JapanUp! magazine

The Slow Beverage Dilemma When you sit down with a group of friends at a bar or lounge in Los Angeles, ordering drinks can take a significant amount of time. Everyone looks through a multi-page cocktail menu, asks the bartender about specific hazy IPAs, or customizes their wine selection. It can easily take fifteen minutes just for the first round of drinks to arrive at the table. But in the fast-paced world of the Japanese Izakaya (pub), this slow, individualistic approach is completely rejected. In Japan, the time between sitting down at your table and clinking your glasses together for…

The Post-Party Hunger Craving If you enjoy a night out drinking with friends in Los Angeles, the evening usually ends with a frantic late-night drive to a taco truck or a 24-hour diner for a greasy slice of pizza. In the US, eating heavy food after drinking is a common, messy craving. But in Japan, this late-night food run has been elevated into a highly systemized, almost mandatory cultural ritual known as “Shime” (the closing or tightening). No matter how much food you consumed during the main party, a Japanese night out is never officially complete until everyone sits down…

The Slow Beverage Dilemma When you sit down with a group of friends at a bar or lounge in Los Angeles, ordering drinks can take a significant amount of time. Everyone looks through a multi-page cocktail menu, asks the bartender about specific hazy IPAs, or customizes their wine selection. It can easily take fifteen minutes just for the first round of drinks to arrive at the table. But in the fast-paced world of the Japanese Izakaya (pub), this slow, individualistic approach is completely rejected. In Japan, the time between sitting down at your table and clinking your glasses together for…

The Post-Party Hunger Craving If you enjoy a night out drinking with friends in Los Angeles, the evening usually ends with a frantic late-night drive to a taco truck or a 24-hour diner for a greasy slice of pizza. In the US, eating heavy food after drinking is a common, messy craving. But in Japan, this late-night food run has been elevated into a highly systemized, almost mandatory cultural ritual known as “Shime” (the closing or tightening). No matter how much food you consumed during the main party, a Japanese night out is never officially complete until everyone sits down…

The “Kikan Gentei” Phenomenon If you walk into a Japanese convenience store, a fast-food restaurant, or a Starbucks, you will immediately be bombarded by a specific marketing phrase: “Kikan Gentei” (Limited Time Only). In the United States, you might look forward to the Pumpkin Spice Latte in the fall, but Japan takes seasonal flavors to an absolute extreme. Every single month, major brands release wild, highly exclusive flavors of KitKats, potato chips, and drinks that are only available for a few weeks. It is the undisputed #1 marketing strategy in Japan, and consumers go absolutely crazy for it, happily lining…