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Japanese people drink far less than westerners though. Those work parties are just one-off and not regular things.
by woweoe 4y ago
Japanese people drink far less than westerners though. Those work parties are just one-off and not regular things.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoNot for the crowd I hung with. I would sometimes spend two weeks, over there, and every weeknight was like that. Thank Cthulhu for public transport.
- mistrial9 4y ago
- nibbleshifter 4y agoThat's actually a thing apparently. If the foreigner is over, its suddenly drinking time all the time.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoDefinitely possible, but hang out in Shinagawa Station, on a Wednesday night, between 2200 and 2300. It's fairly common to see men in ten-thousand-dollar suits, kneewalking drunk.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoThat was not necessary. I have nothing but respect for the people in our team. I worked with them for decades, and they were (still are) some of the finest engineers and scientists in the world (not hyperbole). They, in turn, had a great deal of respect for us. It upset me to see the level of drinking, because I am quite aware of the toll it takes. These were my friends.
- ss108 4y agoI'm genuinely curious as to how they function at such a high level while drinking so much. What's their secret lol
- jamal-kumar 4y agoMaking sure to get some food in while they're at it, actually
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoI think most are not actually alcoholics. They drink a lot, but it doesn't take over their lives, in the way that alcoholism does. They are back in the office at 8AM, the next day, and it's as if nothing happened. But a lot of my friends did suffer some serious health problems, and I suspect that drinking played a part. Japan has a pretty good healthcare system. The stress level of a salaryman is pretty much "off the charts." The management practices are brutal, and the days long. On Saturdays, they work "half days," which means they work for six hours. The company I worked for was a pretty "high achievement" company. I suspect the pressure was higher for our folks, than at other companies.
- ss108 4y ago> They are back in the office at 8AM, the next day, and it's as if nothing happened. Yeah, how? That's what I want to know. Asking for a friend :p
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoMight want to ask Aaahnold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLe826lyao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLe826lyao
- mistrial9 4y agowell, my brilliant friend went to Japan while working at Apple, made lots of money, pounded alcohol, and came back to mature as an American loner alcoholic. So its all true - is truth necessary ? more can be said but nothing will be solved here
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoI sincerely wish your friend well. I don't drink. I used up my quota at eighteen, so I may have some idea what he went through.
- mistrial9 4y agothank you - I am upset about my ex-friend; I myself have been to both urban and coastal Japan on tour; I am concerned for the Japanese people, and for USA.. both ways are turning sour in modernity; Alcohol is not "the solution" and as noted here, a giant serious problem for many.
- lovecg 4y agoCan public transport be a cause though? I’ve definitely didn’t hold back my drinking as much when traveling somewhere I didn’t have to rely on driving.
- thehappypm 4y agoWhat is the scene exactly? Crushing beers at a bar? Dancing at a club?
- chrischen 4y agoProbably crushing beers at an Izakaya, which is practically a bar but not in the same style as western bars.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoIn my case, the meals were long and mixed with alcohol. It was like a "tasting menu" type of restaurant, with the booze proof increasing, as the evening wore on. Lunches are a different matter entirely. They would wolf down their meal in ten minutes. Not a drop of alcohol, until the day was done. Lots of energy drinks; even before the US had them. Aaahnold made some money, doing Japanese energy drink ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLe826lyao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLe826lyao
- AtlasBarfed 4y agoThat is good Youtube.
- woweoe 4y agoI also drink a lot of alcohol with my meals, but I find that often Japanese people who eat with me refrain from ordering alcohol because the next day is a work day - so Fridays will be a day that everyone orders alcohol for example. I have also been in the accompany of plenty of Japanese who get "Asian flush" and a worried about any effect on their health. In comparison Koreans will nearly always drink alcohol on a daily basis and to a stronger concentration than what Japanese drink - even the Koreans in Japan.
- woweoe 4y agoI think this is more age related. I am actually in Japan currently and I can attest that no-one I know will drink daily like in Europe, possibly weekly but the weekly drinks tend to be far stronger and bigger. A European will have a couple of glasses of wine a day and go clubbing every week, Japanese on the other hand tend to only drink occasionally, attend one of the work parties at work with the older guys who don't want to go home - the idea of the older men who don't want to return to annoying homes is common even in Europe
- Retric 4y agoBoth Japanese men and women drink more alcohol than their American counterparts. Average consumption of pure alcohol in liters per year among all adults aged 15+ in 2019: Japan Men 15.58, Women 4.93 United States Men 15.44, Women 4.69 https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcohol-consumption-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcohol-c...
- mbg721 4y agoIt's tough to compare averages across populations when the people who don't drink really don't drink. Something that takes into account number of drinks per drinking occasion might paint a different picture.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- lotsofpulp 4y agoI assume this is also not adjusted for the fact that American people on average weigh 50lbs+ (23kg+) more.
- Retric 4y agoYes, it’s straight alcohol consumption so people in Japan are in effect drinking more than those numbers suggest.
- woweoe 4y agoThere are more westerners outside the US than inside the US.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Retric 4y agoSure, but “far less” is clearly incorrect.
- naet 4y agoThis is not true. If you go to Japan you will see an army of extremely drunk salarymen every night, and statistically Japanese people do consume a ton of alcohol compared to most western countries.
- woweoe 4y agoAs someone who is living in Japan, I would say that Japanese drank less than Europeans for sure. Europeans will drink a couple of glasses of wine every night for example.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y agoI only visited Tokyo. That's like saying I know the US, because I've visited New York. I did go, every year (sometimes multiple times per year), for over twenty years. Tokyo is Type A++. Seriously high energy.
- woweoe 4y agoI also live in Japan currently and I find the drinking culture to be weak. I've met a few people who drink daily but they tend to come from other parts of Asia (Korea etc...) where drinking is very common. This article might be alluding to a age difference considering I am in my early twenties.
- ThePadawan 4y ago> Europeans will drink a couple of glasses of wine every night for example. I'm from a wine-producing region in Europe and I would not consider this normal in any way. Not even my parents drink that much, and they have a dedicated wine cellar.
- woweoe 4y agohttps://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k203179-How_much_wine_do_Parisians_drink_per_day_or_week-Paris_Ile_de_France.html#:~:text=but%20i%20found%20that%20the,3%20glasses%20of%20wine%2Fday https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k203179-Ho....