Japan: The Izakaya

Kanji: 居酒屋
Hiragana: いざかや
Romaji: I ZAKA YA

Literally translated, the characters mean "to stay" and "liquor" and "shop". Altogether, it means "pub." It's Japan's version of where you can get yourself a drink, order some food, let loose and socialize. It could be bottled big-name beers like Sapporo, or craft brews on tap, or sake brewed down the street and bottled with a hand-drawn label. It could be beautifully presented sashimi, or it could be homestyle fried chicken. My point is that Japan's izakaya are as diverse as your favorite bars in the States.

When I first visited Japan in November 2010, I traveled alone. As fun and liberating solo travel is, sometimes you just want some good conversation and human interaction. I quickly learned that an izakaya is the place to be. When you're a lone foreigner sitting at the counter, you're bound to make your neighbors and the staff curious. Here's a recap of my first true izakaya experience in Kyoto in 2010.

On my second trip to Japan, I traveled with 3 other guys, definitely a good group to travel with. It was incredible for me to be back in Japan with some experience and a little more Japanese language skill under my belt. It was also great to have other people to share this journey with. Part of that journey, of course, was bar-hopping, and we got a pretty good sampling of izakaya during it.

思い出横丁, Omoide Yokocho, a.k.a. Memory Lane, Piss Alley.

Located in Shinjuku, Tokyo

 

This is a popular collection of izakaya jam-packed together over a couple of city blocks. You can get ramen/soba/udon noodles, yakitori (char-grilled whatever on a stick), yakiniku (meat/veggies that you can grill for yourself on an open flame), etc. Omoide Yokocho, pronounced oh-MO-ee-day YO-ko-cho, first popped up after WWII in a war-torn Tokyo. It was a den of market stalls, then became a cheap dining/drinking destination, and eventually a really poppin' drinking/nightlife area. This video gives you a good feel of walking down Memory Lane.

What did we consume? First and foremost, costly table space. We only entered 2 izakaya there because there was a 300 yen table charge per person just about everywhere. At the first place: chilled saké and yakitori. Specifically, chicken hearts, chicken thigh, green onion, chicken liver, chicken meatballs, pork tongue, and other stuff I forget. It was tasty, but not satisfying, as is most Japanese bar food when shared among friends. On a more positive note, a tipsy salaryman gave me a high-5 as we squeezed into our table in the back corner.

At the second place: more chilled sake and self-grilled meats on an open flame. We ordered tuna cheek, marinated octopus, and whale bacon. Yes. Whale Bacon (the orange-ish looking squares in the lower right).

有楽町, Yurakucho Yakitori Alley
Located under Yurakucho station, walking distance to Ginza

photo from dannychoo.com

Yakitori Alley is another post-war throwback. I actually stumbled upon one section of it by accident during my first trip in 2010. I got lost in Ginza, trying to walk from Tsukiji fish market to Shinbashi station, and I ended up near Yurakucho station. Underneath the train tracks I found a few small yakitori shops, sat at one that had an English menu, and had some nice skewers and a mug of Asahi. 


On this past trip, the group and I headed here after we got sick of the table charges in Memory Lane. Food and drinks were cheaper here than at Memory Lane, but no more filling. I think we got more chilled sake and similar skewers to what we had at the first place in Memory Lane. Afterward, still hungry, we ended up wandering around the corner and filling up on some spicy miso ramen. At the time, we thought that Yurakucho Yakitori Alley only went as far as the 2 or 3 shops inside this tunnel. Apparently it goes farther.


Ginza Seaman's Club
Located near Higashi-Ginza Station

Sharing some conversation and shots with Fumihide-san

On our last night in Tokyo, the other guys wanted to go out and experience Tokyo's wild and crazy nightclub scene in Shibuya. I'm really not a fan of loud, hot, and crowded clubs, so I opted to stay behind and try one of the bars near our hotel by myself. I saw one bar open, took a seat at the counter, and ordered a Japanese whiskey from the bartender's recommendation, Nikka single malt on the rocks. I sincerely hope that Nikka picks up some distributors in the USA, it is outstanding.


Fumihide the bartender spoke a bit of English, but it was good practice for my limited Japanese. We chatted about my trip thus far, the history of the bar (built from wood and metal reclaimed from old boats), and even our favorite music. Fumihide even surprised me with a complimentary shot. I was really happy to have found my bar in Tokyo.


大衆酒BAR, Taishuu Sake Bar
Located in Downtown Sendai

When the bar is playing Lionel Richie music videos, and a tipsy local gentleman buys you all a round, you know you've found a good place.

The day after I went out to the bar alone, I shared my experience at Ginza Seaman's Club with my travel buddies. They were jealous of my good times with a local, so that night we set out to do the same thing in Sendai. We stumbled upon a tiny place with a big yellow sign that said "BAR," so we went for it.

After we ordered a round of sake, the nice guy in the photos above in the black jacket greeted us. He was excited to see foreigners visiting Sendai, especially after the events of the 3/11 earthquake/tsunami/nuclear-disaster, and wanted to make sure we thoroughly enjoyed the locally-brewed sake. He ordered us a bottle of Hitakami (日高見) brewed in Ishinomaki, a small coastal city northeast of Sendai that was particularly ravaged by the tsunami. I'm no expert sake-taster and I can't pick out individual flavor/aroma components, but Hitakami was smooth and delicious. As was the Mori No Kikukawa, brewed in Sendai.

We invited him to sit and drink with us, and we all talked. Or rather, he and I spoke in a combination of broken English and beginners' Japanese. We told him how we were enjoying Japan, he told us about places in the USA he wishes he could visit. We shared some food and lots more local sake, Mori No Kikukawa from Sendai. The food, however, wasn't quite to my liking. I don't like pig intestines, and definitely not intestines stuffed with natto. All-in-all it was a fantastic night, and our new friend was super-appreciative of us supporting Northern Japan's recovery.


べっぴんや, Beppin-Ya
Located in Downtown Kyoto

 

This is the izakaya that in 2010 started my love of popping into random Japanese bars. I befriended Shingo and his staff, as well as local clothing store owner and blogger Taka, and we've all kept in touch online since then. Some changes at Beppin-Ya from my first visit: some new staff members who speak a bit of English, and a full menu translated to English.

That night we just enjoyed chilled local sake, most likely brewed in southern Kyoto's Fushimi district, chock full of independent breweries. Unfortunately we didn't make enough time to visit a second time to enjoy the food. Their specialty is free-range chicken from Kagoshima, served in a variety of ways. Breast and liver sashimi; char-grilled thighs and skin; hot-pots and noodle soups; etc.


This is only a subset of our bar-hopping experience in Japan, but still pretty representative of the variety of ways to get your drink on.  Dive bars under the train tracks, tiny pub-shacks that fit no more than 8-10 local businessmen, theme bars with impressive collections of bourbons and rums, and full-on restaurants with excellent hook-ups for local sake. Whatever your preference is, just grab your Japanese-English phrasebook, prepare to use a lot of hand gestures, and jump right in.