日本のナイトライフ

by Francesca Lutje-Wilkes

To an exchange student, student life at a Japanese university might take some getting used to. The way classes are taught, the campus, and extracurricular activities may be quite different to what they are used to at their home universities. For me, one of the aspects which stood out to me was how different nightlife is for students in Japan versus the UK.

For starters, the legal drinking age in Japan is 20, rather than 18, meaning that most students will be unable to drink until halfway through their degree (although this doesn’t stop many of them). For this reason, socialising often isn’t centred around drinking, and clubbing culture isn;t very widespread amongst students. Here are some places students might hang out in the evening instead of going to clubs or pubs:

日本の大学の学生生活はイギリスのと違いがたくさんあります。留学生にとって、授業の教え方、キャンパスライフや部活動などには慣れなくてはいけません。私は日本の学生のナイトライフがイギリスのものと全然違うから、とても面白かったです。まず、日本では２０歳以上の人だけがお酒を飲めます。一方、イギリスでは１８歳です。多くの日本人の学生はまだ飲めないので、クラブにあまり行かないで、たいていお酒が飲める人とお酒を飲まない人も楽しめるハングアウトスポットは人気があります。

Karaokeーカラオケ

Karaoke is incredibly popular amongst Japanese people of all ages, and especially in cities they can be found almost anywhere. Whether or not you can hold a tune doesn’t matter, the most important thing is having fun, as well as choosing songs that most people know and can sing along to. Most places have a selection of alcoholic drinks alongside soft drinks, or you can pre before going- just don’t overdo it! Most places you can opt for a fixed time, which can be extended by calling the front desk, or free time, where there is no time limit. The price changes depending on when you go, so it is cheaper in the afternoons and weekdays, and expensive on weekends and evenings, so be sure to take that into account before you go. Some popular chains are Karaoke Kan, Round One, and Manekineko.

カラオケはみんなに人気があって、どこにでもあるからとても便利です。歌うのが上手か下手かは重要ではなく、一番大切なのは楽しめることです！カラオケ室でソフトドリンクやお酒も注文できます。曜日や時間によって、値段が違います。週末の夜のほうが高いです。 人気があるチェーン店はカラオケ館、ラウンドワンやまねきねこです。

Izakayaー居酒屋

The majority of 飲み会, or drinking parties, take place in restaurants or izakaya. Izakaya is usually translated as ‘pub’, although they are quite different to what you would expect from a British pub. In many places you can book private rooms for larger groups, and Japanese food is served alongside a wide selection of drinks. Some of my personal recommendations are :

• Sours

Sour, also known as Chu-hai, is a cocktail of fruit juice mixed with shochu or vodka, and carbonated water. While lemon sour is the classic, you can get lots of different flavours, such as peach, grapefruit, apple and even Calpis ( a milky drink similar to Yakult).

• Highball

Whisky is big business in japan, and most places will serve straight whisky or a variety of whisky cocktails. I’d recommend the Highball, which is whisky mixed with soda water.

• Beer

No japanese drinking party would be complete without some draft Japanese beer. Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo beer are the most popular Japanese beers. A pint is relatively cheap, usually only 300円-400円, or about £2- £2.50.

Many izakaya are traditional style, and they ask you to take your shoes off at the door. You order food and drink by calling the servers over, rather than them coming to take your order. Some places will have a button on the table you can press to get the servers’ attention. In other places, you have to call over the waiter by shouting ‘すみません！’. When it’s busy, you may have to raise your voice to be heard, but don’t be shy- it isn’t considered rude at all.

飲み会はたいてい居酒屋で行われます。イギリスのパブみたいに居酒屋ではお酒を飲んだり食事を食べることができます。私のおすすめのお酒は：

サワー：お酒、ジュース、ソーダ水の組み合わせ。色々味があります

ハイボール：ウイスキーとソーダ水のカクテル

ビール：一番人気があるお酒。日本のキリン、アサヒやサッポロビールを飲んでみてください！

Parks

Sometimes people need to cut back on costs, and may have to pass on paying for karaoke or restaurants. In these cases, people will gather at parks in the evening. When you walk through a park, you will often see small groups of young people chatting, drinking and enjoying the night air. You can buy drinks and snacks from a convenience store and bring it with you, or buy soft drinks from vending machines inside the park. Just be careful not to get too rowdy- the park is for everyone, not just drunk students, so make sure not to be a nuisance to others in the park, and take your rubbish home with you at the end of the night!

春と夏には、夜になるとたくさんの若者が公園に集まります。コンビニでスナックや飲み物を買って、ベンチで会話したり飲んだりすることができます。居酒屋やバーより 安く、学生に人気があります。でも、周りの人々にめいわくをかけないで、自分のゴミも持ちかえってください。

These are only a few suggestions、 and there are plenty of other places where people hang out in the evenings. With the exception of bars, all of these activities can be enjoyed both by drinkers and non-drinkers alike, so people who don’t drink alcohol, have no fear! If you do decide to drink, always stay safe and know your limits. Japan is a safe country, but you can never be too careful, especially in a foreign country. Depending on where you are staying, your accommodation may also have a curfew, so be sure to make it back in time or you’ll have to stay the night in a capsule hotel or 24 hour restaurant.

皆さんはどう思いますか？これらの場所に行ってみたいですか？新しい友達とぜひ楽しんでください！日本は安全な国ですが、いつも気を付けてください。友達と離れないで、お酒を飲む時は自分のリミットを分かってください。そして、寮によっては門限があるから、間に合わないとホテルか24時間レストランに止まらなければいけません。気を付けましょう。