Been there, drank that.
Japan is one
hard Drinking Culture. Difficult to convey the permeation of Alcohol there in Society.
Part of the issue is that Housing is so expensive, any number of mid-level 'Salary Men' don't even go Home from their relentless Jobs until Saturday afternoon. A ~2+ hour Train ride each way is too daunting. So, they sleep at 'Capsule Hotels' where you slip into a lil 'Pod' with the essentials. There is tremendous pressure to 'fit in', and go out Drinking/Eating nightly with Office Colleagues. As the saying there goes: 'The Nail that stands up gets hammered down'. After hearing the ominous 'splat' of Alcoholic 'Hurl' on late night Trains, we learned to lift our Feet on curves to avoid 'the flow'. It becomes habit.
Japanese Capsule Hotels
Restaurants and Bars have Bottle Service, with Product held by personal initials in a nice Display Case. Johnny Walker was big. This is a Status Symbol when Groups go out with the Boss, or take out a Customer. At one private Dinner for 4 of us, a ~$300- of Suntory Whisky was brought out for me when I mentioned liking said Spirit. The Dinner was another $1200- on top of that. Karoake. Incredible Sushi. Women refilling your Glass after each sip.
The 'one upmanship' in Vending Machines is amazing. They dispense Beer/Sake/Wine/Whisky right on the Street, uncontrolled. And, in Hotel Hallways. The Beer sizes get large enough to be somewhat humorous.
Japanese Vending Machines
There is notable pressure on Housewives to neatly wrap up and tape even their Household Trash put Curbside. Yes, the unfathomable pressure to conform in that Culture applies even to Household Trash. And Drinking. Part of these Cultural Norms is that it allows ~120 Million Folks to amicably live in an area about the size of Montana [when I traveled to Japan]. 20+ million in Greater Tokyo alone.
In a phenomenon called 'Karoshi', Folks just up and die in Japan from Work Stress. Add Power Drinking to the mix...
'Karoshi' Work Death ~ Wiki
I can't imagine trying to get Sober there. Hats off to those who do.
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