Otoshi in Japan:
Table Charges, Saying No and What to Ask

Otoshi, table charge, seat charge: what the words mean

Travellers run into three different words that often get mixed up, so here they are side by side.

The simplest way to think about otoshi is as “the first small plate, which is also your rent for the seat”. It pays for the time you occupy a table in a small venue, and it gives you something to eat while your first drink is poured. It is an old custom, not a trick, and many Japanese people never give it a second thought. The problems only start when a visitor does not know it exists, and nobody explains it. If you want the wider picture of the kinds of bar you will meet in Osaka, see bars in Osaka for foreigners; and for the difference between a bar, an izakaya and a club, see club, izakaya or bar in Osaka.

What actually goes wrong: the official record

“We were charged for a dish we never ordered”

In a press release dated 19 September 2019, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan published a set of cases from its Consumer Hotline for Tourists. One of them (Case 7, received in February 2019 in Chinese) is exactly this situation: two visitors ate at an izakaya and, when the bill came, were charged per person for a dish they had not ordered, the otoshi. The Center’s own comment is the key point of this whole page: even a custom that is widely known among Japanese people can leave an overseas visitor wondering why they should pay for food they never asked for. It lists this kind of gap, where the visitor does not know the custom and the venue does not explain it, as a typical cause of trouble.

The same hotline keeps growing. In its report of 7 August 2024 on the 2023 financial year, the Center recorded 305 consultations, 227 of them from visiting tourists, handled in seven languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, French and Japanese. Otoshi is only one of many topics, but it is the one that surprises people on their very first night out.

What JNTO tells visitors

The Japan National Tourism Organization, in its guide “Drinking the Japanese Way” (31 March 2022), prepares visitors for the same moment: at an izakaya a small dish called otoshi arrives before you order, it serves as the table charge, what you get depends on the venue, and you cannot exchange it for something else. In other words, the national tourism body treats otoshi as part of the normal experience, not as a scam.

Osaka’s rule: charges must be on display

Osaka Prefecture has an ordinance on the prevention of unfair solicitation and unfair collection of charges in businesses serving alcohol (Ordinance No. 9 of 30 March 2001), known locally as the rip-off ordinance. The Minami Police Station of the Osaka Prefectural Police states that Minami, the area that includes Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori and Namba, is inside the zone where it applies. The provisions that matter for this page:

So in Minami, a seat charge or otoshi charge is not something a venue may keep secret until the bill arrives: Article 3 says it should be on display where you can see it. And charging for an otoshi is not in itself a violation of anything. What the ordinance targets is lying about charges, pressuring people in, and threatening them at the till. For the wider subject of touts and inflated bills, see Osaka nightlife scams and touts.

To be clear: not every venue works this way, and the great majority of izakaya and bars in Osaka serve their otoshi or add their seat charge openly and honestly. The custom itself is not the problem. The problem is not knowing about it, which the next section fixes.

Five ways to avoid an otoshi surprise

1. Ask before your first order, in Japanese if you like

The single most useful habit is to ask when you sit down or just before you order your first drink. Nobody will think it rude; staff are asked this every night. These sentences are short enough to read straight from your phone.

If the answer comes back in Japanese you do not understand, hold up your translation app; a good venue will type or point. If a venue cannot or will not tell you how it bills, that is your signal to drink somewhere else.

2. Look at the wall and the menu

Under Article 3 of the Osaka ordinance, venues in the zone must display their charges where customers can see them. In practice that means a notice near the door, on the wall, or on the first page of the menu, often with words such as お通し, 席料, チャージ or “charge”. Thirty seconds of looking around tells you most of what you need.

3. Can you refuse otoshi? Sometimes, and only before it arrives

This is the question people search most, so here is the honest answer. Some venues will let you decline the otoshi; many will not, because for them it is the seat charge and the dish is just the form it takes. What makes the difference is timing: ask before you order, while the dish is still in the kitchen. Once it has been brought to your table, it has been prepared for you and most venues will not take it off the bill. If you would rather not have it, say “Otoshi wa kekkō desu” as you sit down and accept whichever answer you get. Arguing about it after you have eaten it is a losing position in any country.

4. Allergies and dietary rules: speak up early

Because otoshi is chosen by the venue, it may contain fish, shellfish, pork, meat stock, alcohol or sesame. If you have an allergy or follow religious or dietary rules, say so before anything is served: “Arerugī ga arimasu” plus the ingredient, or a card on your phone in Japanese. Most venues will swap, leave out or simply skip the dish for you.

5. Check the bill line by line, and know who to call

When the bill comes, look for the otoshi or charge line and make sure it matches the number of people. If something is unclear, ask on the spot: “Kore wa nan no ryōkin desu ka?” When paying by card, check the amount on the terminal before you tap or enter your PIN, the same advice the Minami Police Station gives on its rip-off warning page. If a venue becomes threatening, or you have already paid and think you were overcharged, these are the people to contact.

More general tips for a first night out are in Osaka bar etiquette and the Osaka nightlife safety guide.

About our bars: what you can check before you walk in

Since you are reading a page written by a bar owner, you are entitled to ask “And what about your places?” Here are the facts you can verify from outside.

• None of our three bars (HEAVEN, 韓国バーMOON and SARANG) is a girls bar, hostess club or nightclub; all three are bars where you drink and talk with Korean staff, not venues where someone is paid to sit with you. If you are unsure what those other kinds of venue are, see girls bars in Osaka explained and Japanese snack bars explained.
• All three are listed on Google Maps with public reviews: HEAVEN 2,844, 韓国バーMOON 380 and SARANG 678, each rated 4.9 (as of September 2026). Read them before you decide.
• Open every day, 21:00 to 05:00, no closing day, no reservation needed.
• You can ask anything before you come, by phone or Instagram DM, including how the bill works. We would rather answer in advance than have you wonder.
• Credit cards and cash are accepted.
• Smoking is allowed inside HEAVEN and 韓国バーMOON. SARANG is fully non-smoking.
• Private hire and groups are welcome; ask each bar about numbers.
• All three are bars, not Korean restaurants, and do not serve food. Eat before you come.
• The legal drinking age in Japan is 20; guests under 20 cannot enter.

All three are in Higashi-Shinsaibashi 2-chome, within a five-minute walk of each other. To choose between them, see which Korean bar in Osaka or the quick guide by purpose.

So what kind of night can you have? Three bars by purpose

If you are travelling solo, the Osaka solo drinking guide covers how to walk into a bar on your own.

FAQ

Q. What is otoshi?

Otoshi (お通し), also called tsukidashi, is a small dish served at izakaya and many bars in Japan as soon as you sit down, before you have ordered. You do not choose it, it is billed per person, and at most venues it doubles as the table charge. JNTO describes it as a normal part of drinking in Japan.

Q. Can I refuse the otoshi?

Sometimes. Some venues will leave it out if you ask, while many treat it as their seat charge and will not. The only moment it can work is before you order, so say “Otoshi wa kekkō desu” as you sit down. Once the dish has been brought to your table, it is very unlikely to come off the bill.

Q. Do bars have otoshi too, or only izakaya?

Both exist. Many bars serve a small dish like an izakaya; others have no dish but add a seat charge or cover charge; and some have neither. It varies from venue to venue, which is why asking before your first drink is the only reliable method.

Q. What is the difference between otoshi, a seat charge and a cover charge?

Otoshi is a dish that doubles as a table charge. A seat charge (sekiryō) or cover charge is the same idea without the dish, added to the bill for using the seat. A service charge is a percentage on the total, usually only in hotel bars and some restaurants. A venue normally has one of these systems, not all of them.

Q. I don’t speak Japanese. How do I ask?

“Otoshi wa arimasu ka?” (Is there an otoshi?), “Sekiryō wa arimasu ka?” (Is there a seat charge?) and “Okaikei wa dō narimasu ka?” (How does the bill work?) cover almost every situation. Showing the Japanese text in the table above on your phone works just as well.

Q. The bill has a charge I don’t understand. What should I do?

Ask on the spot what the line is for and request an itemised bill. Check the amount on the card terminal before you pay. If you are threatened or kept from leaving, call 110. If you have already paid and want advice in your own language, call the Consumer Hotline for Tourists on 03-5449-0906 (weekdays) or the Japan Visitor Hotline on 050-3816-2787 (24 hours).

Q. Is charging for otoshi legal in Osaka?

Yes. The custom itself is not what Osaka’s ordinance restricts. What the ordinance requires of venues in the zone is that charges are displayed where customers can see them (Article 3), and it bans lying about charges to draw people in (Article 5) and intimidation when collecting payment (Article 6).

Q. What about HEAVEN, MOON and SARANG?

HEAVEN, 韓国バーMOON and SARANG are bars where you drink and talk, not girls bars, hostess clubs or nightclubs, and they do not serve food. They are listed on Google Maps with public reviews (2,844, 380 and 678 as of September 2026, each rated 4.9). You can ask how the bill works, or anything else, by phone or Instagram DM before you come. Guests under 20 cannot enter.

Sources (all accessed 7 October 2026): National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, press release of 19 September 2019 introducing cases received by the Consumer Hotline for Tourists (Case 7), and report of 7 August 2024 on consumer consultations from visiting tourists in FY2023; National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Hotline for Tourists” (cht.kokusen.go.jp); Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), “Drinking the Japanese Way” (31 March 2022); Osaka Prefecture, ordinance on the prevention of unfair solicitation and unfair collection of charges in businesses serving alcohol (Ordinance No. 9 of 30 March 2001; Articles 2, 3, 5 and 6, and Article 3 of the enforcement rules); Osaka Prefectural Police, Minami Police Station, rip-off warning page; Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline 188”; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), “Japan Visitor Hotline”. The ordinance is summarised from the official wording, with no legal interpretation added; it can change, so check the official pages for the latest version. Our bar details are as shown on Google Maps in September 2026.