up to the staff by saying ‘ryori wa omakase shimasu’. Just don’t forget to set an upper price limit if you’re on a budget (say ‘made ni onegai shimasu’ after your budget; for instance ‘sanzen-en made ni onegai shimasu’ if your budget is ¥3,000).

Go ahead and order what you like, but be prepared to share: there’s no bigger mood-killer than someone hogging their own plate of food when everything else has been put in the middle.

Remember there’s often a cover charge called otoshi (お通し) that is automatically tacked onto your bill and is usually a few hundred yen per person. To make up for it, you generally get served a little tidbit as soon as you’ve ordered your first drink.

Known as nomihodai (all-you-can-drink), tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) or, if you’re feeling gluttonous, tabenomihodai (all-you-can-eat-and-drink), this is the option of choice for those coming to izakaya in larger groups looking to get sloshed. If you drink a lot, and quickly, it’s usually a better deal than ordering individual drinks.

Finally, when paying, note that it’s uncommon for izakaya to allow you to split the bill and everyone pay separately unless you’ve explicitly asked for it at the start. If with a group of friends best to bring cash. The normal way is to simply divide the total by the amount of people; if people arrived later or left earlier, they’ll be expected to throw in roughly the price of their drinks and otoshi. If you feel you’ve paid too much, just figure out a way for someone to buy you drinks at the nijikai (afterparty).