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Drinking Culture

Field guides · 16 from the ground

Drinking Culture

Etiquette, traditions, festivals, and the culture around drinking in Japan.

Why I Stopped Clinking Glasses in Japan

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureWhy I Stopped Clinking Glasses in JapanThe first time I got a Japanese toast wrong, I was at a wedding reception in Yokohama. Ten of us…23 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

Konbini Drinks Are a Whole Trip Strategy

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureKonbini Drinks Are a Whole Trip StrategyJapan has roughly 56,000 convenience stores. That's more outlets than McDonald's has worldwide, and the country sells about a third…21 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

Otoso, Bonenkai, and the Hush of Shogatsu

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureOtoso, Bonenkai, and the Hush of ShogatsuThe first person to write the recipe for otoso was a third-century Chinese physician named Hua Tuo, and he wrote…30 min read

Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Is Drinking Alone in Japan Awkward as a Woman?

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureIs Drinking Alone in Japan Awkward as a Woman?Is drinking alone in Japan awkward as a woman? I asked myself that on the bullet train to Tokyo with…24 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

What to Drink at an Onsen Ryokan, and When

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureWhat to Drink at an Onsen Ryokan, and WhenThe first sound is the knock of the wooden bath bucket against the stone rim, and then the slow tip…32 min read

Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Hot Sake in Japan: A Field Guide to Atsukan

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureHot Sake in Japan: A Field Guide to AtsukanThe first time hot sake actually surprised me, the steam came up off the cup before I tilted it, and…20 min read

Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Drinking Umeshu in Japan: A Traveller’s Guide

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureDrinking Umeshu in Japan: A Traveller’s GuideIs umeshu actually wine? Short answer: no, despite the bottle saying so. Long answer is the entire reason this drink…24 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

Kakuuchi Is Not an Izakaya

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureKakuuchi Is Not an IzakayaI walked into a kakuuchi in Kokura with the wrong instincts. I tried to take a stool I'd seen empty,…26 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

How to Drink Well on the Shinkansen

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

CitiesHow to Drink Well on the ShinkansenThe hiss when a tallboy opens at 14:33 on the platform of Tokyo Station, two minutes before the Hayabusa pulls…27 min read

Categories Cities, Drinking Culture

How to Read a Japanese Sake Label

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureHow to Read a Japanese Sake LabelYou're standing in the basement of a department store in Shinjuku, holding a bottle of sake by the neck, and…25 min read

Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Cold Sake and a Tarp at Cherry Blossom Time

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo

Drinking CultureCold Sake and a Tarp at Cherry Blossom TimeThe first thing you notice is the smoke. Charcoal smoke, the lighter-fluid kind nobody admits to using, drifting between the…25 min read

Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

How Cheap Drinking Gets in Japan, and Stays Good

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan

Drinking CultureHow Cheap Drinking Gets in Japan, and Stays GoodA tall chu-hi can at any 7-Eleven, 9% alcohol, lemon, ice-cold, costs ¥180. The same volume of beer at a…27 min read

Categories Drinking Culture

Tours & tastings we’ve reviewed

See the ranked list →

★ 5.0Tokyo Bar Hopping Tour in Shinjuku (All-You-Can-Drink + Dinner)From $106

★ 5.0Best of Shinjuku: Izakaya Food Tour (4 Stops, 14+ Tastings)From $92

★ 4.9Tokyo: Shinjuku Local Bar and Izakaya Guided Walking TourFrom $343 hours

★ 5.0Shibuya Meltdown Nightlife Tour: All-You-Can-Drink Bar HoppingFrom $106

★ 5.01-Day Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake in NaganoFrom $151

★ 5.0Osaka Bar Hopping Night Walking Tour in Namba (3 bars, 6 tastes)From $98

★ 4.5Tokyo: Pub Crawl and Bar TourFrom $275 hours

★ 5.03-Hour Kyoto Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Tastings & PairingsFrom $84

Keep browsing

Sake Tasting130 Bar Hopping Tours59 Breweries38 Izakaya Food Tours41 Tokyo119 Kyoto43

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