You sit down at an izakaya, order nothing yet, and a small dish of simmered vegetables or marinated seafood arrives unbidden. Later it shows up on the bill. First‑time visitors often read this as a trick. It is not. It is one of the most standard customs in Japanese dining, and once you understand it — what it is called, what it costs, how the line reads on the bill — it stops being a surprise.
What it is
The little unordered dish is called otoshi (お通し) or tsukidashi (突き出し). It is served automatically, before your order, and it comes with a small per‑person charge — typically ¥300 to ¥800, and up to around ¥1,000 at a polished counter (as of September 2026). In effect it is a seat charge or cover, with an edible token attached.
The names explain the custom. Otoshi comes from the verb 通す, tōsu, “to pass through”: the dish originally signalled that the guest’s first order had been passed through to the kitchen, and the morsel filled the wait until the drink and the first plate arrived. Tsukidashi is from 突き出す, “to push out” — the small plate pushed out in front of the guest as soon as they sit. Both are shorthand for the same idea: the house acknowledges you, and the clock starts.
What arrives is house‑made and seasonal by convention: hijiki with soybeans, a spoon of potato salad, edamame, marinated squid, a slice of simmered daikon, tofu with grated ginger. At a good izakaya it is a quiet advertisement for the kitchen; at an indifferent one it is something from a tub. Either way you pay the same few hundred yen.
Tsukidashi vs otoshi
The two words describe the same custom with a regional accent:
- Otoshi — the term used in Kanto, the Tokyo region, and the default word at everyday izakaya nationwide.
- Tsukidashi — the Kansai word, around Osaka and Kyoto, and the usual term at kappo counters, where the opening dish is a genuine showcase.
The economics and intent are identical; only the label and, sometimes, the polish differ.
How it reads on the bill
Otoshi belongs to a small family of legitimate fixed charges. Which one you meet depends on the kind of house; the full anatomy of a Japanese receipt is in the Japanese restaurant bill explained.
| Line on the bill | Reads as | Where you see it | Typical amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| お通し代 / お通し | Otoshi‑dai | Izakaya, casual counters | ¥300–¥800 per person |
| 突き出し | Tsukidashi | Kansai izakaya, kappo | Same range, or folded into the course |
| 席料 | Seki‑ryō, seat charge | Some izakaya and bars, in place of otoshi | Similar, sometimes without a dish |
| チャージ / テーブルチャージ | Charge, table charge | Bars, live venues, some Ginza counters | ¥500 upward |
| サービス料 | Service charge | Kaiseki, hotels, fine dining | 10–15% of the bill |
A house will normally levy one of these, not several. If an izakaya posts お通し代 it will not usually add a seat charge on top; a kaiseki house with a service charge does not add otoshi, because the opening course is already inside the price. Where fixed charges sit in the overall cost of a serious meal is set out in how much fine dining in Japan actually costs.
A worked example
Two people at a neighbourhood izakaya, an illustrative bill:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Otoshi ×2 | ¥800 |
| Draft beer ×2 | ¥1,200 |
| Sake, one carafe | ¥900 |
| Sashimi assortment | ¥1,500 |
| Yakitori, five skewers | ¥1,000 |
| Fried chicken | ¥700 |
| Rice ball to finish ×2 | ¥600 |
| Total | ¥6,700 |
The otoshi is under 12 percent of the bill and would have been declared on the menu. Menu prices in Japan must be shown inclusive of consumption tax, so the total is the total: no tip, and no service charge at a house of this kind. When the number surprises a visitor, the cause is almost always that they did not know the line existed, not that the line is large. Reading the menu before ordering, including the small print at the bottom of the first page, is covered in how to read a Japanese menu: look for お通し代 followed by a figure, or the phrase お一人様 (“per person”).
Why it is not a scam
The charge is openly accepted and applies to everyone, locals included — it is not aimed at tourists. For a small establishment it helps cover service and the cost of preparing that first dish, and it functions much like the cover charges found at bars and restaurants in parts of Europe. Japanese consumer guidance treats the charge as permissible when it is disclosed — on the menu, on a sign at the entrance, or by the staff when you are seated — and a growing number of izakaya print お通し代 with its price on the menu for exactly that reason. Some tourist‑facing places have dropped it altogether and say so on the door, usually as お通しなし, “no otoshi.” Reputable places keep it modest. It belongs to the same family of legitimate dining costs as the service charge at a kaiseki house.
At a kappo counter
At a kappo or kaiseki counter the word is more likely to be tsukidashi and the thing itself is the first course: a composed seasonal plate, often the most careful dish of the evening, and part of the course price rather than a separate charge. There is nothing to refuse and nothing to decode. The distinction is useful for expectations: at an izakaya the otoshi is a cost of the seat; at a kappo the tsukidashi is the meal beginning.
What to do about it
In most izakaya the otoshi is automatic and cannot be declined, since it is really a seat charge rather than an ordered item. A few places will remove it if you ask before it is served, but do not count on it. The graceful move is simply to accept it as part of sitting down — one small thread in the wider fabric of Japanese restaurant etiquette, and of the izakaya format as a whole, which we walk through in our izakaya guide.
A few phrases, if you want to check rather than guess:
- お通し代はいくらですか。 Otoshi‑dai wa ikura desu ka. — How much is the otoshi charge?
- 席料はありますか。 Seki‑ryō wa arimasu ka. — Is there a seat charge?
- これはお通しですか。 Kore wa otoshi desu ka. — Is this the otoshi? (useful when a dish arrives that you did not order)
- お会計をお願いします。 O‑kaikei o onegai shimasu. — The bill, please.
More on settling up, including how to ask for separate bills, is in our phrases for paying the bill.
Seen clearly, otoshi is not a hidden fee but a handshake: the house’s first small offering, and the cost of the seat you are settling into.