Booster: Izakaya & Nightlife

izakaya — the pub itself. Ask this at your hotel desk with Lesson 9’s ii in front, and you’ll be sent somewhere better than any app would send you. Once inside, Lesson 5’s headcount (Futari desu) gets you seated.

Nomihoudai wa arimasu ka.

nomihoudai — all-you-can-drink, a fixed price for a fixed window (usually two hours). Groups run on it; ask before the first order, since it has to cover the whole table.

Tabehoudai mo arimasu ka.

tabehoudai — the eating twin, riding Lesson 5’s mo. The -houdai ending means “as much as you like” — you’ll spot it on signs from yakiniku to dessert buffets.

Nama o futatsu kudasai.

nama — draft beer (literally “fresh”). The single most-ordered word in any izakaya, with Lesson 3’s futatsu counting the glasses. Around you, everyone shouts a version of this the moment they sit down — see the behavior notes.

Osusume wa nan desu ka.

osusume — the recommendation. Izakaya menus run long and handwritten; this question hands the decision to someone who knows, and the answer usually comes with a pointing finger you can follow. The single best sentence for eating well in Japan.

kanpai — the toast. It’s a noun (literally “dry glass”), and shouting the noun is the toast — the same bare-noun move as the course’s branch fragments (Ashita ame?), no new grammar in sight. Glasses up, eye contact, kanpai, then drink — never before.

yakitori — chicken skewers off the grill, the izakaya’s backbone. Ordering “yakitori” gets you the house assortment; pointing at the menu gets you specific.

Edamame o hitotsu kudasai.

edamame — salted soybeans, the beer’s best friend. Hitotsu = one serving; it arrives faster than anything else on the menu.

Karaage mo onegaishimasu.

karaage — Japanese fried chicken. Mo keeps stacking the order — this is exactly how locals order, in waves, all night.

Kore wa otoshi desu ka.

otoshi — the small dish you didn’t order that appears with the first drinks. It is not a mistake and not free — see the behavior notes. This sentence, asked with a smile, shows you know the system.

Nihonshu wa arimasu ka.

nihonshu — what English calls “sake.” (In Japanese, osake means alcohol in general; nihonshu is the rice wine specifically — order with this word and there’s no ambiguity.)

Haibooru, onegaishimasu.

haibooru — whisky and soda, and somehow Japan’s national mixed drink. (If you took the Katakana booster, read it off the menu: ハイボール.)

Umeshu ga ii desu.

umeshu — plum wine, sweet and gentle — the standard answer when beer and whisky both sound wrong. Lesson 5’s preference frame picks it off the drinks list.

warikan — the even split: one bill, divided by heads, nobody audits who drank what. The default among friends in Japan; propose it with Lesson 7’s permission frame. (The bill itself is Lesson 5’s Okaikei, onegaishimasu, unchanged.)

Betsu-betsu, onegaishimasu.

betsu-betsu — separate payment, each person paying their own. Said at the register; staff handle the arithmetic without blinking — it’s asked constantly.

Shuuden wa nan-ji desu ka.

shuuden — the last train, the word that governs every Japanese night out. Trains stop around midnight and do not care about your evening. Ask this — of staff, of friends, of your phone — before the second round, not after.

Takushii de kaerimasu.

Missed it anyway? Lesson 6’s kaerimasu with means-de announces plan B. Taxis are honest and metered — and pricey after midnight, which is why the sentence above this one exists.