An izakaya (居酒屋) is a Japanese pub, a casual place to drink and eat, share small plates, and unwind after work. Neither restaurant nor bar exactly, it is where much of Japan's social life actually happens: colleagues loosening ties, friends talking over beer and skewers, the noise and warmth of a room full of people off the clock.
The name and the ritual
The word itself tells the story: 居 ("to stay") + 酒 ("sake") + 屋 ("shop"), a sake shop you stay and drink in, rather than buying to take home. That is roughly how they began, in the Edo period, when sake merchants let customers linger and started offering food to go with the drink.
An evening follows a loose rhythm. You are seated and often served a small dish you did not order, the otōshi or tsukidashi (突き出し), a token appetiser that doubles as a modest cover charge. The first round is almost ritually a draft beer: "toriaezu nama," "a draft to start with," is one of the most-spoken phrases in the language. Then food and drink arrive in waves, shared from the middle of the table, ordered a few dishes at a time across the night.
What to eat and drink
The menu is long and made for grazing: yakitori (焼き鳥), charcoal-grilled chicken skewers; edamame; sashimi and grilled fish; fried karaage chicken; tofu, pickles, and rice or noodles to finish. Drinks run from draft beer (nama, 生ビール) to sake, shōchū, and highballs (whisky and soda). The bill is usually split evenly, and a boisterous group may move on to a nijikai, a "second party," at another bar or for karaoke.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
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とりあえず生 (toriaezu nama): "a draft beer for now, to start," the near-automatic opening order that gets everyone drinking while they read the menu.
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突き出し / お通し (tsukidashi / otōshi): the small appetiser served unrequested at the start; not a scam but a customary seating/cover charge.