Food & Beer Culture

What is an izakaya? A Japanese pub where you eat while you drink. The name combines "i," to stay, and "sakaya," sake shop: originally, it was a shop where people lingered. Today, people gather there after work with colleagues, order lots of small plates, and share them.

The ritual follows a fixed pattern. The first drink is "toriaezu nama," meaning "draft beer to start." Everyone receives it at the same time, then someone calls out "kanpai," cheers, and glasses meet. Tradition has it that you pour for your neighbor, not for yourself. Alongside this comes a small starter dish, the "otōshi," which appears on the bill.

The food seeks contrast with the dry beer. Yakitori, grilled chicken skewers with salt or soy sauce, and karaage, fried chicken, both call for cold and carbonation to cut through the fat. Edamame, salted green soybeans, is the standard starter. In Yokohama, gyōza from Chūkagai join the mix—Japan's largest Chinatown—along with Naporitan, the ketchup spaghetti said to have been invented in this port city.

In Tokyo, there's also Monjayaki, a liquid pancake-style dish from the Tsukishima district, eaten straight off the griddle with small metal spatulas. In summer, rooftop beer gardens open atop department stores. Sapporo's Ginza Lion beer hall occupies a building dating from 1934.

Sizes follow clear rules: the medium mug is called "chū," the large one "dai." If you don't fancy beer, order tea or a sour. Nobody will bat an eye.