Need Help Planning!

[AJames]

Its been a while TAG!
So it turns out I'm heading back over to Japan again this year this time with 3 friends and its going to be one of my mates birthday on the trip! So we are planning on going out and I was just wondering where is the best place to go and what are the rules for bars, like in Australia we have a lock out at 3 am, is there anything similar here?

What ID do we use to get in?

Things we should look out for/be careful of?

We don't speak any Japanese so it will have to be Gaijin friendly.

Is there anything you recommend that can make the night unforgettable?

Sorry its not much to go on but we pretty much going to be happy with what ever but we basically just want to have a couple drinks and maybe try and find a stripclub or something like that just to say we have done it lol

Thank you very much for your time

 

[Soapysoap66]

What ID do we use to get in?

McLovin?
But seriously, how old are you? Do you need IDs?

 

[Sudsy]

Some clubs ID, most bars do not. Lockouts are unheard of.

Be wary of any place that doesn't have prices clearly listed, and avoid places that employ touts, especially if the touts are aggressive/hard sell types.

And needless to say, if you are in Roppongi or Kabukicho, do not go anywhere with the Nigerians/Ghanians. It's a recipe for getting roofied and robbed. One of our clients just recently got taken for 1.5 million yen on his credit cards....

 

[Wwanderer]

avoid places that employ touts, especially if the touts are aggressive/hard sell types.

I think "avoid" is a bit too weak a verb for this purpose. Something like "stay the hell away from" would be better I think.

-Ww

 

[meiji]

I dunno what a 'lockout' is. There's many bars in Japan that close early enough for their staff to catch last train, which is usually about midnight. This means last call is at like 10:30 at best and they chase everyone out the door by 11. There's a bunch of other bars that employ the opposite strategy, where they stay open till FIRST train. Japanese liquor laws, unlike their fuzoku laws, are refreshingly lax.

By law, you'll need to be carrying your passport around with you anyway, so if they ask you for ID that's what you'll want to provide.

There's a lot of 'gaijin friendly' places but unfortunately if you speak/read no Japanese at all you might get stuck at places that are Japanese versions of western pubs, etc- Hub, Hobgoblin, Good Beer Faucets, etc, etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be a shame to go all the way to Japan and not experience a real izakaya. Your best bet is to make friends with someone that speaks Japanese, either before you go or once you get there.

 

[AJames]

McLovin?
But seriously, how old are you? Do you need IDs?

3 will be 23 and I will be 22

 

[Anna Summer]

You could go to 7th Heaven in roppongi. They do a special show on stage for birthday guys/ladies if you mention it to the staff. I'd say it's a rather safe place to hang out and if you go from 7-9pm you can get happy hour all you can drink.

 

[AJames]

I dunno what a 'lockout' is. There's many bars in Japan that close early enough for their staff to catch last train, which is usually about midnight. This means last call is at like 10:30 at best and they chase everyone out the door by 11. There's a bunch of other bars that employ the opposite strategy, where they stay open till FIRST train. Japanese liquor laws, unlike their fuzoku laws, are refreshingly lax.

By law, you'll need to be carrying your passport around with you anyway, so if they ask you for ID that's what you'll want to provide.

There's a lot of 'gaijin friendly' places but unfortunately if you speak/read no Japanese at all you might get stuck at places that are Japanese versions of western pubs, etc- Hub, Hobgoblin, Good Beer Faucets, etc, etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be a shame to go all the way to Japan and not experience a real izakaya. Your best bet is to make friends with someone that speaks Japanese, either before you go or once you get there.

Thank you very much! We get to japan at the start of November and it will be everyone's first time aside from me so making friends over there will be hard. So we might just have to stick to the western style bars
We are staying in Koto so is there anything near there?
Or would it be better to travel and get a hotel for the night?

 

[Sudsy]

I dunno what a 'lockout' is.

Lockouts are a time after which bars are not allowed to admit customers. If you leave, you can't get back in.

It's an alternative some places use in place of enforced closing times to avoid the last hour binge drinking.