In this booster
The izakaya is Japan’s pub, tapas bar, and living room at once — and it’s where travelers have their best evenings, because the format forgives everything: point at the menu, order in rounds, stay for hours. This booster is the night’s vocabulary: the first round, the food that always works, the all-you-can-drink question, the bill in all its versions, and the one train question that decides how the night ends.
No new grammar — every sentence here is a frame you already own, wearing new nouns. Mostly Lesson 2’s kudasai with Lesson 3’s counters, Lesson 1’s onegaishimasu, Lesson 4’s arimasu, Lesson 7’s permission frame, and Lesson 6’s nan-ji doing the most important work of the evening. Boosters assume the finished core (Lessons 1–9); take them in any order.
As always: tap each sentence and listen first, repeat it aloud, then check yourself against the text and meaning that appear. Tap again to listen as often as you like.
The first ten minutes
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.
Lesson 5’s osusume, in its natural habitat: izakaya menus run long and handwritten, and this question hands the decision to someone who knows — the answer usually comes with a pointing finger you can follow. The single best sentence for eating well in Japan, and nowhere more so than here.
Set piece
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.
Ordering the night
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 skill, 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.
The bill — and the last train
An izakaya tab is one of the few totals in Japan you’ll routinely hear spoken before you see it — the Prices at Speed skill trains exactly that moment.
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 exactly why Shuuden wa nan-ji desu ka. gets asked before the second round.
Dialog
A night out for two: seated, on the nomihoudai, and out before the trains stop. Listen to the whole dialog cold first.
Nan-mei sama desu ka. Futari desu. Kochira e douzo. Nomihoudai wa arimasu ka. Hai, arimasu. Ni-jikan desu. Ja, nomihoudai, onegaishimasu. Kanpai! Raasuto oodaa ni narimasu. Ja, okaikei, onegaishimasu. Betsu-betsu desu ka. Hai, betsu-betsu, onegaishimasu. Arigatou gozaimasu.Three of the staff’s lines are Lesson 5’s restaurant scripts coming back for review — the izakaya runs on the same rails. And note the timing: the bill got asked for at last orders, with the trains still running.
What they’ll say to you
Two izakaya-specific lines for your ears. You never say these — catch the keyword, answer from your kit.
Otoshi ni narimasu. Osage shite mo yoroshii desu ka.Both arrive mid-noise, mid-meal. Otoshi and osage (clearing) are the only words you need to catch; your answers are Lesson 1 material.
Repair drill
Ask about the nomihoudai and the full terms arrive in one breath — per person, two-hour limit, last order thirty minutes before. You are not expected to parse it.
Sumimasen. Nomihoudai wa ikura desu ka. Nomihoudai wa ohitori-sama nisen-en, ni-jikan sei de, raasuto oodaa wa sanjuppun mae to natte orimasu. Nisen-en desu ka. Hai. Ni-jikan desu.One fragment surfaced from the blur — nisen-en — and handing it back with ka did everything: confirmed the price and shook loose the one other fact that matters. That’s Lesson 6’s echo check earning its keep in the wild: you didn’t re-ask, you didn’t climb a single rung, and the exchange closed in four words. The thirty-minutes detail you never caught? The staff will warn you when it matters — that’s what raasuto oodaa is.
How to behave: rounds, glasses, trains
- The otoshi is the cover charge. A small unordered dish (¥300–500 a head) lands with the first drinks and appears on the bill. It’s not an error and not a tourist trap — it’s how izakaya charge for the seat. Eat it (it’s usually good), or leave it, but don’t dispute it.
- Pour for others, never for yourself. Bottles and pitchers are communal: fill your neighbor’s glass, and someone will spot yours emptying and return the favor. Receive a pour by lifting your glass slightly. And nobody drinks before kanpai.
- “Toriaezu nama!” is the ambient sound of 6 p.m. — “draft, to start!”, shouted by every arriving table. It’s a set idiom, not a frame; your two-word version — Nama, onegaishimasu — lands the same beer just as fast.
- The last train is the boss of the evening. Check shuuden before the second round, leave one drink’s worth of margin, and know your plan B price: after midnight it’s Takushii de kaerimasu — or the time-honored dodges: karaoke until the first morning train, a net café’s night pack, or a capsule hotel.
Checkpoint
Your exit exam, out loud. Each line below sets a scene from this booster — say the Japanese before you tap; the tap plays the answer. Check yourself, repeat after the audio matching its pronunciation, rhythm, and speed, and if one won’t come, replay its section. These are this deck’s speaking cards — in Anki they queue up after the listening cards, so you’ll always have heard a line before you’re asked to produce it.
Vocabulary reference
| # | Romaji | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | izakaya | Japanese pub | Ii izakaya wa arimasu ka. |
| 2 | nama | draft beer | Nama o futatsu kudasai. |
| 3 | kanpai | cheers / a toast | glasses up first, drink after |
| 4 | nomihoudai | all-you-can-drink | fixed price, fixed window |
| 5 | tabehoudai | all-you-can-eat | the -houdai family |
| 6 | otoshi | table-charge appetizer | not a mistake — see behavior notes |
| 7 | yakitori | grilled chicken skewers | the house assortment is safe |
| 8 | edamame | salted soybeans | fastest thing on the menu |
| 9 | karaage | Japanese fried chicken | Karaage mo onegaishimasu. |
| 10 | nihonshu | sake (rice wine) | osake = alcohol in general |
| 11 | haibooru | highball | whisky-soda, the national mixer |
| 12 | umeshu | plum wine | sweet; Umeshu ga ii desu. |
| 13 | warikan | even split (of the bill) | Warikan, ii desu ka. |
| 14 | betsu-betsu | separate (checks) | Betsu-betsu, onegaishimasu. |
| 15 | shuuden | last train | ask before the second round |
Recognize only — never say these. The izakaya scripts:
| Script line | It means | You do |
|---|---|---|
| Otoshi ni narimasu. | here’s the table-charge dish | nod — not a mistake; it’s part of the deal, and it’s on the bill |
| Osage shite mo yoroshii desu ka. | may I clear the plates? | Answer Hai, onegaishimasu. — or, plate still going, Daijoubu desu. |
Anki deck
Drill this booster’s audio anywhere: download the Izakaya & Nightlife Anki deck. Sentence cards are the course; vocab cards are backup — suspend them unless a word won’t stick.