An is a type of
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
drinking establishmentA bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.
Name
The name "izakaya" is a compound word consisting of "
i" (to stay) and "
sakaya" (
sake shop), indicating that izakaya originated from sake shops that allowed customers to sit at the premises to drink.
Izakaya are sometimes called
akachōchin (red
lanternA lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
) in daily conversation, because these
paper lanternPaper lanterns come in various shapes and sizes, as well as various methods of construction. In their simplest form, they are simply a paper bag with a candle placed inside, although more complicated lanterns consist of a collapsible bamboo or metal frame of hoops covered with tough paper.-In Asian...
s are traditionally found in front of an izakaya.
Dining in an izakaya
Depending on the izakaya, customers sit on
tatamiA is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width...
mats and dine from low tables in the traditional Japanese style, or sit on chairs and drink/dine from tables. Many izakaya offer a choice of both, as well as seating by the bar.
Usually, you will be given an
oshiboriAn or hot towel in English is a wet hand towel offered to customers in places such as restaurants or bars in Japan and in Japanese restaurants worldwide. Oshibori are used to clean one's hands before eating, and have long been a common sight in Japan. Cold oshibori are used in summer, and hot...
(wet towel) to clean your hands with; next an
otōshi or
tsukidashi (a tiny snack/an appetizer) will be served. This is local custom and usually charged onto the bill
in lieu of an entry fee. Japanese people in
Kantō regionThe is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
call it
otōshi and
KansaiThe or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
people call it
tsukidashi.
The menu may be on the table, or displayed on walls. Picture menus are common in larger izakaya. Food and drink are ordered throughout the course of the session as desired. They are brought to the table, and the bill is added up at the end of the session. Unlike other Japanese styles of eating, food items are usually shared by everyone at the table.
Common formats for izakaya dining in Japan are known as
nomihodai ("all you can drink") and
tabehodai ("all you can eat"). These formats are especially popular in large, chain izakaya. For a set price per person, customers can continue ordering as much food and / or drink as they wish, with a usual time limit of two or three hours.
Typical menu items in an izakaya
There are a wide variety of izakayas offering all sorts of dishes, but items almost always available in any izakaya are as follows:
Alcoholic drinks
- Sake (nihonshu)
- Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
(biiru)
- Shōchū
is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, or rice, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as brown sugar, buckwheat or chestnut. Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume...
- Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s
- Sour mix
Sour mix is a mixer used in many cocktails. It is made from approximately equal parts lemon and/or lime juice and simple syrup and shaken vigorously with ice...
(sawaa)
- Chuhai
, often sold as Chu-Hi as a canned drink, is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan. The name is derived from "shōchū highball". Traditional chūhai is made with shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon, though some modern commercial variants use vodka in place of shōchū...
- Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
- Whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
Food
Izakaya food is usually more substantial than
tapasTapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold or warm ....
or mezze. Many items are designed to be shared.
- Yakitori
, grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term Yakitori can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki , is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled...
- grilled chicken skewers
- Kushiyaki
, grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term Yakitori can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki , is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled...
- grilled meat or vegetable skewers
- Sashimi
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...
- slices of raw fish
- Karaage
is Japanese cooking technique in which various foods — most often meat, and specifically chicken — are deep fried in oil. Small pieces of the food are marinated in a mix of soy sauce, garlic, and/or ginger, then lightly coated with a seasoned wheat flour or potato starch mix, and fried in a light...
- bite-sized fried chicken
- Edamame
or Edamame bean is a preparation of immature soybeans in the pod commonly found in Japan, China, and Hawaii. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole....
- boiled and salted soybean pods
- Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
- Hiyayakko
is a popular Japanese dish made with chilled tofu and toppings. It is usually served during the summer season. There are two kinds of tofu used in hiyayakko: kinugoshi , which is more frequently used, and the less common momen ....
- chilled silken tofu with toppings
- Agedashi tofu
Agedashi tofu is a Japanese way to serve hot tofu. Silken firm tofu, cut into cubes, is lightly dusted with potato starch or cornstarch and then deep fried until golden brown...
- deep fried tofu in broth
- Tsukemono
are Japanese pickles. They are served with rice as okazu with drinks as an otsumami , as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the kaiseki portion of a Japanese tea ceremony....
- pickles
Rice dishes such as
ochazukeChazuke or ochazuke is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice roughly in the same proportion as milk over cereal, usually with savoury toppings....
and noodle dishes such as
yakisoba', literally "fried noodles", is a dish often sold at festivals in Japan, but originates in China. The dish was derived by the Chinese from the traditional chow mein, but has been more heavily integrated into Japanese cuisine like ramen...
are sometimes eaten at the end to round off a drinking session. (For the most part, the Japanese do not eat rice or noodles (
shushoku - "staple food") at the same time as they drink alcohol, since
sake, brewed from rice, traditionally takes the place of rice in a meal.)
Types of izakaya
Izakaya were traditionally down-to-earth places where men drank
sake and
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
after work; this trend is complemented by a growing population of independent women and students. Many izakaya today cater to a more diverse clientele by offering cocktails and wines as well as improving the interior.
- Chain izakaya became popular in the 1980s. They are often large in size and offer an extensive selection of food and drink, allowing it to host large, sometimes rowdy, parties.
- Cosplay izakaya became popular in the 2000s. The female staff wears the costume and wait on customers. Sometime the cosplay izakaya runs the show.
- Yakitori-ya specialise in yakitori
, grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term Yakitori can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki , is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled...
. The skewers are often grilled in front of customers.
- Robatayaki are where customers sit around an open hearth on which chefs grill seafood and vegetables. The fresh ingredients are displayed for customers to point at whenever they want to order.
- Establishments specialising in oden
Oden is a Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth. Ingredients vary according to region and between each household...
are called oden-ya. They usually take the form of street stallsStreet food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
with seating and are popular in winter.
- Izakayas are often called akachōchin ("red lantern") after the red paper lantern
Paper lanterns come in various shapes and sizes, as well as various methods of construction. In their simplest form, they are simply a paper bag with a candle placed inside, although more complicated lanterns consist of a collapsible bamboo or metal frame of hoops covered with tough paper.-In Asian...
s that are traditionally displayed outside izakaya. Today the term usually refers to small, non-chain izakaya.
Further reading