A trip to a Japanese izakaya is a must if you’re visiting Japan and probably a regular part of your life if you move here. Even if you don’t drink it’s a great place to meet new people, share stories with old people and tuck into some tasty food whilst you relax. But what exactly is it?

The Japanese izakaya is the equivalent of a British pub or an American bar but of course, the Japanese do things their own way. It’s unusual to just have a drink on its own in Japan and eating alongside drinking is definitely the smart way to go.

At any given izakaya there’ll be a range of drinks and a range of small cheap dishes that you can order as you go through the night.

Finding your way around the menu

Izakayas have been part of Japanese culture for some time meaning there are a lot of traditional joints and more modern takes. Often one of the biggest differences will be the way the menu is presented. Older places will have everything listed on the walls, often on hanging wooden boards and the pricing will be in Japanese characters rather than roman numbers. More modern places will likely have printed picture menus and the most modern ones will have tablets on the table that you can order directly from without having to talk to anyone. If you want a more traditional experience then go to the older, smaller places but be sure to brush up on your menu reading skills otherwise you might end up with some odd dishes you didn’t really want to try.

That neatly brings us on the food at a Japanese izakaya. As we mentioned already, most of the dishes will be small, easily prepared dishes that can be eaten through the night. The Japanese are always keen to use all parts of the animal and this is more obvious at an izakaya. Yakitori is one of the main dishes available and this can include grilled sticks of every part of the chicken from skin to heart to gristle so if you’re not feeling too adventurous then do be careful. Here’s a handy list of yakitori to help you find your way around.

• momo (もも), chicken thigh

• hasami (はさみ), gizzard

• sasami (ささみ), breast meat

• negima (ねぎま), chicken and spring onion

• tsukune (つくね), chicken meatballs

• (tori) kawa ((とり)かわ), chicken skin, grilled until crispy

• tebasaki (手羽先), chicken wing

• bonjiri (ぼんじり), chicken tail

• shiro (シロ), chicken small intestines

• nankotsu (なんこつ), chicken cartilage

• hāto / hatsu (ハート / ハツ) or kokoro (こころ), chicken heart

• rebā (レバー), liver

It’s not just yakitori on the menu though, there will be other types of kushiyaki with other meats but often grilled vegetables too, then there’s the edamame, tofu, kaarage, sashimi etc. There are a lot of options and it will vary from izakaya to izakaya.

For the more daring amongst you, some of the older venues will have some interesting items like insects and frogs legs, food generally known as getemono. Hanbey is a good place to try for these as in some of the bigger ones they have English menus on hand so you know what you’re in for.

Pricing

Although it depends on the venue, the nature of the food at an izakaya means that most plates are cheap and will vary from around 60 yen to 300 yen. There are some venues that will have fixed pricing for every item on the menu (both food and drink) at around 300-350 yen. This is worth bearing in mind if you’re not sure if you’ll be eating and drinking much as, depending on the dishes, it might not balance out. Many izakayas will also have a seating charge at around 200-500 yen per person or a compulsory appetizer dish that you will be charged for. They’re also not always very upfront about these things so be alert and check if there is one before you settle on a place as you may still be charged if you change your mind after you’ve sat down.