You’re in a Zen garden.

There’s reclaimed-woodsy walls and tables, dangling air plants, some errant tree stumps just because.

You’re either about to get the best massage ever, or several pitchers of Kirin on your table.

Hint: it’s just the latter. Unless one of your friends gets handsy after too much Kirin.

Hold the door open at Izakaya Hashiburo Kou, an airy, earthy new Japanese garden of a room that’ll load you up on beer, raw octopus and plentiful fried things, now open on Fillmore.

Something about the vibe makes you feel both eager and relaxed when you walk in with all your friends here—all that Zen-ness, combined with a strong-to-very-strong sense of imminent sashimi. Anyway, get comfortable. Roll up any lingering sleeves. That kind of thing. You’ll be here awhile.

Because this is the kind of place where more beers just tend to materialize right when somebody’s story hits the punch line, and suddenly you realize you missed a section of the long, long menu and you have to try the octopus. And some tempura. And the Lizard Eye (spicy tuna and asparagus on dried seaweed with whole-grain mustard apple sauce).

Wouldn’t be dinner without some lizard eye.