Gaijin Alcoholism

[StangGuy]

As I alluded to in the Living in Japan - Why?? thread Here I had an interesting time during my nights out in Japan. The first night out I ended up passing out on a bench along a major road in Hiroshima and didn't wake up until the alarm on my phone had been going off for an hour. That was more a case of forgetting how late it was and also being caught up in how friendly people actually were. There were also a couple nights that I ended up falling asleep at the bar.

While most of this excess could be attributed to stesses from work, it is said that during our companies foreign installs at least 1 person ends up overdoing it in the local hangouts, the last two months of my time in Japan it was mostly due to culture shock/isolation. I was the only American left onsite and didn't really have anyone to talk with unless I went out. During my last 2 months, there was a period of 2 weeks where I went out and got drunk on all but 1 night, staying out until at least 2 in the morning and ussually 4. I also increased the number of nights I was out on average per week to about 3.5. This was instead of the usual friday/saturday night outings during the first 4 months.

During my time out I met a lot of people. While the regulars on the weekends were both foreign and Japanese obviosly overwhelmingly Japanese, during the week the regulars were about evenly split between Longterm foreign english teachers and Japanese. There were about 20 english teachers ranging in age from the mid 30's to mid 50's. What suprised me most was that about 3/4 of them were married. Their behavior was also suprisingly immature. I don't go out much in the states, I might have 1 drink a month, but when I do there is a very different behavior between people in their 20's and older people. However, these english teachers were all behaving and drinking like college kids.

I think some of this has to do with a seemingly lower sense of responsibility because they are in a foreign country, even if this is subconscious. This is in direct contrast with the fact that most of them have a wife and kids in Japan, but they still don't really think of Japan as home. I have to admit that I was guilty of the same behavior and I don't undestand why. I was conscious that any real screwup could have serious repercussions on both me and my company. I am also the last one you would guess would be dancing half naked on the bar and chasing shots of spirytus with absinthe, yet I did just that and more.

So, I am wondering what are your experiences, opinions and observations about foreigners and drinking in Japan?

[Hatredcopter]

Alcohol consumption definitely increased for me after I began living in Japan (moreso when I was a student here rather than working here as I am now). Part of it may indeed be a feeling of less responsibility. But I think the major part of it is that this country's culture and society promotes drinking - big time. Let's list the ways...

- Nearly every combini there is has a wide selection of beer, chu-hai, hard liquor, and even wine - a lot of it is quite cheap.
- There are vending machines that dispense beer.
- Going out to drink with your coworkers after the work day is over is pretty much part of the job for many in Japan.
- Bars and izakaya are a dime-a-dozen.
- And the king of them all: nomihoudai. We used to go to karaoke once every week. Not including the cost of the room, nomihoudai was a mere 1500 Yen from 6PM to 5AM. That's eleven hours of unlimited drinks for $15 bucks. And they had every drink you could think of on the menu. But its not just karaoke, you can find nomihoudai at a lot of restaurants and so on.

Now, I hold my alcohol pretty well and even when I do drink a lot, I don't get into trouble - so it has never been a problem for me. But I can certainly see how alcoholism can sneak up on a person in Japan...

Quite a number of my fellow classmates remarked that they too drink a lot more in Japan then they ever did in their home countries.

[samurai007]

Alcohol consumption increased for me in Japan too... I went from never drinking it at all in the US to having a tiny sip for the kampai in order to be polite, before switching to cola, tea, or fruit juice for the rest of the night...

[Nyororin]

I would say it increased for me, but only because I was 17 when I first came over here, and wasn`t into the underage drinking thing...
So I literally never drank before I came to Japan.
Now I only have a drink maybe once every 2 or 3 months. I seem to be abnormally strong, so unless I literally drink liters upon liters - nothing happens. And to be quite honest, I can`t say I like the flavor of alcohol enough to spend extra money on it just for that.

I have seen a lot more irresponsible drinkers and life ruining drunks in the US than in Japan. The image of a "bar" isn`t quite the same, and the attitudes toward alcohol truly do seem to be more healthy. Even back when I was in high school, before coming to Japan, the attitude was of "all or nothing" - 16 year olds binge drinking until the passed out.

I don`t see that in Japan.

[Sangetsu]

No change in my alcohol consumption. My first experience with hard liquor at the age of 17 landed me in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. It was the first time I had ever been drunk, and the last.

I don't mind an occasional beer or glass of wine with a meal, as they often taste good together. I never drink for the effect. I have no idea what people find enjoyable about being buzzed or drunk.

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

I don't mind an occasional beer or glass of wine with a meal, as they often taste good together. I never drink for the effect. I have no idea what people find enjoyable about being buzzed or drunk.

Being buzzed is fun. You become more confident, conversations become more random and enjoyable, inhibitions are lowered, strangers can become good friends on the smallest talking point.

Plus I like the taste of alcohol.

Obviously when you're slurring and staggering you've gone too far though... but having a few drinks at a party or in town really is how I like to spend a night out.

[Hatredcopter]

Although this is my own account, many other students I've talked to in Japan can attest to this.

Going out drinking with Japanese people is actually a very effective way to learn casual, spoken Japanese. Many learners of Japanese who are at an intermediate stage in their studies have the ability to communicate at least 'decently' in Japanese - but a lot of them refrain from doing it very much because they're afraid of making mistakes. A couple years ago, I found myself (and even still do now a little) being much more willing to speak and have an enjoyable conversation in Japanese after a small amount of alcohol. Conversely, Japanese folks themselves are a lot more willing to open up to talking with foreigners after they've thrown back a few drinks. I've walked into izakaya and bars countless times and have had rowdy salaryman that I've never met before start conversations with me - a few of them whom I'm still friends with to this day. Almost no Japanese person who doesn't know you will initiate a conversation with you otherwise.

As I mentioned in my other post, drinking is a big part of Japan. It allows people to let loose and blow off some steam for awhile.

[SvanteH]

Oh sweet, I don't even like alcohol
(sidenote: I basically puke from drinking 3-4 sips of beer)

It do sound like alcoholism can grow into a bigger problem there than e.g in Sweden where we pay 9$ for a single shot. About the confidence problem to speak errornous Japanese, come on - no one expects you to be perfect. If/when I visit Japan I'll speak as much shit-Japanese I can, aslong as people laugh because it sounds funny and correct me I'm all good

[burkhartdesu]

What's the drinking age in Japan?

And how much trouble would I get into if I was caught under-age drinking?

[SvanteH]

I'm guessing 18 (purely a guess). Why would you even want to drink when your not allowed to? It's not "that great". A nice time with your friends will make you as happy as any other drug.