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Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/1 07:06
Hi,

On my next visit to Osaka I would like to go to one of these old fashioned izakaya's with an ojisan and obasan running it. You know, one of these small places where locals go to, with tatami floors, where the menu is spread all across the wall on papers or wooden plates, where there is one karaoke set for the whole place, and where the people who use it sing enka songs. A place where you can listen to the life lessons of drunk middle aged men and women. I have fond memories of these kind of places in Tokyo area, and would like to visit such a place in Osaka as well.

If anyone can tell me of such a place, please let me know. I will be going with my Japanese wife, but sadly she has no knowledge of such places.
by kanpai (guest)  

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/1 12:04
If you take exit 2 from the Dobutsuenmae subway station there's a long covered arcade named Dobutsuenmae Ichibangai. It is filled with old fashioned izakaya with grizzled patrons singing enka at the bar with mamasan for 100 yen a song. The one I went to didn't have the tatami flooring but I'm sure you can find one that does.
by mk (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/1 15:49
Thanks! I will check it out. More suggestions by others are still welcome of course :)
by kanpai (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/2 12:24
I've been to several hundred izakaya, and I've never seen one where people were singing karaoke. Where in the Tokyo area did you find this?
by Umami Dearest rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/2 16:11
Well, maybe it was closer to a bar than an izakaya then, but it was in Nishikawaguchi, wherw I lived as a student. They did serve some food though at these places.

If that makea it easier to suggest something: food is not required, the type of atmosphere is :)
by kanpai (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/2 17:01
Ah, you must be talking about a "sunakku" type of place, which aren't really referred to as izakaya.

One reason I avoid them (other than the fact that the drinks are horrible, they're very smoky, cover charge prices are quite arbitrary, and I don't really like karaoke) is that they tend to have a regular crowd, and just wandering in off the street without being introduced is like barging into someone's living room.

(They might be nice to you and everything, but it still seems weird to just walk in, unless it's in your immediate neighborhood.)

Anyway if you look for signs that say ƒXƒiƒbƒN you're more likely to find one.
by Umami Dearest rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/2 17:37
Thanks for the suggestion, but that is actually not what I meant. I do not want to be accompanied by women for conversation and leave with a hefty bill. Really just a small bar (I'm afraid to say izakaya now haha) with a counter and a few tables on tatami floors. Preferably run by older people and some regulars that would like to share some shochu after they realize you are friendly people.
by kanpai (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/2 22:22
Well I was talking about cheap neighborhood sunakku, not hostess bars where you get charged a lot of money. Anyway, good luck.
by Umami Dearest rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/4 16:04
Umami dearest: they were talking about an area of Osaka...

It is possible that there are still old fashioned izakaya in Osaka..but old people retire and their children or grand children have other tastes..

That question remind me of quite a few US tourists expecting that bars in Paris look like the ones in the movie "an American in Paris" and that everyone is singing Edith Piaf songs..
The world has changed since then...

Not that long ago my parents and I visited a medieval castle in France..owned by the same family for over 300 years..(not the original family that built the castle, obviously..)

During the visit we saw a half open door and peaked...It was a kitchen, fully furnished with Ikea furniture..

The guide--a daughter of the family-- had noticed that we had a look..so a while later she told us: "during the tour you saw the original old kitchen...4 stories below our living room and bedrooms, and we no longer have dozen of servants..
We had to have a small modern kitchen..and a TV and computer hidden inside old armoires..
by Red frog (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/4 16:32
You don't need to worry about my expectations Red Frog. Over the course of 6 years I have spent nearly 2 years in Japan.

Without wanting to sound arrogant, I know the places that I ask for exist, and there are probably more than we know, but they are very hard to find. This is because not many foreigners go there, and because it's very hard to see what a bar/izakaya looks like from the outside. I think I'll just try to explore dobutsuenmae area, and let my wife do some online search for me in Japanese.

So far, thank you everyone for contributing, and more is always welcome.
by kanpai (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/4 17:10
Umami dearest: they were talking about an area of Osaka...

I'm not sure I understand your comment. OP said he had gone to izakaya in Tokyo where people sing karaoke, and I've never encountered such a thing, so I was curious.
by Umami Dearest rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/4 17:31
If it helps: Imagine the setting in the drama Shinya Shokudo, but a bit bigger (tatami floors) and perhaps a karaoke set :)
by kanpai (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good old fashioned izakaya in Osaka area 2014/12/4 19:31
The izakaya that you describe are pretty common (except for maybe the karaoke, which is what seems to be throwing people off, although you do occasionally encounter izakaya with set). Sorry I don't have any place in particular to recommend, but you should be able to find something close wandering around some of the older, less built up districts.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

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