Izakaya Japanese: The Phrases and Etiquette Every First-Timer Needs

The real trick: izakaya Japanese has two registers

Most phrase lists dump everything into one list and call it done. But an izakaya table runs on two separate conversations happening at once: the banter you're having with your friends, and the polite, transactional Japanese you use with the staff. Native speakers switch between them without thinking. As a first-timer, just being aware of the switch will save you from two odd habits: sounding stiffly formal with your friends, or barking casual slang at a server.

The casual column is plain-form Japanese — the kind you'd only use with people you know. Don't aim it at staff: a request built on the bare word 頂戴 (choudai) — like 水頂戴 ("water, gimme") — reads casual-to-childlike and isn't how you ask a server for something. (You may actually hear a different form of the same word from staff themselves, as in 頂戴します when a cashier takes your payment — that's a separate, humble-register verb for accepting something, not the casual request word, so don't take it as a sign the word works both ways.) When in doubt with staff, add ください (kudasai) or お願いします (onegaishimasu) — you can't really overdo the politeness.

One phrase mostly breaks the pattern: toriaezu nama is grammatically casual — it drops the verb and the polite ending entirely — but it's such a standard opening order that staff hear it constantly from customers of every kind, tourists included, and won't blink. Learn Japanese Pod's izakaya phrase guide lists it as exactly this kind of phrase — "rarely found in textbooks" but one of the most commonly heard lines in a real izakaya. If you want a more formal-sounding version, tack on お願いします: "とりあえず生、お願いします." That's just the general politeness rule at work, not a special exception — adding onegaishimasu to almost any bare request raises how formal it sounds, the same way "coffee" becomes "coffee, please." Think of the bare version like saying "the usual" instead of a full sentence — shorthand that works, not a fully polite sentence.

Getting seated and ordering your first round

Staff will greet you with 「いらっしゃいませ！」(Irasshaimase — "Welcome!") — you don't need to respond, a nod is fine. They'll usually ask 「何名様ですか？」(Nanmei-sama desu ka? — "How many people?"); hold up fingers if the number doesn't come out fast enough.

That dish you didn't order: otoshi, explained

Seconds after you sit down, a small plate — pickled vegetables, edamame, a simmered dish — lands on the table. This is otoshi (お通し), called tsukidashi (突き出し) in parts of western Japan. It's not a gift and it's not a mistake: it's a seating charge disguised as an appetizer, usually ¥300–¥700 per person, functioning more like a table fee than a tip, as Gurunavi's guide to otoshi explains. In practice, it's rarely refusable once you're seated and the dish has landed — some places will let you send it back if you object the instant it's set down, but that's a courtesy, not a guarantee, and it's not happening once you've eaten it or when the bill arrives, as this breakdown of otoshi charges lays out. Almost nobody bothers trying; it's treated as part of the cost of sitting down. Easiest move: eat it, and don't ask why it's on the bill.

How to order at an izakaya: food and drinks

Once the first round has arrived and you've had your kanpai, the ordering turns conversational. A few phrases carry most of the weight:

If you've booked nomihoudai, know the deal upfront: it's a fixed window, and once it's up, most kitchens stop taking drink orders on that plan by default. Some venues will sell you a paid extension — commonly around ¥500–¥1,000 per 30 minutes to an hour, per this breakdown of nomihoudai extension rules — but it's not universal, so ask your server before you assume your table can run long.

Kanpai etiquette in Japan: the toast rules that actually matter

When drinks arrive, someone will call for kanpai — wait until everyone's glass is in hand before you raise yours; drinking early, even a sip, reads as impatient. A few specifics are worth knowing before you clink glasses:

• Hold your glass slightly lower than a senior colleague's or your host's when you touch glasses — a small, unspoken sign of respect in anything that isn't purely a friends' hangout.
• Pour for others before you pour for yourself, starting with whoever's most senior in the group, and hold the bottle with two hands.
• Receive a pour with your glass in both hands, not one — the same courtesy runs both directions.

None of this is required at a casual outing with close friends, but it's second nature to Japanese drinkers regardless of the setting, and doing it even loosely reads as thoughtful rather than performative.

Paying and saying thank you on the way out

Calling for the bill and leaving has its own short script:

Skip the tip. It's not expected in Japanese restaurants and service is already built into the price, as Boutique Japan's guide to tipping explains. Cash left on the table is usually treated as an oversight, not a gift — travelers commonly report staff chasing them down the street to return money that was left behind, per Radical Storage's guide to tipping in Japan. A sincere "gochisousama deshita" on your way out does more than money would.

Pronouncing these phrases when it's loud in there

Japanese vowels are short and don't glide the way English ones do — "sumimasen" is soo-mee-mah-sen, five even beats, not "soo-mee-MAY-sen." A few habits help:

• Don't stress a syllable the way English does; Japanese pitch is flatter and more even across a word.
• Doubled consonants (the "kk" in "ikken") mean a brief stop before the sound, not a harder hit — think of the pause in "book-keeper."
• "Toriaezu" trips people up — break it into to-ri-a-e-zu, five flat syllables, and it comes out fine even said slowly.
• Don't worry about pitch accent for a phrase like kanpai — context and enthusiasm carry it.

If you're worried about blanking mid-order, that's less about ability and more about noise and nerves — a lot of the best izakaya are basement rooms or backstreet spots with no signal at all. Saving a screenshot of the phrases you need means you can glance at one without needing a connection that basement isn't going to have.

5 izakaya etiquette mistakes first-timers actually make

1. Assuming otoshi is optional once it's on the table. A few places will take it back if you object the second it's served, but don't count on it — and don't push back once you've eaten it or when the bill arrives.
2. Filling your own glass before anyone else's. Pour for your table first, seniors before peers, and let someone else top you off.
3. Drinking before the kanpai. Wait for the toast, even if your beer's been sitting for a minute.
4. Passing food chopstick-to-chopstick, or stabbing it to hold it still. Both gestures echo funeral rituals in Japan and make staff and locals visibly uncomfortable — use the serving chopsticks (or flip your own) to move shared food onto your plate instead.
5. Overstaying a nomihoudai slot or a packed Friday-night table. If you booked a time-limited deal or the place is clearly turning tables, wrap up near your window rather than lingering, and ask first if you want to try to extend.

Quick answers

Do I need to tip at an izakaya? No — tipping isn't customary in Japan, and it can actually create an awkward moment if staff try to return the money.

Can I say no to the otoshi dish? You can try, but it rarely works once you're seated and the dish is already on the table — a few places will let you decline it if you speak up the second it's served. In practice, almost nobody bothers; it's treated as a standard seating charge.

What if my Japanese runs out mid-order? Point at the menu and say "kore kudasai" — pointing plus kudasai gets you through almost any order, no full sentence required.

Once you've got sumimasen, toriaezu nama, and gochisousama deshita down, you can walk into any izakaya in the country and order like you belong there. Pair this with our guides to onsen etiquette and Japanese train etiquette for the rest of a first trip's unwritten rules, and if the izakaya closes before you're ready to call it a night, our convenience store Japanese phrases guide covers the nightcap run afterward.

The order is a short spoken turn; a calm check-in before you order out loud can come first.

Ready to say these out loud? Start Japanese free on iPhone (App Store) and Android. The first two units are free.