About
Contact: GaijinTonic@Gmail.com
Japan is a pisshead’s paradise! It’s a land of happy drunks, relaxed alcohol laws, and hilarious novelty bars which are open all night.
I arrived in Japan expecting a spiritually-enriching cultural experience. Five years later, all I have is a truckload of dodgy drinking stories, which I’m writing now in an attempt to pass my partying off as valuable “research” (rather than pissing my life away.)
On this site you’ll find reviews and information about weird watering holes, and true stories of booze-induced bad-behaviour and mishaps that I’ve experienced first-hand, or been told by friends, here in the land of the rising beer glass. Hence the drink-related title, “Gaijin Tonic.”
The term “gaijin”, as you probably know, means “foreigner” in Japanese. It’s considered a derogatory term by some but, when describing some of the dipsomaniac misfits in I’ve met, derogatory terms seem more than reasonable.
These tales of mayhem and merriment should ring a bell with anyone who has spent more than 24 hours in Japan. I hope the site will serve as a kind of tonic for gaijin and Japanese alike- an invigorating, tequila-laced chicken soup for the soul of the adventurous drunkard.
Kampai!
February 13, 2007 at 8:51 am
This site looks set to be a good read! Keep up the good work. Which I suppose means, for you, go out and get shit-faced.
You lucky, lucky bastard.
April 3, 2007 at 5:52 pm
haha.. this is awesome..
April 6, 2007 at 3:43 am
Ah yes, Japan is odd. I’ve never found such a puzzling mix of conservatism and liberalism elsewhere. The Japanese are polite to a fault, and their girls go to school in the skimpiest of skirts and with violet hair.
I say, rock on! =)
April 11, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Hey the shinagawa prince hotel, when does it have the three hour nomihoudai? just on weekends? between certain hours? i’m curious, please hit me back on my email or post on my blog - thanx
April 20, 2007 at 11:42 am
Hi Roaf
Thank you for your nice blog. Let’s drink more and more. I had two drinking off days this week because I drank too much in Hanami weeks. I am proud of me and I am happy to know I am alchole addiction he he he kidding. Anyway happy drinking is great always.
April 21, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Thanks Mari! Japan is a lot of fun!
May 26, 2007 at 1:09 am
LOL - this site is hilarious!! I’m adding you to my blogroll, if you want to do the same with my site, feel free!
Nerdgasm!
http://pjspider.wordpress.com
May 26, 2007 at 1:34 am
Thanks, I’ll do that!
October 16, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Hey Roaf,
Great blog mate! I’ve just added you to the blogroll on my website, Big On Japan (http://www.bigonjapan.com/) so hopefully you’ll return the favour. As you’re a fellow booze-hound, you’ll probably enjoy my pieces about the vomit bar and turbo shandy. I also have a load of posts about beer in Japan on the way too.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
Majestyk.
October 20, 2007 at 9:09 am
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! I think we’re kindred spirits. The old man and I were looking for a rock bar in Yokohama tonight but found your site. I think we’re going to try one of the wacky bars in Yokohama thanks to you
I’m going to link you on my blog…if you don’t mind
Jess
October 24, 2007 at 12:15 am
Awesome site man, Ive been checking it regularly for a while now, and luckily Im now finally in the land of the rising sun too
Ive added your site to my blog roll, hope you dont mind, do the same with mine if ya wish. gaijinnosekai.wordpress.com
Keep up the good work!
October 24, 2007 at 7:44 am
Thanks! I’ll check out your blog.
October 27, 2007 at 12:24 pm
We will conquer alllll!!! Let us unite and raises our glasses for as long as we can.
kanPAIIII!!!
Great blog man! Brewed for Good Times
Blog Rolled
PS: Have you tried Sprite Zero….just thinking of the tonic.
October 27, 2007 at 4:33 pm
That’s the spirit! I haven’t tried Sprite Zero, but I’m sure it’ll work better as a mixer than the Cucumber-flavoured Pepsi I tried a couple of months ago.
November 20, 2007 at 9:09 am
Hi Roaf,
Your site feed is hard to find. I did a google site search for “RSS” and found it but not everyone is that nerdy
just wanted to give you a heads up
November 20, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Thanks! I’ll try to sort that out (but I’m inept with computers!)
December 5, 2007 at 2:26 am
I’ve heard that Feedburner.com has a little button or widget that is easy to install and use (I still need to do this for my blog too)
Also Looks like beer prices will go up
http://www.risingsunofnihon.com/2007/12/a_can_of_beer_for_188.html
Hope that doesn’t hamper your “research” too much
January 15, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Nice blog! These stories definitely ring a bell–I was in Japan last summer for a study abroad and spent a healthy amount of time wasted
Btw, awesome bar reviews! That information will definitely be useful when I go back next year!
Thanks, man! Keep it up!
January 15, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Thanks, Angela, glad you like it!
Stay tuned.
March 11, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I have lived in Japan for 26 years, and I always see these outsiders; lost foreigners that hang around bars and do some “teaching” for a living.
You have no idea what Japan is. You have no idea why the Japanese act as they do or the traditions they follow. Your blog reflects your superficial mind.
March 11, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Hey, I’d rather be “superficial” than an embittered old troll who criticizes other people’s blogs for fun.
Who are you to decide what “Japan is”? That’s the most hilariously absurd thing I’ve ever heard. I’m from the UK, and I have no idea what Britain “is.” Nor would I expect immigrants to conform to my idea of what the UK “is”, because that would make me a xenophobic bigot.
Before you spout your nationalistic “foreigners go home” nonsense, take a look in the mirror, buddy!
I’m having a great time in Japan, and I have plenty of Japanese friends who are on the same wavelength as me, and they certainly know less about Bushido or Japanese traditions than even I do.
One thing I have learned from the Japanese is to be polite, non-confrontational, and deferential to strangers. Judging by your rude comment you haven’t picked those traits up in your 26 years here!
You know, I can totally sympathize with your situation. After being “special” for 26 years, you must be unnerved by all the other Westerners flooding in, cramping your style, and exposing your shortcomings. It must like someone shitting on your birthday cake!
But you’re coming across as a spoiled brat. “Mummy! I don’t want them to be here! I want to be the only special one! They’re ruining everything! This is supposed to be my special place! Muuuummmmyyy! Make them go away! I’m supposed to be the special one!”
To avoid embarrassing yourself further, Marcel, I suggest you follow the example of your namesake, the mime artist Marcel Marceau, and remain silent.
March 28, 2008 at 12:28 am
You tell him, Roaf. My experience is that the lifers who wank on about Japanese tradition, have drunk too much tatemae-flavoured Kool-Aid.
Pissed every night and stagger into your day job? You’re a lot more authentically Japanese than many. The only thing about you that is uncharacteristic of the Japanese is that you probably have actual sex from time to time. Or have you gone thoroughly native by now?
I lived in Japan for five years, and one of the greatest lessons I learned (or rediscovered) is the importance of PLAY. The line between work and play in the west is blurred–so blurred, that we forget how to be innocent and silly. My fondest memories of Tokyo ring with innocent laughter at the sheer love of pretending. Noplace else in the world do people so enjoy their imaginations. And few other places do friends so eagerly (and regularly) get together for a knees-up. The hours you spend at the office just kills time–the real work of corporate Japan is to play once the whistle blows.
Of course, if you have your head up your ass like the Marcels of this world, you’d never notice.
March 28, 2008 at 12:31 am
Oh, a PS. As a gay chap with a Japanese partner, let me say how much we appreciated the Kawasaki Dickfest photos. I have always tried to convince him to attend, but he thinks the whole thing is just too tacky. Me? Never met a dick I didn’t like.
March 28, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I totally agree about the play! There’s no shame in having fun and goofing around over here (and, in fact, you don’t have to be drunk to do so.) Games centers, cos-play, love-hotels, penis festivals. You name it!
March 30, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I too currently live here in Japan. I have been here for 6 months now and have no plans of leaving any time soon. I have spent many many nights drinking it up. I have found that it is one of the best ways to learn about whats going on around me. I only seem to learn Japanese while drinking. So what I can say is limited but definatly helpfull!! I have a friend coming to visit me next month and we are going to find these bars that you mentioned. I would also like to find the resturaunt that is a prison and they have jail breaks durring dinner.
I think you have a fantastic thing going on here!! thank you for sharing and keep up the good “work”!!
March 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Thanks! Let me know if you have trouble finding those places.
April 2, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I am Japanese. Those who are interested in Japan’s link to my site please.
Hi. Let me look at the site. Very interesting.
Japan recently introduced an information site. Foreigners who are relatively unknown in Japan to introduce the information. Surprise is full of information.
We hope once the link please.
（URL）http://japanesefood-cultuer-history-anime.blogspot.com/