Top 4 Drinking, Drinking, Drinking Buddies in Japan (Notes from Under the Tatami Mats–58 … My Adventures in Japan)

Not only does Japan provide many excuses to drink. It also provides plenty of opportunities to drink.

Japan’s drinking culture extends well beyond the traditional pleasure-seeking “floating world.”  Drinking not only greases the wheels of industry, commerce, and politics, it also lubricates many and various social interactions.  

When in Rome ...

That fact provided my friends and me with a convenient excuse to indulge. As the old adage says, “When in Japan …”   Speaking of “convenience,”   Japan makes it truly convenient for drinkers to get their booze. For one thing, there are convenience stores and mom’n’pop stores in almost every block, and most of them have a decent stock of beer and spirits. 

Beer on every corner

For another thing, there are the ubiquitous “beer-vending machines,” which are almost as accessible and convenient as the aforementioned shops.   

There may be (or may have been) a law forbidding the sale from those vending machines at a certain hour of the night, since some of the machines would automatically shut down at, say, 11:00 p.m. But we were never certain whether there actually was such a law, since there were plenty of midnights when we could find a cool and friendly machine that would exchange our coins for more cold beer.   _{(Image source)}

Cherry blossoms = a reason to drink

Not only does the country provide many convenient excuses to drink. It also provides plenty of opportunities and places to drink.    

In the summer, there are huge beer gardens in the downtown parks. Every spring, there’s the cherry-blossom-viewing / drinking festivals held in every park throughout the nation. And every night, the sprawling entertainment districts in every city lure tired and stressed-out workers.    _{(Image source)}

A place to fit in

As the above list indicates, my friends and I were known for our drinking culture. I guess you could say that drinking was just one aspect of our traditional, pleasure-seeking, floating world.  

Consequently, although we may not have been raving Japanophiles, we fit in well enough.        _{(Image source)}

   Introduction to – “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats”  _{(right-click on title)}

Top 3 Bars / Drinking Spots

Top Porn Star in Japan

Top 7 Evocative Bowie Lyrics Referring to Japan

... and more

Links to my Other Series …

      Introduction – "Intro to Vocab-ability"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Guide – "Guide to Entries"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Index– "Index" to all Chapters and Sections   _{(right-click on title)}

      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"   _{(right-click on title)}

_{Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.}