Douglas Gloag explains how to buy beer in Japan.
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How to buy beer in Japan
Submitted by Douglas Gloag
Maybe your image of a Japanese person
abroad is one of
a glasses-wearing, photo-taking business man who doesn't drink that
much.
They do exist, but put any Japanese person over 18 (the legal limit for drinking is 20, but ID is only checked in the big cities) on home ground and you'll find any old day is good for drinking.
I've often been told after worrying about a heavy work load the next day that Ashita wa ashita, kyo wa kyo.
A literal translation for this would be, "Tomorrow is tomorrow, today is today", but a more natural translation would be, "Forget tomorrow, drink now!"
How to buy beer in Japan
Drinking in Japan is almost state-sanctioned and you can bet your bottom yen that 95% of the population will be drinking on a few certain days of any year. Great, but where can you go to get a drink? And when you get there, do you know how to buy beer in Japan?
There are three kinds of places to
get beer or other drinks. An English-style pub
(only common in the big cities), a snack
run by 30-50+ women, primarily open
to just drink and burden
the women with all your problems and an izakaya, the
most common type.
The
local "walk down the road to your nearest pub" kind of place
doesn’t really exist
in Japan. Instead there are drinking
zones where one area will be crammed with different drinking
establishments
(and the odd girlie bar). It
really is NOT advisable to go for a pub
crawl in Japan! In one multi-storey building
you’ll be able to find a drinking place on each floor...
consider yourself warned!
"In
all the places, in all of Japan" (Humphrey
Taro) you should
be able to find at least one of the five izakaya pubs listed. It is
very
difficult to find a pub that doesn’t have an extensive food
menu alongside the
drink menu. The greatest thing (or most dangerous thing) about the five
places
listed below is that they all come with a very user-friendly 'point to
order'
menu! How to buy beer in
Japan... HA! The pictures of the food are definitely
close-ups, but the deal
is very affordable (especially if you’re holding British
pounds at time of
writing!)
I've
always found these places to be very friendly and it's quite
easy to strike up
conversation with the table opposite, or with someone sitting alone at
the
counter.
More on the chat-up guide later: I want to teach you how to buy beer in Japan.
For starters,
I'll teach you how
to count, although you're not going to like it. There are two
(actually three) ways to count! (And there are two words for four and
seven, but seriously
folks – it's NOT difficult!)
How to say basic numbers
Number Japanese (pronounciation)
One
= ichi
(itchy)
Two
= ni
(knee)
Three = san (sun)
Four = shi or yon (she or [as in 'yon'der])
Five = go (rhymes
with D'oh!)
Six
= roku
(rock)
Seven = shichi or nana
(sss-each-ee or
nanna)
Eight = hachi (rhymes
with catchy)
Nine = kyu (queue)
Ten = ju (Jew)
Counting things. One beer, two beers etc.
Number Japanese (pronounciation)
One
= hitotsu (he
tots [said together fairly swiftly!])
Two
= futatsu
(who
tats [soften the 'w'])
Three =
mittsu
(mitts)
Four = yottsu (yachts)
Five = itsutsu (is-zoo-two
[or hold up five fingers!])
Six
= muttsu
(moots)
Seven = nanatsu (nanna
with a 'ts' attached to the end)
Eight = yatsu (rhymes
with rats)
If you need any more beer than that, one of you must be able to speak Japanese!
GET INVOLVED!
usa
canada
world
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