Enjoying Izakaya in Japan: What is Otōshi? Explained
Izakayas (Japanese pubs) have a unique culture of their own.
Otōshi is a food item you are served and charged for without your ordering it. It’s more or less a 100-year tradition and not a scam!
In this video, you will learn:
– How the Otōshi system came to be
– The intent and fun of the Otōshi system
– How to decline Otōshi in Japanese if you need to due to dietary reasons
This video was filmed at my favorite Izakaya, Ninomiya Mare, in Japan’s hidden foodie destination, Kobe City.
Mare is a modern yet authentic and homely Japanese Izakaya located in a nostalgic, urban Japanese neighborhood, awaiting you with tasty food, drinks, and warm smiles. Please try it if you swing by Kobe or Osaka (Kobe is just a 30-minute train ride from Osaka ☺️)!
Ninomiya Mare on Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/hyogo/A2801/A280101/28066763/
Ninomiya Mare on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ninomiya.mare/?hl=ja
Reserve Ninomiya Mare on Tablecheck:
https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/ninomiya-mare/reserve?utm_source=instagram
References:
居酒屋の誕生 飯野亮一 Izakaya no Tanjou by Iino Ryoichi
晩酌の誕生 飯野亮一 Banshaku no Tanjou by Iino Ryoichi
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▶︎ Hi, I’m Kyota, the author of Amazon Best Sellers [Folk Tales of Japan], [Underdogs of Japanese History], and [Horror Tales of Japan].
Please check out my books at ☺️: https://kyotako.myportfolio.com/
#izakaya #japaneseculture #japan #japantravel #traveltips #kobe
25 Comments
I think I can add 1 more thing: if you go to cheap izakaya (chain izakayas like hanbee) they literally give you chopped cabbage or cheap donki snacks that literally worth 50 yen 😂😂 So it's better to think of it as table money rather than snack money. Cuz even cheap places usually charge around 750~1000 yen.
Please keep making videos such as these, thank you.
Izakayas are mega cool!
Not for me 😔I'd be drinking water and eating potato salad 🤷♂
I agree with these comments as well – you have an interesting way of capturing the viewer’s attention, being very informative, and friendly as well. And, as I’m learning Japanese (which is much more a marathon than a sprint, for me at least), I really appreciate the Kanji and kana displayed as you speak as well. Thank you for all of your excellent content!
hello
great content! learning a bit of tradition, history and language all at once is great.
I like the slightly longer format of this vidéo too. 日本語を勉強しているし、日本文化も面白いから、そのチャンネルが役に立ってます。
へっ、ウチの出身は、そないな慣習もありますが、一般的に無料ですわ。面白かった動画やって、かなり勉強になって、ありがとうございます！
At 21 years old I left Australia for japan. 1991.About six months in I walked into a tiny Ma and pa izakaya in Nishi Shinjuku and just like in the movies the music stopped and room fell silent except of course for the collective exclamation ,”Oh. Gaijin da!”
There were two construction workers, three alcoholic pensioners , two salarymen , one OL ,two chimpira and one closeted gay guy and not one of them wanted me there until they heard me speak . I learned all my Japanese from women, train station announcements and Takeshi Kitano films so I must’ve sounded like a dyslexic gay robot hitman. That night we became family and I never ate at another izakaya again.
Thank you for such a thorough explanation. I definitely want to go to an izakaya when I one day visit Japan. Also, thank you for teaching us several phrases, especially for mentioning that there are foods you can't eat, that will really come in handy.
Very fascinating. Thank you for this very educational content full of beautiful art.
So, Ninomiya Mare is a destination to visit. The question is… will they let me, the gaijin… :/
my parents and i were always delighted when our local izakaya in melbourne placed the free pickled bean shoots on our table without us ordering anything. now i understand why they did that!
So incredibly helpful, ESPECIALLY the part about the allergies. I was like "YES! THIS! THANK YOU!!" 🙂
Thanks for the interesting history. Great video, keep up the excellent work 👍
I lived in Japan many years ago, and completely forgot about otōshi. I don't think I ever realized that I was being charged for it! I thought it was "saabisu"! Yeah, I never did check the bill, and was probably too drunk to care anyway… 😅
Thank you for the hard work, this channel has quickly become one of my favorite, I always learn something watching ur videos
Thank you!
I would not want to eat horse whale or bear. No way
VERY slowly learning Japanese and it saddens me more and more when I think about my seafood allergy.
Also. Thank you for teaching us!
Thanks for sharing a very interesting history of otoshi!
We have a saying "du tar seden dit man kommer" meaning you adopt to the customs where you are. Meaning that sometimes you have to take it on the chin in order to maintain and foster good relations. I admit that my knee jerk reaction was very Swedish the first time, part wondering if I was being scammed, part if I had messed up but mostly agonizing over how to broach the subject with the staff lol. Luckily they kindly explained that it was an old custom. This is however the first time I have heard the why and had its origin explained to me, very neat and cool.
Peace
My husband and I visited Japan last year and went to a few Izakayas. We knew about Otōshi beforehand but were very confused when we, at our first Izakaya, were each served a single jumbo peanut with the first round of beer. We tried to take cue from the locals around us, to figure out if we were supposed to eat it or not, and most seemed to just leave their peanut by their drinks. We ate the peanut in the end, better to appear a bit whacky then rude 😆
What I find weird is for them to bill it separately, like for korean bancham (which is basically the same thing), they never “charge” you for it, but obviously it is not free and we expect it to be included into the overall price of the rest of the dishes.
懐かしいな~~~
The tourist board of Japan should pay you. You are such a good embassador! Btw this costume is similar to Spain tapas and also Mexico, usually they serve small food items with your beverage, but it is free, or already included on the price.
I didn't know any of this! Thanks so much for the video 🙂