What should visitors know about drinking in Japan? Sake, shōchū, the legal age and where you can drink
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Japan is relaxed about alcohol in some ways — cans in the park, beer from vending machines, salarymen asleep on trains — and strict in others: the legal age is 20 with no exceptions, driving after a single drink is a crime, and public drinking is being restricted in tourist districts. The drinks themselves also confuse: sake is not a spirit, shōchū is, and "sake" in Japanese just means alcohol.
The law
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal age | 20 for drinking and buying (Act on Prohibition of Drinking by Persons Under 20, renamed in 2022 when the age of majority fell to 18 — the drinking age did not change). ID checks are routine: convenience-store tills require pressing an "I am over 20" button; bars and clubs may ask for a passport |
| Public drinking | Legal nationally. Local bans: Shibuya centre (year-round from October 2024, 18:00–05:00), Shinjuku Station area (Kabukichō / Shinjuku 3-chōme) on 31 Oct–1 Nov and any other period the ward designates, some parks during cherry-blossom season. There are no fines or penalties in either ordinance; enforcement is by patrol staff asking people to stop or move on |
| Drink-driving | Zero-tolerance in practice: 0.15 mg/L breath alcohol is the offence threshold, roughly one small drink. Passengers and the person who served the driver are also liable. Penalties up to 3 years' prison or ¥500,000 for the driver (up to 5 years or ¥1,000,000 for 'drunk driving' when visibly impaired); passengers and the person who served the drinks face up to 2–3 years or ¥300,000–500,000. Bicycles count (see the cycling article) |
| Public drunkenness | Being drunk is not itself an offence, but rowdy or nuisance behaviour while drunk in public is a minor offence under the 1961 Act on Prevention of Drunken Nuisance, and police may take a heavily drunk person into protective custody; the city sees many sleeping drinkers and handles them gently |
| Vending machines | Alcohol vending machines exist but are few since the 1990s age-verification rules; most are in hotels or with ID card readers |
| Tax-free | Alcohol can be bought tax-free as a consumable (sealed bag, ¥5,000–500,000 per shop per day) until 31 Oct 2026; from 1 Nov 2026 Japan switches to a refund-at-departure system and the consumable/sealed-bag rules disappear — see the tax-free article; sake and whisky are the popular souvenirs — check your home customs allowance |
The drinks
| Drink | What it is | ABV | How to drink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nihonshu (sake) | Brewed rice drink, not a spirit. Grades: junmai (rice only), honjōzō, ginjō / daiginjō (more polished rice, fruitier) | 14–16% | Ginjō chilled (10–15°C); junmai/honjōzō warm (40–50°C, atsukan) in winter. Served in a small cup; pour for others, not yourself |
| Shōchū | Distilled from sweet potato (imo), barley (mugi), rice (kome) or brown sugar (kokutō) | 20–25% (up to 45% for genshu) | With hot water (oyuwari), ice, or soda; Kyushu's home drink |
| Awamori | Okinawan rice spirit | 25–43% | With water or ice |
| Umeshu | Plum liqueur | 10–15% | On ice or with soda |
| Chūhai / sours | Shōchū or vodka + soda + fruit, in cans (3–9%) | Cheap; the 9% "Strong" cans are the ones that catch visitors out | |
| Highball | Whisky and soda — the default izakaya drink | 7–9% | — |
| Beer | Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, Suntory; happōshu and "third beer" are cheaper low-malt versions | 5% | — |
- Izakaya conventions: otōshi — a small compulsory appetiser (¥300–500) that acts as a cover charge; nomihōdai — all-you-can-drink for 90–120 minutes (¥1,500–3,000); the first round is often beer ("toriaezu bīru"); kanpai before the first sip; pour for others and let them pour for you.
- Hangover culture: convenience stores sell Hepalyse, Ukon no Chikara (turmeric) drinks; evidence for them is thin. Water and food work better.
- Refusing: "I don't drink" (nomemasen) is accepted without pressure in most settings today; the pressured drinking of older office culture is fading and is now called "alcohol harassment".
[Verify] Shibuya ordinance hours (2024) with the city; drink-driving thresholds and penalties with the NPA; ABV ranges with the NTA liquor classifications.
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Sources
- National Police Agency — Drink-driving penalties and the Road Traffic Act
https://www.npa.go.jp/english/
- Shibuya City — Ordinance restricting street drinking in the Shibuya station area (2024)
https://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/
- National Tax Agency — Liquor tax classifications (sake, shōchū, beer categories)
https://www.nta.go.jp/english/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
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