Recommend a good Izakaya in Tokyo?

Hi guys,

I was hoping someone could recommend a few good Izakaya's to visit in Tokyo? I'm just looking for somewhere myself and my friend can have a meal and plenty of drinks before hitting the clubs. I've heard you can go to some where you can pay for unlimited drinks and also you can order up to 9 course meals for 4000 yen or so. Places like these would be up our street :P

Cheers.

There's one opposite the side entrance to Keisei Ueno, up some stairs, that I used to go to with friends when I was in Tokyo. They used to do unlimited drinks for 90 minutes for 1200 yen. This was 2 years ago.

This may not help much but we went to a fantastic Izakaya right near Kichijojji station: its on the JR Chuo line going west (away from Central Tokyo) about 15 or so minutes from Shinjuku.
It was down a small street near the bike racks, and actually had a vacant lot next door to it..amazing...upstairs: 14 courses and all we could drink for 4000Yen

thanks guys. I'll try check these places out when im in Tokyo :)

there are thousands of izakaya in tokyo

do you want cheap stuff or expensive stuff?

there are a lot of cheap izakaya.

kin no kura / kin no kura jr. are great places for spending a cheap night with friends. all items on the menu are 270yen except where otherwise noted. tons of these in shibuya just walk around spainzaka or near loft and you'll find one.

watami / warawara are the standard priced izakaya. the food quality is a little better than kin no kura.

then there's　六蔵 in shibuya near tower records. just walk towards tower records on the main drag and keep looking to your left as you pass intersections. on the 2nd big intersection you'll see a few steps up the street a big sign that says 六. this place has really good ambiance - if you reserve a table it's great for dates. not expensive but not cheap either, expect a 7,500-10,000 yen bill for 2 people.

Cheers Winterwolf some great info there. I'll take a peek at those Izakaya's.

I wasn't too fussed about prices. Just looking for an Izakaya with good atmos, decent food and plenty of drinks :P

The problem with izakaya: how do you identify them?
I know a bit of japanese, but still I can't identify them. Some of them have the red lanterns but that doesn't apply to those at the upper floors. Any suggestion?

any advice about Izakayas in tokyo for a lone traveller?

It's a bit difficult I guess to identify an Izakaya if you don't read Japanese. You can catch any person looking not so busy and ask for a nearest Izakaya. You may ask a policeman (it's part of their job to give directions, which I usually do when I find myself lost. They won't put you into jail, perhaps you can ask for his personal favorite). Actually, anything that offers small chunks of food that goes well with beer could be an Izakaya. You won't find a real bad Izakaya, and for a great and genuine Izakaya you'd have to know Japanese... Unlike chain izakayas with picture menus, they have only written menus on walls.

My husband and I ate at four different branches of Za Watami (in Tokyo and in Nagoya) and were always pleased with the food. Lots of selection, clear menus if you don't read Japanese, great atmosphere, and reasonably priced too. Plus they're all over the place and well-signed in the big cities. Definitely recommended!