Are izakaya where the bartender doesn't stand opposite the bar inauthentic?
Most izakaya I've been to have the bartender standing on the other side of the bar, or even consist solely of a bar.
However, I've been to two places that called themselves an izakaya where the bartender is not on the opposite side of the bar. In one of them, the bar faced a wall, while in the other, the bar formed an oblong shape.
One of them seemed to be part of a chain of izakayas, which made me think it was an inauthentic rip-off of an izakaya, a place that was more izakaya-themed than a genuine izakaya. The other was in a touristy area of the touristy town of Takayama, which also made me suspicious that it was an inauthentic rip-off targeting people who wouldn't know what a real izakaya is like.
Are such places regarded as real izakayas?
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