Japanese Social Alcohol Consumption: What, Where, How, and Why to Drink in Japan

Despite many of the negative stigmas against it, in many cases, alcohol can be a universal icebreaker. Where mingling and bonding might not otherwise be possible, alcohol can provide the necessary social lubricant. It's no big surprise, then, that countries with more rigidly defined social climates often have some of the most active and prominent drinking subcultures as a result. Japan, with its notoriously hard-working, success-driven and reserved population, is no exception. In many countries, social alcohol consumption and basic culinary culture are initiative rituals for guests and visitors which bring locals and foreigners together in a more relaxed social setting than is normally possible in other more formal and regimented environments. Social drinking, ritual alcohol consumption, and general culinary practices often act as means of penetrating cultural boundaries and finding a common social ground in the everyday practices of Japanese people, and the particular ways they experience social bonding in both their personal and professional lives.

What the Japanese Drink

As its name implies, nihonshu ("Japanese alcohol"), or sake, as it is simply referred to in the West, has long been the traditional national beverage of Japan. It is often and mistakenly referred to as a kind of "rice wine," when in fact the nihonshu brewing process involves multiple fermentations, more similar to beer, and wines are typically made through a single-fermentation process ("Nihonshu"). Disputes over the proper temperature at which to drink nihonshu are common, and vary based on brands, brewing techniques, season, and personal taste, though it is often served at room temperature. For the Japanese, the word "sake," usually preceded by an honorific-o, refers more broadly to alcohol of all kinds, but nihonshu specifically has played a crucial role throughout Japanese religious and cultural history. Historically, the use of nihonshu has been so prolific in Japan that government taxes on it have even helped to support the government in times of economic strain ("Nihonshu"). Even today, nihonshu plays a pivotal role in religious ceremonies as offerings to gods and for purification rituals; it is also frequently used for festivals and more general celebrations such as the drinking of medicinal toso for the New Year and the traditional Kagami biraki - the splitting of a fresh sake barrel with a mallet performed on numerous special occasions - including weddings ("Nihonshu"). Despite its long and central position in Japanese cultural and religious history, however, other drinks like shōchū, beer, and whiskey have more recently begun taking the main stage in popular Japanese drinking culture.

Although shōchū is no newcomer among Japanese alcohols - having first appeared as early as the 14th century - it has only recently become a mainstay of Japanese drinking culture ("Japanese Drinking Habits"). At a cursory glance, the Western visitor may find a tall green or brown bottle of shōchū on the shelf indistinguishable from nihonshu, but their characteristics and flavors are very distinct. Originally considered a cheaper, more powerful drink for the lower classes, the concentration of alcohol in shōchū varies from 25% to 42%, and, unlike nihonshu which is made exclusively from rice, it can be brewed with anything from rice to buckwheat to sweet potatoes ("Japanese Drinking Habits"). Its flavor reflects on the local ingredients and preferred brewing methods of the area in which it is made, though it is originally from the islands of Kyushu and Okinawa ("Japanese Drinking Habits"). In recent years, shōchū has become especially popular among Japanese youth in search of strong drink who have no recollection of shōchū's older stigma as a "poor-man's" nihonshu . Many bars and restaurants today boast a wide variety of shōchūs and a sinking nihonshu selection due to dramatic increases in the beverage's popularity since 1980 ("Japanese Drinking Habits").

Since World War II, with the heavy Americanization of Japanese popular culture, imported beers and whiskeys have also become favorites in modern Japan. The Japanese drink a variety of domestic beers and whiskeys from major brewers Kirin, Suntory, Asahi and Sapporo with pride - sleek, flashy ads for beers and whiskeys are frequent on Japanese TV. The popularity of both beer and whiskey - neither native to Japan - is one of many examples of the major influence of the West on modern Japanese popular culture. When asked, most Japanese people I encountered on the trip explained beer to be the most popular drink in Japan by far.

Where the Japanese Drink

Establishments called izakaya are the center-stage for most Japanese social drinking. Izakaya offer diverse and extensive food and drink menus, typically for large groups, seated at long tables, who pay a flat fee for certain amounts of time for "all you can drink" or nomihodai. Beer, beer, and more beer is typical izakaya fare, though any number of liquors, cocktails, and wines are offered depending on the bar. Drinks are joined by a cornucopia of deep-fried foods and hearty communal dishes of things like tempura and yakitori, eagerly scooped up and devoured while still searing hot. Infamous chef and travel-writer Anthony Bourdain once described the izakaya as "a place where you can eat family-style servings of savory food, tiny yakitori's of skewered meat and chicken, while putting down copious amounts of beer," adding "it's where one goes to take the edge off " (No Reservations S3E4). Yet in Japan, the izakaya's social significance goes far beyond that. For most Japanese, izakaya and other drinking establishments are a focal point for extremely common after-work and after-school gatherings which play a major role in everyday Japanese social life. This is also becoming increasingly true of other drinking establishments, from BYOB karaoke rooms to theme-bars to reggae and hip-hop clubs. Like in America, youth culture in Japan is becoming increasingly fragmented into smaller and stranger pockets of subculture. Many students attending social drinking events these days are constantly searching for new and different ways to relax and bond. Many of us participating in the summer program were invited along to various music clubs, hole in the wall bars, and once, even an underground horror-theme nomihodai where we were locked in a cell and given our drink menus.

Wherever the locale, drinking parties called nomikai are considered so integral to the social environment of the workplace that in most cases they are actually considered a part of work, not leisure time. Nomikai are held for numerous kinds of special occasions and celebrations, but pressure to participate in this drinking phenomenon can be immense, and while not necessarily "required," social drinking among coworkers and employers is considered essential to establishing and building relationships within an organization ("Nomikai"). Nomikai are organized by a single, appointed individual or kanji who plans out the details of the event in advance("Nomikai"). Students also have an equivalent of the nomikai called the konpa, which are generally more relaxed. In both cases, the idea is to remove inhibitions and create a fluid and friendly environment for social interaction, free from the strains, anxieties, and rigid order of the workplace, the classroom, and society in general. Essentially, what happens in nomikai stays in nomikai, so participants are free to talk and bond in ways that would normally be impossible in the Japanese workplace, without fear of repercussions when they return to their daytime lives.

Following a nomikai, many times participants will even split off into other groups and continue drinking at other bars and izakaya, a practice known as nijikai ("Nomikai"). Participation in nijikai is far less compulsory than for nomikai, as the groups are smaller and more tightly knit, typically made up of friends and truly devoted drinkers. In some cases, nijikai may be followed by yet another round of drinking called, predictably, sanjikai ("Nomikai"). All of these practices offer tremendous insight into the Japanese "group mentality." Many Japanese workers spend a great deal of their money and time on such events, sacrificing much of their own private and personal home lives for the sake of building better relationships with their colleagues. While this concept may seem foreign and even downright ludicrous to some Westerners, it makes perfect sense in the context of Japanese Wa, the age-old sensibility of harmony and eager willingness to put the good of the larger community above that of oneself. To set one's personal interests and sense of identity aside in order to fit harmoniously into a social group is not a conscious decision for Japanese even today, but a cultural instinct with a history going back for centuries.

How the Japanese Drink

Japanese law "makes no mention of such a crime as being drunk and disorderly. If anything, inebriation may be taken into account as a mollifying factor if a crime is committed. This legal leniency reflects the general tolerance shown towards those who have overshot their limit." And overshooting one's limits is far from uncommon for Japanese social drinkers. At night and very early in the morning in any major city - and especially in popular Tokyo night spots like Shinjuku - everyone from college students to girlfriends to businessmen can be seen staggering around or even passed out on the sidewalk. Sober pedestrians indifferently step over or around them; riding the late subway trains in several cities I noticed flocks of drunken passengers, some of them tipping over onto others, who gently up-righted them and acted like nothing had ever happened. Not only is public drunkenness not illegal, it is not even considered socially unacceptable or looked down upon. Anthony Bourdain, who has examined and personally experienced heavy-drinking cultures around the world, famously said of Tokyo: "Listen, I've gotta tell you, I've been to Tokyo, and everyone is fucking drunk. I mean, I've never seen so many drunk people in my life...like 9 o'clock on Friday night," to which his native Japanese companion nonchalantly replied "I think...every night" (No Reservations S3E4). The exchange demonstrates not only the extent to which foreigners tend to be taken aback by the Japanese proclivity for social drinking, but also the total acceptance by the Japanese of this cultural phenomenon as a normal part of everyday life.

The Japanese also take the concept of "pub-crawling" or "bar-hopping" to new levels with their hashigozake ("ladder drinking"), which is made easy by the fact that bars - which do not even require licenses to be operated - come in all varieties, sizes, and hours of operation, and tend to be clustered closely together for when last call just comes too early ("Drinking in Japan"). 24-hour konbini also offer a respectable selection of beers, wines and spirits, making alcohol available at any time of day or night. The legal drinking age is twenty, but youngsters are rarely, if ever, asked for proof of age, and are therefore able to easily acquire alcohol, especially given its availability. Though less common than in earlier years, vending machines - also requiring no identification - selling beer and sometimes even whiskey can still be found scattered around the cities.

In the United States, drinking is generally considered to be superfluous to everyday life; drinking is for pleasure, and consuming in excess will earn one the stigma of being decadent, even an alcoholic. While indiscrete and/or copious drinking in the States might attract some negative attention from one's employer or family, the Japanese have integrated the consumption of alcohol into their home, professional, and religious lives, and if anything, throwing one (or a dozen) back with one's boss could even gain one favor in the workplace. What can often be looked at as a "shameful habit" in America is widely considered normal and necessary in Japan - even in the context of a culture often referred to as a "culture of shame." In a place where life revolves around work and duty, the Japanese people have definitely learned to let loose.

Sources:

"Drinking in Japan." Japan Visitor, 2000, http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=361&pID=369&cName=Japanese%20Food&pName=food-and-drink-shochu.

"Japanese Drinking Habits." Japan Visitor, 2000, http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=359&pID=354&cName=Japanese%20Culture&pName=drinking-in-japan#primer.

"Nihonshu." Wikipedia.org, N.d., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonshu?.

"Nomikai." Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomikai.

No Reservations. Season 3, episode no. 8, first broadcast 8 August 2007 by Zero Point Zero Productions. Written by Anthony Bourdain.