With their "Kampai!"-bellowing salarymen, bible-sized menus and endless rounds of cheap beers, izakaya have long been an integral part of Japan's nightlife.
But unfortunately for parents with small kids, there seems to be an unwritten law dictating that for all their entertaining qualities, izakaya must also be loud, smoky and resolutely baby-unfriendly. And so it is perhaps little surprise that for many new parents, rowdy weekend izakaya sessions with friends quickly become a blurred memory of the past.
But one izakaya chain that allows pre- and post-baby worlds to happily collide is Monteroza. With restaurants spanning the Japanese archipelago (it has more than 2,000 at last count, with a variety of names including Uotami, Sennen no Utage, Shirokiya and Yamauchi Nojo), the company took the innovative step five years ago of introducing specially-designed "kids' spaces." Today, there are kids' spaces in more than 350 branches across the country, each uniquely designed to be child and baby friendly — enabling the whole family to enjoy a relaxed izakaya experience.