My first night out in Tokyo wasn’t super crazy. It consisted of walking a few miles in search of some beer. Below you will find a short photo tour of my evening. I hope you enjoy!
I started my evening by trying to find a good vantage point to watch some passing traffic and relax. It was a warm day (30c) and I just wanted to cool off. I happened upon a Starbucks and thought I’d give it a shot.
What’s the next task? Beer. Cold beer. Since I don’t read ANY Japanese and only speak a little, I decided it was just best to wander around. Finally I asked in my best broken Japanese where is a good place for some beer. I was directed to an average looking building. I was totally unsure until I saw this sign.
I’m not expert but that looks like beer to me!
Once I was sat down at my table and opened the menu, I knew I had hit pay dirt. The next question, what should I order? Simple, when the waitress came, I’ll just ask for a beer and point to the big letters. Simple right?
Ahh. Beer. I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed the glass wasn’t totally full.
Half way through my beer, I thought I might get some food. After a quick glance at the menu I saw this. I was tempted but knew that if I had ordered it, certain horse loving people back at home would never speak to me again. Decided it was for the better. 
What’s this? Round two? Of course I’ll have another!
After my second beer, I was tempted to dip into the Whiskey but decided against it.
Now comes the fun part. I had realized I never ask how much my beers were. Heading toward the cashier, I was a bit nervous. Once he hit the total, my jaw dropped. 1350 yen. Yup…about $16.75usd. I just paid $8 a beer. Ouch. And to think I was buying beer twice the size (if not more) in Thailand for less than $2.
As I walked back to my hostel sober and in disbelief, I realized I needed a new drinking strategy.
Hello! I'm Adam Mayfield and
I am the aurthor of this site. Currently I'm living a minimalist
lifestyle. I've sold almost all of possessions and have a travel addiction I can't seem to shake!
Well, a place that has a menu in English will most likely be overpriced (this rule applies to pretty much every country btw).
Looking for beer in Japan? Don’t know where to find it? Follow the salarymen after work.
It’s sad that you didn’t try the horse sashimi.
I’m quickly finding this out. Still doing well and not breaking my budget like I thought I was going to. As for the beer, that’s a brilliant idea!
As much as I would have liked to try the horse sashimi, I never would have heard the end of it from friends back home. haha
Had you been a party then 1% of your purchase would have gone to reconstruction assistance. Alas. The final bill at an Izakaya can be a shocker – especially if there was any food involved. Most people pass by the supermarket on their way home. Good call on the horse – several people have died recently eating it at a different chain. Watami has an English menu – they will produce one if asked. The cheaper version is Saizeriya – 50p for a glass of wine!
Really glad I didn’t eat the horse then!
By the end of my trip I found some of the cheaper beer was out of the vending machine in the hostel. Around 200 yen for a tall boy. A group of us also went out in search of beer and good company in Kyoto and we found a fantastic little shop that had 250yen mugs.
We also found a killer sushi place with 105yen plates.