Let there be no question, the Japanese like their booze as much as the next man. Go into any izakaya on a Friday night and it will be packed to the rafters with bottles of booze and cigarette smoke.

Ask for a non-smoking section and you'll be laughed at. Ask for a non-drinking section and you'll be ridiculed for the rest of your days in the country, or worse, someone might vomit on you. And wouldn't that be a real shame if you're wearing your Friday best.

I was in an izakaya recently and managed to snag some photographic evidence of the colossal number of beer bottles that the table of four next to me got through in only three hours. I have to admit, I was mightily impressed. Kanpai.

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