Is it legal for restaurants not to provide water for free?

Question

My favourite local izakaya just last week put all their prices up by like 25% and also started charging for water. I looked closely on the new menu and it said 水道水を提供しておりません。I know for sure that this is illegal in Australia, I'd be shocked if it was OK in Japan. Any insight would be appreciated.

Oh by the way, this place isn't a five-seat ramen hovel with cockroaches on the wall where you're in there for 15 minutes and then leave. This is a well established izakaya which is constantly full and people spend their entire nights there getting super rowdy (maybe not so much now that the prices have gone up).

Edit: so some people are downvoting me but in the comments are saying "yeah that's crazy" as well as "duh you have to pay for water at XYZ." So it's safe to say opinions are split even if the facts are not. My feeling is having managed my own hospitality establishment I can't even imagine not providing free water to paying customers, even if I didn't legally have to. I wasn't trying to start an argument, only a discussion, so the downvotes are unnecessary.

janinakerscher · Answer

The 25% hike is the real story here, most places in Tokyo have been doing gradual increases but jumping a quarter in one go is pretty aggressive. If they're still packed after that, they know their customers will pay it, but I'd personally start looking for a new go-to spot. For a similar vibe without the nickel-and-diming, try somewhere like Isomaru Suisan in Shinjuku, they still do free water and the prices haven't gone nuts yet.

katarzyna · Answer

that sign is funny actually, it's a very japanese way of saying "we're not doing free water anymore" without saying it directly. legal or not, i think it's more about the approach. they could've just put a 100 yen charge on the menu but instead they made it a whole statement.

if you're in shinjuku area, try bar plastic model in yotsuya. they still do free water and the owner is old-school about hospitality. or just order a shochu with soda and skip the water charge entirely, that's what most salarymen do when a place pulls this

lucfer · Answer

ngl i think the bigger issue here is the 25% price hike, not the water thing. that's pretty aggressive for a single jump, most places in tokyo have been doing like 5-10% over the last year or two. the water charge is just the cherry on top.

fwiw the 水道水を提供しておりません sign is a bit weird though, usually places just say "お水は有料です" or have a small note about bottled water. this reads like they're specifically trying to make a point, maybe they had some bad experiences with people camping out on tap water all night.

if you're in shinjuku area and want a proper izakaya without this nonsense, try standing at the counter at 魚金 near shinjuku sanchome. they're always busy but still do free water and the prices haven't gone crazy yet. or just go to a tachinomiya where nobody expects free anything.

steffiehake · Answer

You're right to be annoyed, and the 25% hike plus a water charge is a lot for one visit. The sign itself is a formal notice, but what's interesting is that many izakaya in Tokyo have been doing this quietly, not with a big sign. I've noticed it most in places near Shibuya's Dogenzaka where the rent is insane, but for a well-established spot, it feels like they're testing loyalty.

If you want to stick around the area, try the standing sushi place Uobei in Shibuya. It's not izakaya style, but they still offer free water and the prices are fair. Or if you're open to a short walk, the streets around Yoyogi have a few old-school izakaya that haven't changed their pricing in years, like the one on the corner near Yoyogi-Hachiman station.

inge · Answer

Honestly, a 25% price jump in one go is the bigger red flag here. Most places have been creeping up 5-10% at a time, so that's them testing how much loyalty they've got. For a replacement, there's a spot in Shinbashi called Tamatomi that still does free water and hasn't jacked prices yet, it's a bit of a hike from Shinjuku but worth it.

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