First Time at a Japanese Izakaya — What to Order, How It Works, and What to Expect
An izakaya (居酒屋) is Japan's version of a gastropub — a casual drinking establishment that serves food alongside alcohol, designed for groups to share multiple dishes over the course of an evening. It's one of the most distinctly Japanese dining experiences available, accessible at almost every price point, and one of the experiences most first-time visitors either miss entirely or approach with more hesitation than necessary.
Here's how izakaya actually works: the ordering system, what to eat, how to drink, what everything costs, and the specific situations that catch first-time visitors off guard.
What an izakaya is — and what makes it different from a restaurant
The key distinction between an izakaya and a regular restaurant: at an izakaya, food and drinks arrive continuously throughout the evening in small portions rather than as a structured meal. You order when you want more, drinks come frequently, and the evening has no fixed endpoint — you leave when you're ready, not when the meal is finished.
This structure produces a different kind of dining experience than a sit-down restaurant. An izakaya evening is inherently social — the shared small plates, the continuous ordering, the absence of a fixed course structure all encourage conversation and extended time at the table. For solo travelers, this translates into counter seating at a smaller izakaya where the owner or staff become the conversation.
The atmosphere ranges widely. A chain izakaya (Torikizoku, Shirokiya, Watami) is brightly lit, loud, and designed for groups who want reasonable food at low prices. A neighborhood izakaya — the kind that's been in the same location for 20 years with the same regular customers — is smaller, dimmer, and produces the specific kind of evening that people describe as the best night of their Japan trip.
How to find a good izakaya
The best izakayas are not the ones with English menus in the window. They're the ones with hand-written menus on paper slips covering the walls, a counter with 8 to 12 seats, a regular customer or two already there when you arrive at 6 PM, and an owner who cooks and serves simultaneously.
Finding them requires walking rather than searching. The back streets of Shinjuku (particularly the Golden Gai area — a labyrinth of tiny bars seating 5 to 10 people each), the shotengai (covered shopping streets) of any Tokyo neighborhood, the Pontocho alley in Kyoto, and the streets around Namba in Osaka all concentrate izakayas of this character.
The selection process: walk slowly, look through windows or open doors, observe whether the place has regulars (people who clearly know the staff), and enter based on atmosphere rather than menu. An izakaya that looks welcoming — warm light, sounds of conversation, a counter with open seats — is a better indicator of a good evening than any online review.
For travelers who want more certainty: Tabelog (Japan's equivalent of Yelp) lists izakayas by neighborhood with ratings from Japanese users. Filtering by area and looking at photos of the interior gives a reasonable preview of atmosphere. Ratings above 3.5 on Tabelog indicate genuine quality; anything above 3.8 is excellent.
Entering and getting seated — what happens first
You enter. The staff say "irasshaimase" (いらっしゃいませ — welcome). You hold up fingers to indicate how many people you are, or say "hitori" (one person) or "futari" (two people). You're shown to a seat — counter (カウンター, kaunta) or table (テーブル, teburu). You sit down.
Almost immediately, a small appetizer appears — this is the otoshi (お通し), a small mandatory dish charged at ¥300 to ¥500 per person. It's not optional and it's not a mistake. The otoshi is a standard part of izakaya culture — a small cover charge in food form that also functions as something to eat while you look at the menu and order drinks.
The first order is always drinks. The staff will come for a drink order within 60 seconds of seating. Standard first-drink options: nama biru (生ビール — draft beer, ¥400 to ¥600), highball (ハイボール — whisky and soda, ¥400 to ¥500), non-alcoholic beer (ノンアルコールビール, ¥400), oolong tea (ウーロン茶, ¥300 to ¥400), or chuhai (チューハイ — a lemon or fruit-flavored shochu and soda, ¥400 to ¥500).
Saying "toriaezu biru" (とりあえずビール — "beer for now") is what most Japanese regulars say and works perfectly as a first order even if your Japanese doesn't extend further.
What to order — the essential izakaya dishes
Izakaya menus are extensive and vary by establishment, but a core set of dishes appears at almost every izakaya and represents the best of what the format produces.
Yakitori (焼き鳥): skewered grilled chicken in various preparations — thigh meat (もも, momo), breast (むね, mune), skin (皮, kawa), cartilage (なんこつ, nankotsu), liver (レバー, reba), and the catch-all "mixed" (盛り合わせ, moriawase). Ordered by the skewer at ¥150 to ¥400 each. The most fundamental izakaya food and the one to order first at any yakitori-focused establishment.
Edamame (枝豆): salted boiled soybeans, served in the pod. ¥300 to ¥500. The default snack while deciding what else to order. Ubiquitous, good, no decision required.
Karaage (唐揚げ): Japanese fried chicken — thigh meat marinated in soy, ginger, and sake, fried until crispy. ¥500 to ¥800 for a portion. Consistently excellent across almost all izakayas. Order it.
Dashimaki tamago (だし巻き卵): rolled egg with dashi stock incorporated — softer and more flavorful than standard tamagoyaki. ¥400 to ¥600. Demonstrates the izakaya's attention to fundamentals.
Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐): lightly battered fried tofu in a dashi broth with grated daikon. ¥500 to ¥700. One of Japanese cuisine's most elegant simple dishes.
Sashimi moriawase (刺身盛り合わせ): assorted raw fish, typically 3 to 5 varieties. ¥800 to ¥1,500. Quality varies significantly by establishment — at a specialist izakaya near a fish market, it's exceptional. At a chain izakaya, it's serviceable.
Potato salad (ポテトサラダ): Japanese potato salad — creamier and sweeter than Western versions, often with cucumber and sometimes with small pieces of ham. ¥400 to ¥600. Sounds unremarkable, consistently enjoyed.
締め (shime) — the closing carbohydrate: izakaya meals traditionally end with a rice or noodle dish — ochazuke (rice with tea poured over it), ramen, or chazuke. This is the signal that the evening is ending. ¥400 to ¥800.
Otoshi (mandatory appetizer): ¥300–500/person. Not optional — it's a cover charge in food form.
Drinks: draft beer ¥400–600, highball ¥400–500, chuhai ¥400–500, non-alcoholic options ¥300–400.
Food per dish: yakitori ¥150–400/skewer, karaage ¥500–800, edamame ¥300–500, sashimi ¥800–1,500.
Typical spend per person (drinks + food, 2 hours): ¥2,000–4,000 at a neighborhood izakaya. ¥3,000–6,000 at a mid-range establishment.
How to call staff: press the call button at the table, or make eye contact and raise your hand slightly. Calling out loudly is not the norm.
Payment: at the register near the exit, not at the table. Tell the staff "o-kaikei kudasai" (お会計ください) or catch their eye and mime writing to request the bill.
The menu situation — navigating without Japanese
Chain izakayas have picture menus and sometimes tablet ordering systems with English options. Neighborhood izakayas often have menus written on paper slips attached to the walls or handwritten booklets with no photographs and no English.
The approach that works: Google Translate's camera mode pointed at the menu provides rough but functional translations. The imperfections are part of the experience — "grilled pig face cartilage" instead of "tontoro" (pork cheek) is more interesting than a clinical description.
Alternatively: point at what you see other people eating and say "sore o kudasai" (それをください — "that one, please"). This works immediately and consistently.
The fail-safe order for any izakaya without a readable menu: edamame, karaage, yakitori moriawase (mixed skewer assortment), one more dish that looks interesting from a neighboring table. This covers the fundamentals of izakaya food at any establishment.
Izakaya etiquette — what matters and what doesn't
What matters: don't pour your own drink. In Japanese drinking culture, you pour for others and they pour for you. When someone's glass is nearly empty, offer to refill it. When yours is refilled, hold the glass slightly raised in acknowledgment.
Kampai (乾杯 — "cheers") is said before the first drink and sometimes before subsequent rounds. Glasses are raised and touched together lightly.
Smoking: some izakayas still permit indoor smoking in designated sections. This is less common than it was a decade ago but still present at older establishments. If smoke is a concern, ask before sitting or choose a clearly non-smoking establishment.
What doesn't matter much: exact menu Japanese, knowing every dish, understanding all customs perfectly. Izakaya staff at neighborhood establishments are accustomed to figuring out what non-Japanese-speaking visitors want and are generally patient with the process. The effort to try — entering, ordering, eating — is appreciated regardless of how fluently it's done.
Solo izakaya dining
Solo dining at an izakaya works best at counter seating, where the owner or bartender becomes the natural counterpart to conversation — or comfortable silence. The counter at a small izakaya is one of Japan's best solo dining environments: food arrives in portions sized for one, the atmosphere doesn't imply that a single person is an anomaly, and the proximity to the kitchen makes the evening more engaging than a table alone would be.
The specific experience this produces: a beer, some yakitori, watching the owner manage both cooking and serving simultaneously, overhearing the conversation between regulars, occasionally being drawn into a brief exchange when the owner asks where you're from. This is the version of Japan that most travelers describe as the best evening of the trip and the hardest to replicate intentionally.
The izakaya is the social infrastructure of Japanese evening life — the place where coworkers decompress, where friends maintain friendships, where regulars build the kind of relationship with a neighborhood that makes a place feel like home rather than a stop. For travelers, it's the most accessible version of that life. You don't need Japanese. You need to find the right door, go in, and order the beer.
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