I was going to write a short version of this as a reply to someone who posted they were going to Japan, but I thought the info might be userful for others so I decided to flesh it out more and post it on its own.

​

Japan is one of if not the most solo traveler friendly country in the world in my opinion because it's so easy to eat alone. Asia in general is pretty solo eater friendly, but Japan kicks it up another notch. You get way fewer weird looks from other diners and waiters when you eat at a restaurant by yourself and way more restaurants are designed to accomodate solo diners with counters and smaller tables. Any type of standing restaurant is by default solo friendly! Plus most of the foods that you want to try(ramen, sushi, yakitori, curry, etc.) are served in single diner portions so you don't have to skip iconic foods that are served in family-style portions you can't eat by yourself. Solo dining is such a normal thing that there's even a famous Japanese TV show about a salaryman who just goes around eating solo at different restaurants.

​

OK, so Japan is a great place to eat solo, but which restaurants should you go to? That's going to be the big issue if you don't read Japanese because there are SO MANY restaurants in Japan. In the large cities, there can be dozens on restaurants in a single small block. You want to find a place with a good selection of food, but with an English menu so you can actually order stuff and at a price you can afford. That's where these large chain izakaya come in.

​

An izakaya is like a Japanese pub, with more emphasis on the food. They're typically casual places a Japanese person might go with a few buddies after work to grab some drinks and some eats. The plates are small so you can just order a few snacks to accompany your drinks or order a few more plates and make it a full meal.

​

The problem is some izakaya have menus that are only written in Japanese hanging on the walls. And depending on the type of food they're serving, some might be really expensive even though they look like just a hole in the wall.

​

That's where chain izakayas come in. There are many large corporate izakya chains with outlets all over Japan. Some are more regional and some are totally national. I know many of us want to patronize local mom and pop places instead of some large soulless corporate chain, but going to these chains means you know what to expect in terms of food and price. And you know that they will have an English menu so you can actually order those things you had in mind.

​

If you just google "japan izakaya chain", you'll find lots of lists like this:

​

https://favy-jp.com/topics/2408

https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/3737/

http://trip-n-travel.com/listicle/7011/

​

You'll notice that some of the larger chains are so ubiquitous that they show up on most of the lists.

​

Here are a few recommendations I think would be especially good for tourists:

​

Kin no Kura (金の蔵) - This chain is everywhere! You will definitely be walking by branches of this chain on your Japan trip. Not sure there's anything that stands out in particular about this chain. Just a solid cheaper izakya with a decent selection of typical Japanese dishes. And lots of cool interesting drinks that aren't too expensive.

​

Torikizoku (鳥貴族) - I wouldn't really classify this one as an izakaya because they have a smaller menu that specializes in yakitori, so most of their menu consists of grilled skewered meat. Everything on the menu is 300 yen(orders of skewers come with 2 skewers for 300 yen). There's cheaper yakitori if you look for it, but I think Torikizoku has pretty decent quality for the price. The other big plus is that all the drinks are also 300 yen per order. So you can try all those flavored Japanese cocktails without breaking the bank.

​

Sekai no Yama-chan(世界の山ちゃん) - You'll recognize this by the cartoon birdman on the sign. It's a Nagoya chain that specializes in Japanese-style wings(tebasaki). I just think it's a fun place to grab some beer and wings Japanese style. They have other Nagoya specialties on the menu even if you're not into wings.

​

​

There are many more. These places don't have the best food you can find in the area, but for first-time visitors who lack the time or experience to hunt down the best whatever restaurants, they're awesome.

​

I would recommend going to some of those google links for izakaya chains and learning the names and logos of some of the ones you want to try out. Then when you're in Japan and walking around trying to find something to eat, you'll recognize some of the signs and not be so intimidated to walk in and check it out. All of the big chains have English menus and a lot of them have iPad ordering tablets where you can change the language to English and order everything right there without even needing to talk to a waiter.

​

I love visiting Japan and even with lots of experience under my belt, knowing that there are a bunch of solid go-to places I can fall back on when I'm there is a huge comfort. So for anyone going to Japan soon, check some of these places out if you haven't before!

​

PS: Make some time for a meal at Denny's while in Japan. No, I'm not kidding!