{"id":3451,"date":"2016-03-09T22:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=3451"},"modified":"2020-07-23T00:08:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T15:08:38","slug":"torikizoku-cheap-izakaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/torikizoku-cheap-izakaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Torikizoku: Cheap Izakaya Eats"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the best things about living in Japan is the amazingly fine tasting foods. But more than that, it\u2019s the fact that whilst the expensive restaurants are, to nobody\u2019s surprise, the cheap-eats are also extremely tasty, especially at Torikizoku<\/a>(only in Japanese).<\/p>\n Torikizoku is probably one of the most famous cheap eat chains in Japan. It is an Izakaya<\/em> (Japanese tapas) where every dish and drink is priced at 298 yen (plus tax). Whilst this is convenient for being able to keep track of how much your spending (rather like a kaiten sushi), it\u2019s also really cheap. A usual Izakaya will set you back double to triple more than this. This might put you off, bringing thoughts like “fast food” and other nasty words, but it\u2019s actually really tasty!<\/p>\n The food of Torikizoku fits perfectly in the gap between my own cooking (horrible) and a normal Izakaya (a once a week or fortnight affair) – if you are like me and living on a budget. Whilst holidaying in Japan, it’s is a good choice as it will allow you to have a cheaper night\u2019s meal that’s still delicious and very Japanese. Please avoid McDonalds!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you are seated you will either get the bar or a table. If your group is large you may be seated in the Japanese table area. You have to take your shoes off here. The table looks awfully low… but actually the floor is sunken underneath so you can sit western style. What a relief! As smoking is still allowed in restaurants in Japan, please make sure to request the non-smoking area if you don’t smoke or vice versa. The Japanese for non-smoking is \u7981\u7159\uff08kin en\uff09. The Japanese for smoking is \u55ab\u7159\uff08ki tsu en).<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the table there is a little drawer, inside which are the chop sticks. We also have salt, some chili powder and some grey spice. It\u2019s not pepper… Somewhere, usually on the wall, is a push button. You can use this to call the waiter or waitress for service.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everything is 298 yen. Even the drinks! The variety is very large, and its a good way to sample many different drinks on the cheap… or just drink a lot of beer for next to nothing. I will help you out with a few translations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u8d64\uff1aRed\u3000<\/span><\/p>\n \u767d\uff1aWhite.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u30ec\u30e2\u30f3\uff1aWith lemon juice.<\/span><\/p>\n \u30d4\u30f3\u30af\u30b0\u30ec\u30fc\u30d7\u30d5\u30eb\u30fc\u30c4\uff1aWith grapefruit juice.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u91d1\u9ea6\uff08\u5927) : Gold wheat (Large Size).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u30b8\u30f3\u30b8\u30e3\u30fc\u30a8\u30fc\u30eb: Ginga ale.<\/span><\/p>\n \u30b3\u30ab\u30fb\u30b3\u30fc\u30e9: Coke.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n Izakaya is enjoyed by ordering many small dishes and sharing them among those at the table. At 298yen per dish, this is very cheap to do at Torikizoku. The serving sizes are adequate to share between two people, so if you are dining in a party of four you should order two. The staff will understand if you simply point to the picture on the menu of the food you want, and hold up 1 to 5 fingers on your hand. Most Japanese understand English numbers too, if you speak it clearly enough.<\/span><\/p>\n When you first order your drinks, you are required to order something from the “speed menu”. The cabbage is free so you can keep ordering more as many times as you want! It’s really tasty… but everything is so cheap, don’t just go filling up on cabbage…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Torikizoku sells a lot of chicken, so it\u2019s good to know the Japanese words for the various parts of a chicken!<\/p>\n Next, let\u2019s take a look at the menu. It\u2019s a little nicer to know what food you are ordering than just\u00a0the pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u30b9\u30d1\u30a4\u30b9: Spice. \u5869: Salt. \u305f\u308c: Sauce.<\/span><\/p>\n \u3080\u306d\u8cb4\u65cf\u713c : Grilled chicken breast.<\/span><\/p>\n \u3082\u3082\u8cb4\u65cf\u713c : Grilled chicken thigh.<\/span><\/p>\nIzakaya: Smoking or Non-Smoking<\/h2>\n
Izakaya: Where to Find Your Utensils<\/h2>\n
Deciphering the Drink Menu<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n Japanese<\/span><\/td>\n English<\/span><\/td>\n Phonetic<\/span><\/td>\n Sub\uff70menu<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \u30ef\u30a4\u30f3<\/span><\/td>\n Wine<\/span><\/td>\n “Wine”<\/span><\/td>\n \u30c8\u30ea\u30ad\uff1aHouse. <\/span><\/p>\n \n \u304a\u8336\u30cf\u30a4<\/span><\/td>\n Tea and Whisky<\/span><\/td>\n “oh cha high”<\/span><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \u30b5\u30ef\u30fc<\/span><\/td>\n Soda and Sho-chu<\/span><\/td>\n “sawa”<\/span><\/td>\n Sho-chu is a Japanese rice drink, usually sweet.<\/span><\/p>\n \n \u30d3\u30fc\u30eb<\/span><\/td>\n Beer<\/span><\/td>\n “beeru”<\/span><\/td>\n \u30b6\u30fb\u30d7\u30ec\u30df\u30a2\u30e0\u30fb\u30e2\u30eb\u30c4\uff08\u4e2d\uff09: Suntory premium malt beer. (Normal size).<\/span><\/p>\n \n \u65e5\u672c\u9152<\/span><\/td>\n Japanese Sake<\/span><\/td>\n “knee hon shu”<\/span><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \u30bd\u30d5\u30c8\u30c9\u30ea\u30f3\u30af<\/span><\/td>\n Soft drinks<\/span><\/td>\n Softo dorinku<\/span><\/td>\n \u30e1\u30ed\u30f3\u30bd\u30fc\u30c0 : Melon soda.<\/span><\/p>\n Ordering Your Food: What to Expect<\/h2>\n
Deciphering the Menu<\/h2>\n