First of all, what’s your image of izakaya?
“食べて、飲んで、賑わって。
美味しいお酒と、たっぷりのご馳走。
どこか懐かしい、居酒屋の賑わいがここにあります。”
This a slogan of one chain izakaya, it means:
“eat, drink,having fun. complete enjoy delicious wine,
Izakaya is the memory arousing and make everyone exciting place it is! “
There are many IZAKAYA in Japan and you can see izakaya at anywhere. Izakaya is one of the important food cultures in Japan. For their Office workers, have you ever enter to there but you don’t know how to order?
There usually have no English’s menu and pictures can reference, so you may not order the special or everyone will order at the izakaya. Izakaya’s menu will have same dishes or wine kinds, but every izakaya has their own special menu.I think that for foreigners especially it is a great way to try the variety of Japanese foods.” – See more at
If you need help, izakaya is friendly and social places where it is completely you can ask for help or just order the same things who sit beside you. Izakaya usually full of Japanese office workers to have a break at night or have a meeting with co-workers or friends gathering. In izakaya is another rules that everyone knows, for example, at the company gathering who enter the company latest should take the respond of order and full the wine for others, everyone will relaxing to chatting and smoking, or act very out of orders. You can see many of Japanese different culture at the izakaya. If you miss the chance to experience, you will very regret. So please experience this special culture and enjoy the normal nightlife at Japan.
Here have some tips for you when you go to izakaya.You can easily order whatever you want next time to izakaya.
First of all, they will take the drinks order at the beginning.
If you don’t know what to order at first, just order a beer. Japan’s beer is very famous around the world.(KIRIN or ASAHI, Sapporo, Suntory,) shochu (a Japanese distilled beverage), sake (rice wine), whiskey or any alcohol drink.
Japanese always order 500ml beer at the first(とりあえずビール！)「ジョッキ」, izakayaand they will keep drinking till last order.Izakaya also has nihonshu as well, those have high alcohol. You can try the most popular or just ask for the suggestion for choose.
picture from:http://hitosara.com/0006065615/recommend.html
Furthermore, izakaya have happy hours for alcohols drinks.The discount will be at 17:00~19:00.If you enter at these time you can drink more and pay less money than another time.Or you can order 2hours limited all you can drink course.
The menu will be like this kinds of wines.
・ビール: beer (KIRIN, ASAHI, Sapporo, Suntory,)(SIZE:「ジョッキ」or「瓶」)
・梅酒: Umeshu: popular in women
・ワイン: wine: red wine and white wine
・サワー: Sawa: will add with fruits
・カクテル: cocktail
・ソフトドリンク: soft drinks(cola, green tea, orange juice, oolong tea)
・チューハイ:chu hai
・ハイボール：highball
・日本酒：nihonshu（have four drink ways:「ロック」（lock），come from english「on the lock」=add ice.「水割り」=add water.「ソーダ割り」，nihonshu add soda.「お湯割」=nihonshu add hot water, it’s very suit drink in winter.
There are some popular izakaya dishes you should try!
【 ビールと一緒に旨い！ 】【 eat with beer will be delicious! 】
①枝豆（えだまめ）e-da-ma-me
This dish will be very suited to eat with beer/niohnnshu/sake.
All Japanese will order at first, and average they ordered 3~5balls of this, can see this dish should be ordered at once!
②唐揚げ：ka-ra-age→fried chicken
This dish will be the most popular combine with beer!
Because fried dishes is the spirit if izakaya. Different from American and Korea fried chicken, Japanese fried chicken is made by 「less flour」, so Japanese chicken will taste oil light, if you don’t like thick flour fried way of fried chicken, you must try this!
the dressing will be a yellow lemon and green shallot
③軟骨の唐揚げ（なんこつのからあげ） nan-ko-tsu-no-ka-ra-a-ge→fried chicken cartilage
This dish is my favor at izakaya, tough the quantity is less, but I promise you will love it!
it’s dressing just like karaage, also fit to beer!
④わさびたこ：wasabi tako→octopus dressing with wasabi (spicy)
Wasabi have spicy taste and eat with juicy raw octopus will definitely provoke the appetite,
good choice with beer and sake!
⑤串焼き盛り合せ（6本）塩 or タレ：kusiyakinomoriawase (with slat or sauce)
usually will have:
1.ハート heart
2.つくね meat ball
3.ムネ breast
4.モモ legs
5.カワ skin
6.レーバー liver
【 ちょっとおつまみ 】【 side dishes】
①キムチ盛り合わせ:kimuchi no moriawase
②ねぎ塩マグロ: negisio maguro→salt tuna with green shallot
This suit few or two go to izakaya, because it always have about 5~6 Pieces, but it’s very delicious.
③厚焼き玉子:atsuyaki tamago→egg fried with chicken stock, and eat with white carrot and soy sauce
④ポテトサラダ: potato salad
⑤塩キャベツ:siokyabetsu→salt with cabbage sometimes have seaweed or sesame oil
After eating so many oily foods, you can order this to fresh your tasty.
【 肉料理 】【 main dish 】【 meat 】
①肉豆腐（にくとうふ） ni-ku-to-fu→beef cook with tofu and stock, green shallot,onion.
Nikutofu is the family dishes, Japanese will cook this for their dinner, so it will always show at the menu. We, backpacker, have no chance eat dinner with Japanese family, you should try this at the izakaya.
②カルパッチョ ka-ru-pa-ccho→Italian pronunciation: [karˈpattʃo]) is a dish of raw meat or fish (such as beef, veal, venison, salmon or tuna), thinly sliced or pounded thin and served mainly as an appetizer. refer to WIKI
This dish is for people can’t order “moriawase”,or less than 3 people’s gathering.
③レバニラ炒め（レバニラいため）re-ba-ni-ra-i-ta-me→Chicken liver with garlic chives stir fried
【 海の幸 】【 main dish 】【 fish】
①刺身の盛り合わせ（さしみのもりあわせ）sa-shi-mi-no-mo-ri-a-wa-se
If you order sake today, sashimi will be great “otsumami” . Besides, you can order the sashimi you like or you can just only order “sa-shi-mi-no-mo-ri-a-wa-se” usually have 3~5 kinds of sashimi in one place. Every sigle kind will have 2~3pieces. Izakaya will see the people of your table to give the sashimi amount.
②炙り〆サバ:aburisimesaba
【 お終い】【 last order 】
①お茶漬け（おちゃづけ）o-cha-zu-ke→rice with green tea
Flavor: 鮭（しゃけ）sha-ke or 明太子（めんたいこ）me-n-ta-i-ko or 若芽（わかめ）kakame
After eating much delicious food, at last, you can order some warm your stomach.
Usually flavor with 鮭（しゃけ）sha-ke or 明太子（めんたいこ）me-n-ta-i-ko or 若芽（わかめ）kakame, you can choose the flavor you like!
②焼きおにぎり（やきおにぎり）ya-ki-o-ni-gi-ri→Grill rice ball
This menu is also you can order at last for the end, grilled Japanese rice will be very tasty and smell little scorched, suggest to eat with Pickles or miso soup, will be a perfect ending.
“Kanpai”means Cheers!!
Japanese will say Kanpai when everyone’s drink has been on the table, at this time everyone will toast together for a day’s tried or finish an important job or welcome new co-workers in the company.On Friday night there will be no empty seats at any izakaya. Because it’s relaxing time for a week’s tense. Some people will stay in one izakaya till morning, or they will go to two or three izakayas.
Japan’s izakaya jargon
Toriaezu Nama: For now, draft beer. When you go to an izakaya, everyone tells the server “Toriaezu nama,” even before taking a look at the menu. Basically, you’re saying that you need a beer right now before you think about ordering food.
Okawari onegaishimasu: One more, please!
Kanpai: Cheers!
Toire wa doko desuka: Where is the bathroom?
Oishii: Delicious
Okanjyo onegaishimasu: Check please
Yopparai: Drunk people
Onaka Ippai desu: I am full
Mata kimasu: I will come back
Yokocho: Alleyway off the main street. This includes a bunch of the small izakaya that are found on these narrow streets.
Hashigozake: Izakaya-hopping
Warikan: Split the bill equally
Betsu betsu: Separate the bill
If you need more information please access this site, it can search for the restaurant those have an english menu or English-speaking staff, Customer reviews, and you can find the detail information on the site.