Japan is the most interesting culture in the world. I could go on forever about its peculiarities, but I will begin with a simple one. The Japanese tendency and acceptance of getting completely drunk from beer on a work night.
I went to dinner this evening at a restaurant/bar called “Aloha Table”. (Side note: Japanese love attaching positive verbs to semi-relevant nouns in naming their businesses. The airport shuttle is called “Friendly Airport Limousine”. A popular wedding event company is called “Take and Give Needs”. Sometimes, they drop the verb all together…the restaurant across the street from my hotel is simply called “Plates”.) Soon after I arrived, one of the men lit up a cigarette at the table next to me. Coming from California, I hate this, but it is customary in Japan so I did not let it offend me.
Anyway, a few minutes later, I notice the man speaking with the waiter/bartender. Shortly after, the waiter proceeds to politely help support him walk as he exits from the restaurant. The waiter walked him all the way to a cab, put him in the cab, and told the taxi driver (wearing a full suit and tie as they all do) where to go.
The guy could barely stand and had the very red Asian Flush. He was wasted. Drinking by himself after work. It was 7pm. On a Monday night.
He was a typical sarariman (salaryman = Japanese white-collar businessman). I’ve seen this happen dozens of times.
The Japanese love beer and I love them for it. While not every Japanese will act like this, it is completely acceptable to get off work and head to the local bar, by yourself or with a small group of co-workers, and proceed to get completely drunk off beer before heading home for the evening.
Now, I realize this happens in cities in the US and elsewhere, but I’ve never seen it done with such consistency and acceptance as in Japan. It is also a completely casual and non-violent event. I’ve never seen one of these types of drinkers cause any problems.
As I said, there are many peculiar things about Japan, but this is one of my favorite. To be honest, I don’t know why I find it so interesting, especially considering how un-peculiar this event may be in comparison to the rest of their peculiarities. Perhaps because it seems to cause very few repercussions that I’ve ever seen. Either way, it helps make Japan truly unique.
