I’ve known lots of foreigners in Japan that don’t speak any Japanese, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a foreigner who lived in Japan and didn’t know how to order beer or alcohol. 大ジョッキ “daijokki” which means the “largest glass of draft beer” is one of the first words people remember after “ohayo” and “arigato.” Most foreigners who come to Japan are drunks. At least the ones I used to know ;-)
Another word is チューハイ chū-hi, which is usually the cheapest non-beer alcoholic drink in most izakayas. Chū-hi is short for “shōchū highball” and is a mix of shōchū and lemony soda water. 焼酎 Shōchū is a kind of distilled alchohol like whisky except a bit weaker. It’s used as a mixer in many drinks. As far as I know there’s no equivalent to chū-hi in western bars but I guess a vodka/gin and tonic would be closest. You can find many varieties of chū-hi like ume-hi, grapefruit-hi, orange-hi, apple-hi, peach-hi etc where basically they mix your favorite fruit/soft drink with shōchū. Generally, people who don’t like beer will order one of these types of drinks, although the alcoholic content varies dramatically from place to place.
When I worked in an izakaya I used to make chū-his all night. The shōchū came in these big huge industrial sized plastic kegs that weighed a ton. I was instructed to put only a little bit of shōchū into each drink, and less if the patrons were women. I was generous though and would fill the shōchū up to half the glass. The owner eventually caught on as customers were getting drunk faster than normal so they stopped letting me make them. Because the shops can control the amount of alcohol put into the drinks, chū-hi have the largest profit margin over any other item. At cheap izakayas, which cater to university students (more like family restaurants really), they use the lowest quality shōchū and put only a few drops into each drink. You have to drink about 10 of them before you can get even slightly drunk. At a proper izakaya, chū-hi will have a respectable amount of higher quality shōchū. You can distinguish the cheap izakayas from the good ones because the cheap places usually have pictures on plastic menus. Easy to clean in case you spill a drink or vomit on them.
If you want to enjoy a chū-hi it’s best to just get it from a can. The alcoholic content is usually higher and consistent. They have many different varieties that you can find in most convenient stores, the latest of which is called AWA’s from Suntory. It’s foamy like beer. Awa 泡 means bubbles or foam.
Thanks for the recommendation. Next time I know what to order. By the way, you blogged early, couldn’t sleep or what?
Interesting, but I think this might be a regional thing. In four years, I’ve never heard anyone say “daijoki”…. in kyoto, kansai. We say:
* nama - draft
* nama chu - average size beer
* nama dai - big size beer
Sometimes, if we just say “nama”, they ask “jouki” or “piccha” as in a glass or an entire pitcher.
As for chu-his, I would say we have the same kind of stuff in the UK, called “alcopops”, and theyre popular with young’uns mostly.
Ryukyu awamori - is the only japanese alcoholic beverage that I’ve tried (except beer). And it was nice. Is it a kind of shōchū too?
Andy, I’m usually up at 5:30am every morning.
Jamie, it might be a regional thing. In Tokyo most people will say “chu-nama” rather than “nama-chu”
meijin, ryukyu awamori? I’ll have to try that when I visit Okinawa.
“…Most foreigners who come to Japan are drunks…” - sort of a broad stroke?
jonas, I was making a generalization but it does seem that way sometimes ;-)
I’ve always been curious about how a recovering alcoholic visiting Japan would fare there.
2 Roy: I found that bottle with awamori in a convenience store. I still dunno how they managed to get it. Such a stuff is pretty rare in our area. First of all I was about “what is this anyway?” :) So, I made a quick search and found this site (http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/027/eng/002/001/022.html). There’s such a wonderful “good old” spirit around their awamori production. Just take a look at that pics and bottles. Their shapes and colors are just great! The bottle I got was from the “Kumejima no Kumesen” distillery and the brand was the “Kumesen brown”. It has a very nice grain aroma, but taste is kinda hard >.< Hope I’ve intrigued you, Roy! ;)
I LOVED chu hi when I lived in Osaka, from the strong cans in combini to the izakaya with the soda and sochu in a glass, then the grapefruit balanced on top for you to squeeze in yourself. YUM.
I worked in Japan for three years, and I would say a recovering alcoholic in Japan would have two chances: Slim and none
And although, yes, it is a generalisation that foreigners in Japan drink a lot, I would say it was pretty true. But of course, bearing in mind most Foreigners are English teachers, and most English teachers are recent grads aged between 20 and 28, and living abroad for the first time, single, with disposable income, what more can you expect?
Can somebody send me a few Chu-his stateside? I’d love love to have another one. I tell all my friends about the drink, and im sure if they try it…my story would be complete!