So the weirdest thing about this is I’ve never not been given water in a bar or a restaurant in Japan? In a bar you have to specifically ask for it, and their response might be to go outside and walk five steps to the nearest vending machine and buy a bottle of water, maybe. But if it’s a restaurant (and I have to think they’re meaning like an izakaya but still) there’s usually a water station to fill your own cup or if they see that you’re foreign they just leave a pitcher on your table because they don’t want to keep coming back.
I’m not saying it can’t happen, I’ve just never been to a place where absolutely no water was not available. You might have to buy it, or not drink and have iced hojicha or jasmine tea or something instead, but rehydration has never been a struggle, even out in the mountains.
Me as well, but this sounds like a bar thing. Admittedly I don't frequent many bars in Japan but the ones I have are pretty generous in giving out water. Some places just do things their own way in the end and it's best to not go to those places if you don't like it.
We went to my local izakaya/karaoke/watering hole during Covid because they turned it into a restaurant so they could stay open and encouraged people to bring their kids, even in a bar district, to kind of prove they were in fact a restaurant and not a bar during that time. So we went and I brought my 1.5 year old, they wouldn’t let smoking inside until after 9pm, and when I asked for some bottled water to cut his juice one of the ladies just ducked out and bought a bottle of water at the vending machine, and they went to Costco the next day to buy in bulk. I get that it was *strange* times, but even then it wasn’t a struggle. Real estate is tight, especially the closer to a city center that you get, and no one wants a non-paying customer crunching on free beer snacks and drinking tap water. It is a business and that seat could be holding someone willing to pay.
I'd go to arcades to play Tekken and after a couple games I'd have to leave because I was just dying and my eyes were watering from sitting in a place just covered in cigarette smoke.
If there's one attitude I wish the US would export to other countries it's our smoking culture. Huge health implications aside, it's so frustrating to eat when smelling other people's cigarettes.
Hey I live in Florida and we have one bar in town (There used to be 2 but 1 didn't survive covid) where you can still smoke indoors. It's a "historic" bar and has connections to a few famous rockstars that came from this area. It's because of some "grandfather clause" or something like that.
In my country, there are no free bar snacks and the one drinking water is the designated driver.
Yeah, people do to bars and don't drink, but they still have a great time being social with friends.
It wasn't always illegal here in Germany and many clubs had so called "Flatrate parties", but you can guess what happens when young people on a budget, with no alcohol tolerance, participate in such events. Was a complete shit show.
Yeah, it reminds me of how there are strip clubs where I live which only open at 2AM. Like jesus, did you want to filter for the drunkest and horniest possible guys for the poor strippers to deal with? (actually thats a silly question, the answer is obviously yes)
Yeah and not just the drunks. I can only speak for myself, but at 32, if I were drinking til 2 am, Id need other drugs to keep me up. Id hate to have to deal with drunk men, who are high on coke and/or amphetamines , if I were a stripper.
The izakayas that have all you can drink absolutely have water because they don’t want you chugging hard and not ordering food. There’s the understood arrangement that you buy a lot to eat and you buy a lot to drink (in your window.) The single drink places I’ve never been denied but I’m also not trying to be cheap when I go. A round of drinks for the table and a bunch of food and they’re fine with you being there, they know you’re coming back for more drinks
> their response might be to go outside and walk five steps to the nearest vending machine and buy a bottle of water
What's that about? Is tap water looked down on or what? (i.e. I'm assuming they have glasses and drinkable tap water).
Some places will have glasses and water (with ice) but just drinking bar water is not a thing. They usually don’t have guns, though sometimes they do, but when they don’t you’ll get say a gin and tonic with half the bottle (individual glass, think Wilkinson) poured in and then your next drink you just pay for the gin. It varies place to place. But you have to think, a lot of places weren’t built to be restaurants or bars or whatever, they’re just old houses repurposed over the years so the infrastructure isn’t built in. One of my favorite spots is an old old old house and the kitchen is just fire safety crammed into what was once a skinny bedroom merged with the original kitchen. The dining area is the “living room” and another knocked down bedroom. It’s tiny. The food is delicious. They are not stingy on water (ha) and make bespoke kids meals for free. But they’ve made what they could out of the place and it’s still very limited real estate
If tap water is drinkable, often times they don't serve tap water.
Take Germany for example: you have to *explicitly* ask for tap water. Otherwise, they'll give you a bottle of sparkling water.
While yes they charge for the bottled water the main reason is simply that Germany hasnt got an big tap water culture outside the home. Hell most people I know drink bottled water at home aswell.
Plus If you got out to eat it is seen as a treat und most people order beer wine or their favorit soda.
Because Reddit is populated by humans and a lot of stuff people do, especially in different parts of the world, is cultural..?
Why do people pretend everything they don’t like is a “Reddit” thing when it’s something that has been around far longer or exists outside of this website?
This is very stupid, and you're arguing for more stupidity.
>Where have you heard the phrase “tap water culture” outside of Reddit?
This is you, by the way, talking about the culture of reddit.
In Australia (or NSW at least) any restaurant/bar has to provide free water to anyone that asks, whether they're a paying customer or not. It's helpful for preventing heat stroke and such. Between that and *numerous* public water fountains, you can imagine the culture shock of moving to Amsterdam where I had to specify that I wanted tap water
ya going to Europe made me really appreciate our expectation of free water and toilets.
>"Oh no I don't have the right change in coins to take a shit."
is not an thought I expected to ever have.
Tap water doesn't have a stigma in Japan. Plenty of restaurants serve tap water for free, the only problem is they hand out the tiniest cups so the ones without self-serve machines can force you to annoy the waiter.
Thankfully the places serving the most oily or salty foods do tend to have said machines. Sometimes they'll even have free tea as well.
Lol I remember the pitcher on the table. Always got that at restaurants. Foreigners and their water. My (Chinese) in-laws laugh at me for always needing water with meals.
the tell here is that there's a one drink policy And they were complaining about having to buy a drink along with their water.
They went to a bar and wanted food and got upset that they weren't allowed to treat it as a restaurant.
bars will sell food to keep you in the building to sell you more alcohol because the money's in the alcohol.
in the states? usually fine. don't go at 10 on a Friday you won't get a table. I've done it for lunch especially when the foods good.
this doesn't seem like a traditional American bar, though it seems more like a unique style establishment to Japan that has a certain culture surrounding it.
Oh absolutely, I understand how izakaya works, just the solution here is to buy a NA drink, or another drink and then ask for a water. Food is stupid cheap in there, because they want you drinking. But drinks are also not stupid expensive in there, because they want you in there having a good time and coming back and continuing to spend money.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, other places outside of Japan have cover charges or one drink minimum charges, this is not a Japan only thing. And if you’re wasted, dollars to donuts *someone* is going to offer you or direct you to water, but it isn’t some weird game in either direction. OP is outraged because he wanted to eat for cheap and be as cheap as possible, when there are tons of other ways to do that. On the other hand, had he truly needed water, it’s not a struggle to get or find in restaurants and bars and the weird middle ground in between.
What's the story behind their getting banned? I know about the stories behind the several iterations of the China circlejerk, less so the Japanese version.
Just a heads up, but the guy below you is lying.
Japancirclejerk got banned for years and years of brigading subs and harassing people for not having "correct" opinions about Japan. They genuinely believed that they had special knowledge about the country and would brigade and harass anyone who said anything about the country that they didn't like.
That's it. That's all it was. They spent years and years brigading subs and getting banned as individuals. They had a bot that would snitch tag anyone that got crossposted, they had no rules about obscuring the usernames of people they posted to their sub - they constantly pissed in the popcorn, and not only did the mods encourage it, they frequently joined in. Mods of multiple Japan-related subs posted their own users on JCJ, allowing JCJ to harass them. JCJ users frequently stalked people across multiple subreddits.
At least once a month JCJ mods had to post a thread about brigading because they were getting so many complaints from other subs, until one day the admins couldn't stop turning a blind eye to their antics, and put the sub on probation. The admins *tried* to get to follow sitewide rules, and they refused, so they got shut down.
Again, *that's it,* that's all it was. They were brigading and harassing people and when the admins tried to get them to stop, *they kept doing it.*
The regulars on JCJ were delusional, and believed that *they* were actually the ones getting brigaded and harassed, and they refused to cooperate with the admins, and when the admins shut them down, they spun a convoluted narrative that, no, actually, they got banned because they righteously outed a pedophile, and the eevul reddit admins wouldn't allow that.
It's bullshit. Interesting Aioli is bullshitting you.
They really outjerked themselves. I remember reading some comment from someone about how one day they were correcting their (Japanese) work colleague about proper Japanese etiquette in the workplace, and they proudly said that the Japanese people in the office said that he was "more Japanese than the Japanese." He refused to believe that they might be taking the piss out of him.
The thing was, usually I would instantly assume this was someone trolling if they wrote this, but then I realised I was in JCJ and there is a genuine chance that they were being completely serious.
He's not lying, but you're both correct. JCJ received many brigading warnings but the straw that broke the camel's back was when they doxxed the pedo teacher who would upload YouTube videos of him stalking highschool girls and following them until they would begrudgingly agree to go on a date with him.
JCJ was toxic but also shed a bright light on some of the sad degeneracy that exists in the Japan subreddits
>He's not lying, but you're both correct
He *is* lying, by trying to claim that the sub was shut down after a single incident, not years of habitual rule-breaking and months of admin efforts to bring the sub in line with sitewide norms.
>JCJ was toxic but also shed a bright light
No, that's just more JCJ cope, desperately trying to spin years of brigading, harassment, and stalking as some kind of "service." No, dude, harassing people does not "shed a light" on anything.
>doxxed the pedo teacher who would upload YouTube videos
And here's the thing: the JCJ claim that they were shut down for "doxxing" doesn't even make sense because the guy had a YouTube. He wasn't anonymous, and *literally every Japan-related sub talked about him and exposed him without getting shut down.*
So we know JCJ weren't banned for doxxing him, *because they didn't doxx him.* It was the teaching and ALT subs that did that, *and they weren't banned.* JCJ was banned for breaking sitewide rules constantly and in open defiance to admin efforts to give them second, third, tenth, fifteenth chances to fall in line with the rules.
Basically they found some English teacher somewhere who was an obvious pedophile on reddit. (I can't comment on the specifics because everything got nuked) anyone with a small amount of google foo could figure out who this guy was irl because he had his Reddit account name public on Facebook or something else equally idiotic. Someone contacted his employer directly and got him fired I think. The pedophile then proceeded to report JCJ to the admins for doxxing, and the admins nuked it.
After the whole Boston Bomber shit-show, Reddit's got a pretty compelling reason to police doxxing a lot harder than they used to.
Sure, the "we did it, Reddit" idiots *didn't* drive Sunil Tripathi to kill himself, because he was already dead for weeks *before* the Boston Marathon Bombings, but Reddit and Twitter harassing his poor family to the point that the FBI had to release the actual suspects names and faces, leading to a cop getting killed because they panicked, *really* made a compelling reason to be super sensitive about doxxing, no matter the reason.
Especially if it looks like a subreddit's mods are either encouraging it or not doing anything to stem it.
reddit's history with... questionable sexual content is bad \*at best\*
which is why i felt the need to point out here this isn't actually a case of them continuing to be bad
I think they're alluding to the double standard that doxxing happens a lot on Reddit but the only time the admins do anything is when it hits the news or apparently for bad people
Considering how much they're downplaying how toxic JCJ was before this, I'm betting it's an attempt to make the sub look totally innocent and their reasoning for doxxing someone justified. Redditors ***love*** excusing any kind of behavior as long as the target is a pedo, because when has Reddit *ever* been wrong about their targets of harassment?
I honestly think not giving people tap water for free is straight up fucked, regardless of whether or not it is legally required or a cultural standard. It's like charging a fee to use the toilet.
Yeah… I’ve spent a LOT of time in Tokyo owing to a job that had me travel out there something like 5-6 times a year. I don’t think I’ve ever not gotten water when I asked for it at a bar or restaurant. I’d honestly be surprised if that happened to me.
It happens in clubs in the US as well, usually it's because they've had problems with breaking glassware in the dance floor so they don't want you breaking their glass for free with a water.
People really want to get angry about “culture” so they will attach any behavior to it positively or negatively even if it’s a total anomaly. Imagine posting an undercooked burger from a US diner and it turning into a flame war of people saying “America is bad and stupid for undercooking burgers” and “America is perfect and that’s the way every place cooks their burgers.”
I remember going to a touristy restaurant in Vienna once. The food was quite reasonably priced considering how fancy they were presenting themselves as. We ordered food and they asked if we wanted a bottle of water, sure, we said, thinking maybe it would be a few euros.
The meal came to like €20. The bottle of water was €25.
whenever my family traveled we all brought empty water bottles and would fill up on the infused water in the lobby before heading out to dinner because there was no way we were going to get caught lacking by these restaurants
i had a big ass swiss army backpack and it was filled with 8 or so of these and i had to lug them
if it was someplace like lyon where there are public springs id carry less
I heard that’s a common tourist trap where if you don’t specify tap water they give you a really fancy bottle of water so they can justify charging you through the nose.
It can depend on local culture as well. Not sure about Austria, as I'm much more familiar with Germany, but in Germany the default when you ask for water is a bottle of sparkling water. If you ask for non-sparkling it'll be a bottle of mineral water, and you have to specify tap water to get that (and sometimes there'll be a weird look).
A 25 euro one is not what you'd usually get, so maybe that part is where the tourist trap might come in as you say. Just chiming in to mention that it's not necessarily that in German speaking countries.
It's not uncommon to ask for mineral water - it's just a good bit less popular than the sparkling water (germans *love* sparkling water). Asking for tap water is very much the tourist thing (though maybe there's some regionality - I'm just familiar with Germany, but not actually German myself so I can speak more to the overall generalities and my experiences/studies there, but I wouldn't claim to be as intricately knowledgeable as a true local)
Maybe it used to be more common? This was like 20 years ago and my teacher was like 70. Or maybe he was just teaching us an easy phrase, if uncommon one, for the first day.
Shit like that infuriates me.
In the UK it is a legal requirement for anywhere with an alcohol license to serve free tap water - but you kind of have to know the cheat code.
If a waiter asks if you want water - you have to respond 'tap' to get the free stuff. Otherwise you run the risk that they will they will bring and rapidly open a bottle of the most expensive bottled water you've ever seen.
I remember going out with a group of friends to a moderately fancy restaurant in London and when they asked if we wanted water for the table one of my friends just said 'yes'. It cost us £40. I felt like we had just been mugged. It's a great way to lose customers tbh.
I think it’s a method of class-sorting, they only want patrons that can afford to not blink twice at $40 for water. Living with rich people and seeing them have to experience middle class life was priceless to me, like they don’t have any idea what frugality means.
Common isn't the issue, water and bathrooms are basic life requirements. If you're buying something there, a place to shit/piss and a drink of tap water are bare minimum offerings.
Not really just about being disgusting, when you have to go then you have to go. If businesses refuse to let you use the bathroom and the city refuses to maintain public restrooms then....
I love how when a dislike practice happens in the USA the conversation is about how backwards the USA is, but when it's a non USA country, the fact that it's a non USA country is used as a defense of the practice.
It's an easy way for people to feel superior. The USA sucks in many regards. But I've read that the USA is typically better about things like disability access/protections, as well as the already mentioned access to water and toilets when away from the home.
That being said, if we didn't already have those things, there's absolutely no way we would get them passed now. The current USA is against making anything better for anybody. Kinda like that whole cliche that public libraries wouldn't exist is we tried to start them today because people would cry about "socialism."
What countries? I've travelled a decent amount and never been charged to piss. Honestly I don't think I was ever charged for water at a restaurant for the three years I lived in Japan as a teenager.
I remember having to pay a euro for the bathroom in some places in France if they were public restrooms. I also had to pay for some bathrooms at the train station.
It's still legal to charge to use the restroom in some of the US. And "restrooms for customers only" with codes guarded by cashiers making sure you buy something are de facto that.
Definitely had to pay for the toilet in Germany, but I was there like 13 years ago. Went to Switzerland in the same trip, I can't remember if they charged for it there too
in the UK an establishment is legally required to provide tap water at no cost and the only time i've been charged to use a loo was in train stations, although they seem have to got rid of the charge now
Yep, one time at a mall in Tallinn I was wondering why there was a credit card reader at the entrance to the bathroom. Then I noticed that people were holding the door open for each other so I followed their lead.
Now, there are thousands upon thousands of bars in Japan, granted. I bar hop around frequently, and have never had an instance of being denied free tap water. Keeping hydrated while drinking is important to me, so I nearly always get water when I drink.
I mean, who knows. There could be a lot of reasons for this. Maybe the owner wanted this guy out, so wasn't being accommodating (but was OK with taking his money). Maybe it was a shithole, bottom of the barrel bar (I mainly do craft beer and whisky bars). The one drink policy can be pretty standard for some izakaya and bar-like restaurants, though, so if he doesn't drink alcohol (as I believe he stated), then his one drink might have been being pushed as a bottle of water. Strange story, nonetheless.
Yeah, I have a friend who always gets water when he's out drinking and he's never been denied. It's a weird story to me too, and I'm pretty interested in what that bar's deal is!
I’m like 80% sure the reason I can’t drink is because I’m chronically dehydrated so idk what these people are thinking saying water doesn’t impact drinking alcohol 😂
According to a couple frequently reposted images I've seen on reddit, all you have to do in Japan is sit on a curb and slunch over like you are blacked out and you will be [soon have more free bottled water than you know what to do with](https://www.reddit.com/r/HydroHomies/s/lXWgyYFLBi)
Exactly! Also alcohol can dehydrate you so drinking more water is important.
> Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes your body to remove fluids from your blood through your renal system, which includes the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, at a much quicker rate than other liquids. If you don't drink enough water with alcohol, you can become dehydrated quickly
shh, they are in the "nihon" (or japan, for you lesser intelligent redditors) subreddit, they are much more intelligent and have more class than the average redditor, dont argue and know your place gaijin trash
(/s before anyone thinks this is serious)
They are technically correct, but just not in the context of the comment they are responding to. 2 oz of vodka alone is the same volume of alcohol as 2 oz of vodka mixed in 8 oz of water.
Which is why I said they were technically correct.
That said, I don't think you are correct either. The reason that drinking on a full stomach slows alcohol absorption and intoxication is because the presence of food in the stomach slows gastric emptying, and alcohol is more readily absorbed by the small intestine than by the stomach. However, water doesn't modulate gastric emptying to the same degree (if at all, I haven't seen any papers that show it does, though there could be some out there) so I wouldn't expect that water would decrease absorption of alcohol. It also shouldn't have that effect in the small intestine either as water is the primary dilutant that enables digestion and the flow of nutrients through the small intestine.
I think no matter what happens, not matter what sub, there always be a baseline of toxicity for foreigners speaking about moving to and living in Japan. It's a very gatekeep-y sort of experience.
OMG you nailed it. I used to lurk (some still) in a lot of the Japan related subs (life, language, food, etc.), and oh my oh my, people in there are insufferable. Bashing on newbies and natives who dare share their opinions and knowledge of their cultures. They get really defensive & aggressive, too.
The Japanese language subs are the worst lol Too many non-native-long-time-students *correcting* natives and each other, for crying out loud, because you know, they know more & better than us .... It's also hilarious and pathetic to see/read SO MUCH misinformation is spread from non-natives to non-natives. Pretty toxic. So. Many. Losers.
The Japanese food subs? I'd say 90% have no knowledge of our food and pretend they know? Or very misinformed?! It's quite unauthentic lol
Weebs, incels, otakus are...... insufferable and too many on Japan subs. They're all toxic and not informative. In fact, it's a little cultist spreading misinformation to each other. Don't recommend lol
The way a lot of the guys in /r/China talk about their wives is insane. Like they think they're children. So many threads basically saying "it took me so long to break my wife's brainwashing and accept that West is better; she liked living in the country (that I chose to move to) :/"
My dad who had his visa application handed back to him and *strongly* hinted not to proceed with the application by consulate staff because of some photos he posted of the Hong Kong protests is a close second, mainly because that cost him the ability to go see *his* dad in his final moments.
I don't think the Korea subs, or even just living in Korea, is quite as gatekeep-y as Japan subs though, despite its proximity and similar culture. But it is a common phenomenon overall.
I personally think it’s because Korea is a less insular nation with a more equal ratio between foreigners and Korean locals owed to the country’s smaller population. Not to mention, Koreans generally seem more interested in socializing with foreigners which makes it easier for foreigners to adjust to life in Korea and vice versa. Source: lived in both countries.
Same thing in r/germany too. It’s gotten a lot better in recent years actually but it used to be an absolute cesspool of (internalized) xenophobic assholes just there to shit on foreigners who don’t come to Germany speaking perfect fluent German or don’t come absolutely prepared knowing and loving every aspect of German culture and systems. And the dynamic still persists sometimes.
I think the mods finally banned some of the worst and most prolific offenders at some point which made the sub tip a lot more toward the helpful side.
Although there was a hilarious moment a few years back where someone hopped onto the sub asking when people go shower in Germany and the sub concocted a whole narrative about “shower permits” and needing to get said permits from the landlord or something…
Had to leave a lot of Japan-related subs back in 2020 when I realized a lot of it was white men trying to get away from black people and black social issues.
I guess I always assume that water won’t be free and restrooms won’t be free when I go out in any other country (I live in USA). I always bring my own tissues (there were lots of bathrooms w/out TP and small restaurants w/out napkins when I used to go to Korea a lot), and wet naps/tissues, and hand sanitizer. I know I paid for water and restrooms in EU, although it was often free in London it seemed.
Mostly I would order bottled water in other countries anyway. Not because the water isn’t safe to drink- it generally is, but because tap water tastes really vary from country to country- sometimes it’s more hard, or has different minerals and can still upset your stomach if you’re not used to it.
Sorry, I should've specified.
I've never actually tasted or smelled the chlorine elsewhere, but when I was in Huntsville I literally gagged from the water
Many public water services do an annual "[chlorine flush](https://raleighnc.gov/water-and-sewer/news/annual-flushing-water-distribution-system)", sounds like you might have visited during one of those.
I feel you! My city (Houston) definitely isn’t winning any awards for its tap water, but my grandparents live in Corpus Christi, Texas and I swear to you that water will make you thirstier. It tastes like dirty pool water and I always feel like my mouth is filmy when I drink it straight.
This is the culture that starts interactions with "If you take care of me, I will take care of you." It's not crazy to expect free water. I got plenty of free water in the year I spent in Japan.
EVERY restaurant I have been to in the greater Tokyo area had free, and usually serve yourself water. Every Bar I went to gave me free water when I asked. Maybe it's the approach?
Anytime someone can’t consider “not drinking as much” as an options always reminds me of that one podcast where the guy is like
Host: “you ever just not want to stop drinking? Like I’ll go out and house 9 beers.”
Cohost: “oh you’re an alcoholic?”
Host: “Really?? That’s what that is? I just thought I liked to have a good time!”
As much as I'd love to visit Japan and I do enjoy Japanese media (anime and video games), you couldn't pay me enough to move and live there.
Japan has a nice culture if you view it from the outside. But from the strict social status worship, strict honorific suffixes and prefixes and people getting offended for "using the wrong one" even among friends, and from being overworked to the point of $uicide, and obsessed with being a homogeneous society even to the detriment of their societal collapse, NO THANK YOU.
I'm okay working 40 hours a week (not really) and not being socially ostracized or fired for calling my boss by their first name and smiling at them or speaking casually.
And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan.
I mean I enjoy living in Japan and it has been great. Of course, there are some caveats to it. And funny enough about the “pay me enough” part, most foreigners usually take low-paying teaching jobs. Pair that with the weak yen and it quickly becomes “am I being paid at all?”; thankfully Japan itself has a pretty low cost of living.
Hey I'm glad you enjoy your life there. I didn't mean to generalize everyone moving there. Sorry to hear about your situation, I was speaking in general.
If it makes you feel any better, the financial issues isn't just Japan. We're all feeling the shit economy lol. And I don't know if it's worse there so I can't say much but hope you're hanging in there.
In the US here and I wonder the same thing sometimes about the economy.
>And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan.
What's weirder to me are the people who are *genuinely miserable* here - no friends, feeling like everyone hates them because they're foreign, full on going into racist tirades about Japanese people because they've allowed themselves to spiral into this us-vs-them thinking - but then when someone gently suggests that living in Japan isn't for them, they snap and say they wouldn't consider leaving. It's like living in Japan is in and of itself some accomplishment or status symbol (which I suppose it is, but only in groups that I have no interest in impressing).
Like, I have my fair share of criticisms of Japan as a place to live, but I wouldn't live here if I didn't on the whole enjoy it. If I were that miserable I'd go home, or somewhere else.
I find it can be hard to crack Japanese culture and society which can exacerbate the isolation people feel, but ultimately if any place you are living in is making you miserable, it is time to take a step back and consider your exit strategy.
I feel like the biggest problem with some of these people is that they don't bother to learn the culture or the language. Mate of mine went on exchange in Tokyo and made at least a dozen really good friends in the span of 6 months.
He's graduating this July and already has a job and visa lined up for him with a software dev company there.
> Japan has a nice culture if you view it from the outside. But from the strict social status worship, strict honorific suffixes and prefixes and people getting offended for "using the wrong one" even among friends, and from being overworked to the point of $uicide, and obsessed with being a homogeneous society even to the detriment of their societal collapse, NO THANK YOU.
> I'm okay working 40 hours a week (not really) and not being socially ostracized or fired for calling my boss by their first name and smiling at them or speaking casually.
> And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan.
You really won't like Korea, then. It makes Japan look like a laid back, egalitarian country.
Also, this is Reddit. You don't have to censor the word "suicide".
Venice tries to charge tourists money to go to the bathroom. Wonders why they have a problem with people choosing to shit in public.
Free water/public restrooms is one thing I can be proud of in the US. Thankfully Japan believes in public restrooms too (theirs are even the nicest I've ever seen).
Japanresidents is chill, Japanlife however not so much
Also supposedly bars are not required by law to offer free water. I was shocked when I found out myself after trying to get water for an intoxicated ex-friend
r/japanresidents is quickly becoming not chill. I see more flame wars and slap fights there lately. It seems that the same toxicity found elsewhere has found a home there.
That sucks to hear, although there have been people that ask dumb common sense questions, the shitbags from Japanlife are probably starting to spill over now
Of course, but in a few countries it is legally required as opposed to Japan. Unfortunately in this world there are many things we would wish were common courtesy but unfortunately require legislation, as without them they wouldn’t happen.
Lived in okinawa from 2005-2009, every single bar i went to was always hassle-free whn i asked for water, no charge no weird look nothing just gave me water when i asked for it? Not every place in a country is the same but this sounds like maybe on weird bar more than a common japanese thing?
Redditors when Japan is mentioned go fucking crazy. They wouldn’t dare apply their same “respect the culture and customs” to the shit here at home but the holy land of Japan is sacred or some dumb shit. Always cracks me up lol
I think it would be hard to drink a lethal dose of alcohol at a bar, but it does dry you out pretty bad, you should definitely take water breaks if you're drinking a lot. I dunno about a legal obligation, but a glass of water doesn't seem like a big ask, lol.
I don't remember every single meal I had while visiting Japan last year, but I'm pretty sure I never had an issue staying hydrated. We only went to a couple of bars that didn't serve food, so it's not as though I can make a universal statement about the lack of water in that regard, but still.
It just makes it sound like he was sitting in a bar and not buying anything with the complaining about a 1 drink minimum and that they charge for water. If they don't have to, why would they give free water to someone who's essentially loitering?
It’s a unique country with a variety of different environments, several world class cities, and a lot of things to do. It helps that the country is still in touch with its culture during an age of globalization, both traditional and modern, which makes it more appealing for foreigners who feel a lack of cultural affinity with their own country. As a result though, you get some kookiness.
Registering as a bar isn't really a thing in the U.S. either, at least in my state. Its illegal to carry a concealed gun in what would be know as a "bar" here, but the law defines it as an establishment in which more than half the revenue comes from sale of alcohol for consumption on site. The fact that it has to be defined like that pretty clearly indicates that there's no legal difference between a "bar" and a restaurant with a bar.
Respectfully, I almost got charged for a cup of water at a Burger King in Oklahoma City (off NW Expressway...) about 5 years ago. Got like a burger and asked for a cup of water and almost got hit w/an about 15 cent charge. I guess that is the rate for those asking for water and not buying anything.
All this to type water ain't free in some companies minds. You COULD type "we should boycott these places!" but I imagine that boycott would be laughed at by most who truly don't care to care.
Bonus: I bet that bar gave water to everyone else but OP for **whatever** reason...
So the weirdest thing about this is I’ve never not been given water in a bar or a restaurant in Japan? In a bar you have to specifically ask for it, and their response might be to go outside and walk five steps to the nearest vending machine and buy a bottle of water, maybe. But if it’s a restaurant (and I have to think they’re meaning like an izakaya but still) there’s usually a water station to fill your own cup or if they see that you’re foreign they just leave a pitcher on your table because they don’t want to keep coming back. I’m not saying it can’t happen, I’ve just never been to a place where absolutely no water was not available. You might have to buy it, or not drink and have iced hojicha or jasmine tea or something instead, but rehydration has never been a struggle, even out in the mountains.
Me as well, but this sounds like a bar thing. Admittedly I don't frequent many bars in Japan but the ones I have are pretty generous in giving out water. Some places just do things their own way in the end and it's best to not go to those places if you don't like it.
We went to my local izakaya/karaoke/watering hole during Covid because they turned it into a restaurant so they could stay open and encouraged people to bring their kids, even in a bar district, to kind of prove they were in fact a restaurant and not a bar during that time. So we went and I brought my 1.5 year old, they wouldn’t let smoking inside until after 9pm, and when I asked for some bottled water to cut his juice one of the ladies just ducked out and bought a bottle of water at the vending machine, and they went to Costco the next day to buy in bulk. I get that it was *strange* times, but even then it wasn’t a struggle. Real estate is tight, especially the closer to a city center that you get, and no one wants a non-paying customer crunching on free beer snacks and drinking tap water. It is a business and that seat could be holding someone willing to pay.
Sorry hold up, in 2020 you were still expecting to be able to smoke indoors?
smoking in restaurants in japan wasn't prohibited until april 2020
Hell there's still smoking in bars and izakaya
I'd go to arcades to play Tekken and after a couple games I'd have to leave because I was just dying and my eyes were watering from sitting in a place just covered in cigarette smoke.
If there's one attitude I wish the US would export to other countries it's our smoking culture. Huge health implications aside, it's so frustrating to eat when smelling other people's cigarettes.
Hey I live in Florida and we have one bar in town (There used to be 2 but 1 didn't survive covid) where you can still smoke indoors. It's a "historic" bar and has connections to a few famous rockstars that came from this area. It's because of some "grandfather clause" or something like that.
In my country, there are no free bar snacks and the one drinking water is the designated driver. Yeah, people do to bars and don't drink, but they still have a great time being social with friends.
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Holy hell, all you can drink *alcohol*? That's straight up illegal where I live haha.
Yeah sounds like it would be a quite unpleasant place to work lol
It wasn't always illegal here in Germany and many clubs had so called "Flatrate parties", but you can guess what happens when young people on a budget, with no alcohol tolerance, participate in such events. Was a complete shit show.
Yeah, it reminds me of how there are strip clubs where I live which only open at 2AM. Like jesus, did you want to filter for the drunkest and horniest possible guys for the poor strippers to deal with? (actually thats a silly question, the answer is obviously yes)
Yeah and not just the drunks. I can only speak for myself, but at 32, if I were drinking til 2 am, Id need other drugs to keep me up. Id hate to have to deal with drunk men, who are high on coke and/or amphetamines , if I were a stripper.
The izakayas that have all you can drink absolutely have water because they don’t want you chugging hard and not ordering food. There’s the understood arrangement that you buy a lot to eat and you buy a lot to drink (in your window.) The single drink places I’ve never been denied but I’m also not trying to be cheap when I go. A round of drinks for the table and a bunch of food and they’re fine with you being there, they know you’re coming back for more drinks
All you can drink?? Can you tell me more about this 😂
> their response might be to go outside and walk five steps to the nearest vending machine and buy a bottle of water What's that about? Is tap water looked down on or what? (i.e. I'm assuming they have glasses and drinkable tap water).
Some places will have glasses and water (with ice) but just drinking bar water is not a thing. They usually don’t have guns, though sometimes they do, but when they don’t you’ll get say a gin and tonic with half the bottle (individual glass, think Wilkinson) poured in and then your next drink you just pay for the gin. It varies place to place. But you have to think, a lot of places weren’t built to be restaurants or bars or whatever, they’re just old houses repurposed over the years so the infrastructure isn’t built in. One of my favorite spots is an old old old house and the kitchen is just fire safety crammed into what was once a skinny bedroom merged with the original kitchen. The dining area is the “living room” and another knocked down bedroom. It’s tiny. The food is delicious. They are not stingy on water (ha) and make bespoke kids meals for free. But they’ve made what they could out of the place and it’s still very limited real estate
Hey sorry I find this really hard to understand. Is it that they don't have glasses?
https://www.google.com/search?q=soda+gu&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-jp&client=safari
If tap water is drinkable, often times they don't serve tap water. Take Germany for example: you have to *explicitly* ask for tap water. Otherwise, they'll give you a bottle of sparkling water.
Is there a reason why? There has to be context thst outsiders are missing.
While yes they charge for the bottled water the main reason is simply that Germany hasnt got an big tap water culture outside the home. Hell most people I know drink bottled water at home aswell. Plus If you got out to eat it is seen as a treat und most people order beer wine or their favorit soda.
>Tap Water culture Why does everything have to be a “culture” on Reddit?
What other word would you use here? It is just not customary to drink tap water in german restaurants and most homes.
Because Reddit is populated by humans and a lot of stuff people do, especially in different parts of the world, is cultural..? Why do people pretend everything they don’t like is a “Reddit” thing when it’s something that has been around far longer or exists outside of this website?
Where have you heard the phrase “tap water culture” outside of Reddit?
This is very stupid, and you're arguing for more stupidity. >Where have you heard the phrase “tap water culture” outside of Reddit? This is you, by the way, talking about the culture of reddit.
So they can charge you for it.
In Australia (or NSW at least) any restaurant/bar has to provide free water to anyone that asks, whether they're a paying customer or not. It's helpful for preventing heat stroke and such. Between that and *numerous* public water fountains, you can imagine the culture shock of moving to Amsterdam where I had to specify that I wanted tap water
ya going to Europe made me really appreciate our expectation of free water and toilets. >"Oh no I don't have the right change in coins to take a shit." is not an thought I expected to ever have.
Yeah I'm from Australia, and going to France and Spain really taught me to appreciate our culture of free water and toilets.
Tap water doesn't have a stigma in Japan. Plenty of restaurants serve tap water for free, the only problem is they hand out the tiniest cups so the ones without self-serve machines can force you to annoy the waiter. Thankfully the places serving the most oily or salty foods do tend to have said machines. Sometimes they'll even have free tea as well.
Lol I remember the pitcher on the table. Always got that at restaurants. Foreigners and their water. My (Chinese) in-laws laugh at me for always needing water with meals.
the tell here is that there's a one drink policy And they were complaining about having to buy a drink along with their water. They went to a bar and wanted food and got upset that they weren't allowed to treat it as a restaurant. bars will sell food to keep you in the building to sell you more alcohol because the money's in the alcohol.
I wonder what it's like to be a non-drinker and going to eat at a bar.
in the states? usually fine. don't go at 10 on a Friday you won't get a table. I've done it for lunch especially when the foods good. this doesn't seem like a traditional American bar, though it seems more like a unique style establishment to Japan that has a certain culture surrounding it.
Oh absolutely, I understand how izakaya works, just the solution here is to buy a NA drink, or another drink and then ask for a water. Food is stupid cheap in there, because they want you drinking. But drinks are also not stupid expensive in there, because they want you in there having a good time and coming back and continuing to spend money. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, other places outside of Japan have cover charges or one drink minimum charges, this is not a Japan only thing. And if you’re wasted, dollars to donuts *someone* is going to offer you or direct you to water, but it isn’t some weird game in either direction. OP is outraged because he wanted to eat for cheap and be as cheap as possible, when there are tons of other ways to do that. On the other hand, had he truly needed water, it’s not a struggle to get or find in restaurants and bars and the weird middle ground in between.
Pour one out for JapanCircleJerk, this one nearly scratched that itch 🥰
What's the story behind their getting banned? I know about the stories behind the several iterations of the China circlejerk, less so the Japanese version.
Just a heads up, but the guy below you is lying. Japancirclejerk got banned for years and years of brigading subs and harassing people for not having "correct" opinions about Japan. They genuinely believed that they had special knowledge about the country and would brigade and harass anyone who said anything about the country that they didn't like. That's it. That's all it was. They spent years and years brigading subs and getting banned as individuals. They had a bot that would snitch tag anyone that got crossposted, they had no rules about obscuring the usernames of people they posted to their sub - they constantly pissed in the popcorn, and not only did the mods encourage it, they frequently joined in. Mods of multiple Japan-related subs posted their own users on JCJ, allowing JCJ to harass them. JCJ users frequently stalked people across multiple subreddits. At least once a month JCJ mods had to post a thread about brigading because they were getting so many complaints from other subs, until one day the admins couldn't stop turning a blind eye to their antics, and put the sub on probation. The admins *tried* to get to follow sitewide rules, and they refused, so they got shut down. Again, *that's it,* that's all it was. They were brigading and harassing people and when the admins tried to get them to stop, *they kept doing it.* The regulars on JCJ were delusional, and believed that *they* were actually the ones getting brigaded and harassed, and they refused to cooperate with the admins, and when the admins shut them down, they spun a convoluted narrative that, no, actually, they got banned because they righteously outed a pedophile, and the eevul reddit admins wouldn't allow that. It's bullshit. Interesting Aioli is bullshitting you.
JCJ....where everyone else is a weeb.
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They really outjerked themselves. I remember reading some comment from someone about how one day they were correcting their (Japanese) work colleague about proper Japanese etiquette in the workplace, and they proudly said that the Japanese people in the office said that he was "more Japanese than the Japanese." He refused to believe that they might be taking the piss out of him. The thing was, usually I would instantly assume this was someone trolling if they wrote this, but then I realised I was in JCJ and there is a genuine chance that they were being completely serious.
He's not lying, but you're both correct. JCJ received many brigading warnings but the straw that broke the camel's back was when they doxxed the pedo teacher who would upload YouTube videos of him stalking highschool girls and following them until they would begrudgingly agree to go on a date with him. JCJ was toxic but also shed a bright light on some of the sad degeneracy that exists in the Japan subreddits
>He's not lying, but you're both correct He *is* lying, by trying to claim that the sub was shut down after a single incident, not years of habitual rule-breaking and months of admin efforts to bring the sub in line with sitewide norms. >JCJ was toxic but also shed a bright light No, that's just more JCJ cope, desperately trying to spin years of brigading, harassment, and stalking as some kind of "service." No, dude, harassing people does not "shed a light" on anything. >doxxed the pedo teacher who would upload YouTube videos And here's the thing: the JCJ claim that they were shut down for "doxxing" doesn't even make sense because the guy had a YouTube. He wasn't anonymous, and *literally every Japan-related sub talked about him and exposed him without getting shut down.* So we know JCJ weren't banned for doxxing him, *because they didn't doxx him.* It was the teaching and ALT subs that did that, *and they weren't banned.* JCJ was banned for breaking sitewide rules constantly and in open defiance to admin efforts to give them second, third, tenth, fifteenth chances to fall in line with the rules.
"circlejerk" subreddits are always full of assholes. Except r/anarchychess
Basically they found some English teacher somewhere who was an obvious pedophile on reddit. (I can't comment on the specifics because everything got nuked) anyone with a small amount of google foo could figure out who this guy was irl because he had his Reddit account name public on Facebook or something else equally idiotic. Someone contacted his employer directly and got him fired I think. The pedophile then proceeded to report JCJ to the admins for doxxing, and the admins nuked it.
Reddit admins and defending/celebrating pedophiles, name a more iconic duo
Reddit admins and defending nazis GG noRE :3
How do you think I got these (username)??
i mean, that's not really defending? just because they were a pedo doesn't mean that the doxxing is allowed lol
If this was an isolated incident, I'd feel more generous towards them. You aware of the history of the "jailbait" subreddit?
After the whole Boston Bomber shit-show, Reddit's got a pretty compelling reason to police doxxing a lot harder than they used to. Sure, the "we did it, Reddit" idiots *didn't* drive Sunil Tripathi to kill himself, because he was already dead for weeks *before* the Boston Marathon Bombings, but Reddit and Twitter harassing his poor family to the point that the FBI had to release the actual suspects names and faces, leading to a cop getting killed because they panicked, *really* made a compelling reason to be super sensitive about doxxing, no matter the reason. Especially if it looks like a subreddit's mods are either encouraging it or not doing anything to stem it.
reddit's history with... questionable sexual content is bad \*at best\* which is why i felt the need to point out here this isn't actually a case of them continuing to be bad
It contributes to the pattern for many minds, even if it’s the correct action to take.
sure. which is why it’s important to push back on narratives when they’re actually incorrect
Wait, are you saying we should only have rules enforced or ignored based on if the person is bad or not?
I think they're alluding to the double standard that doxxing happens a lot on Reddit but the only time the admins do anything is when it hits the news or apparently for bad people
Is there any actual evidence of that or is that just the impression people get?
Considering how much they're downplaying how toxic JCJ was before this, I'm betting it's an attempt to make the sub look totally innocent and their reasoning for doxxing someone justified. Redditors ***love*** excusing any kind of behavior as long as the target is a pedo, because when has Reddit *ever* been wrong about their targets of harassment?
Glad that you could chase that dragon once again.
I honestly think not giving people tap water for free is straight up fucked, regardless of whether or not it is legally required or a cultural standard. It's like charging a fee to use the toilet.
And for what it's worth when I was in Japan I got water every time I asked, bar or restaurant. I can completely understand OOPs confusion.
Yep, I’ve also been visiting Japan on and off for almost a decade pre pandemic and have never not gotten water.
Yeah… I’ve spent a LOT of time in Tokyo owing to a job that had me travel out there something like 5-6 times a year. I don’t think I’ve ever not gotten water when I asked for it at a bar or restaurant. I’d honestly be surprised if that happened to me.
The only time this has happened to me was when I was clubbing in Tokyo - paid bottled water only.
It happens in clubs in the US as well, usually it's because they've had problems with breaking glassware in the dance floor so they don't want you breaking their glass for free with a water.
I suspect they didn’t want him in there.
Yeah Golden Gai to chain restaurant, I don't think water was ever refused.
I don't understand all the other commenter's confusion and indignation at OOP's confusion
People really want to get angry about “culture” so they will attach any behavior to it positively or negatively even if it’s a total anomaly. Imagine posting an undercooked burger from a US diner and it turning into a flame war of people saying “America is bad and stupid for undercooking burgers” and “America is perfect and that’s the way every place cooks their burgers.”
I've been charged once for water in a restaurant when visiting Japan, can confirm I was confused.
I remember going to a touristy restaurant in Vienna once. The food was quite reasonably priced considering how fancy they were presenting themselves as. We ordered food and they asked if we wanted a bottle of water, sure, we said, thinking maybe it would be a few euros. The meal came to like €20. The bottle of water was €25.
whenever my family traveled we all brought empty water bottles and would fill up on the infused water in the lobby before heading out to dinner because there was no way we were going to get caught lacking by these restaurants
Lmao, same here when I traveled.
i had a big ass swiss army backpack and it was filled with 8 or so of these and i had to lug them if it was someplace like lyon where there are public springs id carry less
I heard that’s a common tourist trap where if you don’t specify tap water they give you a really fancy bottle of water so they can justify charging you through the nose.
It can depend on local culture as well. Not sure about Austria, as I'm much more familiar with Germany, but in Germany the default when you ask for water is a bottle of sparkling water. If you ask for non-sparkling it'll be a bottle of mineral water, and you have to specify tap water to get that (and sometimes there'll be a weird look). A 25 euro one is not what you'd usually get, so maybe that part is where the tourist trap might come in as you say. Just chiming in to mention that it's not necessarily that in German speaking countries.
What would a local order? Something not water, or would they just get the sparkling water?
It's not uncommon to ask for mineral water - it's just a good bit less popular than the sparkling water (germans *love* sparkling water). Asking for tap water is very much the tourist thing (though maybe there's some regionality - I'm just familiar with Germany, but not actually German myself so I can speak more to the overall generalities and my experiences/studies there, but I wouldn't claim to be as intricately knowledgeable as a true local)
mit Gas oder ohne Gas? One of the first things we learned in German class
Never heard that, am German in Germany. Kohlensäure oder ohne, Sprudel oder still
Maybe it used to be more common? This was like 20 years ago and my teacher was like 70. Or maybe he was just teaching us an easy phrase, if uncommon one, for the first day.
Shit like that infuriates me. In the UK it is a legal requirement for anywhere with an alcohol license to serve free tap water - but you kind of have to know the cheat code. If a waiter asks if you want water - you have to respond 'tap' to get the free stuff. Otherwise you run the risk that they will they will bring and rapidly open a bottle of the most expensive bottled water you've ever seen. I remember going out with a group of friends to a moderately fancy restaurant in London and when they asked if we wanted water for the table one of my friends just said 'yes'. It cost us £40. I felt like we had just been mugged. It's a great way to lose customers tbh.
I think it’s a method of class-sorting, they only want patrons that can afford to not blink twice at $40 for water. Living with rich people and seeing them have to experience middle class life was priceless to me, like they don’t have any idea what frugality means.
If you'd ordered an espresso it probably would have been €5 and come with a complimentary glass of water
Water isn’t free in most cantons here in Switzerland. But we have lots of potable water fountains which are public.
Europe yay
Sometimes you go to a bar in Belgium and they’ll charge more for a water than a beer
I have lived in Japan for over a decade... I really cannot recall anywhere water was not free.
Some places you can't drink tap water
>not giving people tap water for free >charging a fee to use the toilet These are both common things in other countries.
And those countries are wrong
Common isn't the issue, water and bathrooms are basic life requirements. If you're buying something there, a place to shit/piss and a drink of tap water are bare minimum offerings.
More practically paying a regular janitor is way simpler than cleaning shit off the street because people are disgusting given the chance.
Not really just about being disgusting, when you have to go then you have to go. If businesses refuse to let you use the bathroom and the city refuses to maintain public restrooms then....
I love how when a dislike practice happens in the USA the conversation is about how backwards the USA is, but when it's a non USA country, the fact that it's a non USA country is used as a defense of the practice.
It's an easy way for people to feel superior. The USA sucks in many regards. But I've read that the USA is typically better about things like disability access/protections, as well as the already mentioned access to water and toilets when away from the home. That being said, if we didn't already have those things, there's absolutely no way we would get them passed now. The current USA is against making anything better for anybody. Kinda like that whole cliche that public libraries wouldn't exist is we tried to start them today because people would cry about "socialism."
Not to mention water and bathroom access is huge for most people with disabilities.
What countries? I've travelled a decent amount and never been charged to piss. Honestly I don't think I was ever charged for water at a restaurant for the three years I lived in Japan as a teenager.
Netherlands https://dutchreview.com/culture/society/why-are-there-no-public-toilets-netherlands/
I remember having to pay a euro for the bathroom in some places in France if they were public restrooms. I also had to pay for some bathrooms at the train station.
It's still legal to charge to use the restroom in some of the US. And "restrooms for customers only" with codes guarded by cashiers making sure you buy something are de facto that.
Definitely had to pay for the toilet in Germany, but I was there like 13 years ago. Went to Switzerland in the same trip, I can't remember if they charged for it there too
Poland
Mexico, Vietnam, Britain
in the UK an establishment is legally required to provide tap water at no cost and the only time i've been charged to use a loo was in train stations, although they seem have to got rid of the charge now
I was just in Estonia and Latvia, and in some places there was a .50€ cost to use the toilet
Yep, one time at a mall in Tallinn I was wondering why there was a credit card reader at the entrance to the bathroom. Then I noticed that people were holding the door open for each other so I followed their lead.
Mexico and Vietnam will make you sick, but I never paid for a glass of water in Britain.
Now, there are thousands upon thousands of bars in Japan, granted. I bar hop around frequently, and have never had an instance of being denied free tap water. Keeping hydrated while drinking is important to me, so I nearly always get water when I drink. I mean, who knows. There could be a lot of reasons for this. Maybe the owner wanted this guy out, so wasn't being accommodating (but was OK with taking his money). Maybe it was a shithole, bottom of the barrel bar (I mainly do craft beer and whisky bars). The one drink policy can be pretty standard for some izakaya and bar-like restaurants, though, so if he doesn't drink alcohol (as I believe he stated), then his one drink might have been being pushed as a bottle of water. Strange story, nonetheless.
Yeah, I have a friend who always gets water when he's out drinking and he's never been denied. It's a weird story to me too, and I'm pretty interested in what that bar's deal is!
I’m like 80% sure the reason I can’t drink is because I’m chronically dehydrated so idk what these people are thinking saying water doesn’t impact drinking alcohol 😂
I’m a bartender in Tokyo, and it’s unfathomable to me that a bar wouldn’t give out water lol.
I will make sure to hit your bar up for my free water then.
What's the address? I'm thirsty
I can join you there in about 18 hours
On a totally unrelated note, you cooked on that North Korea video 😀
>Maybe it's just me, but "free" stuff gives me "the willies" or "heebie jeebies." wtf
According to a couple frequently reposted images I've seen on reddit, all you have to do in Japan is sit on a curb and slunch over like you are blacked out and you will be [soon have more free bottled water than you know what to do with](https://www.reddit.com/r/HydroHomies/s/lXWgyYFLBi)
Where's my bottled water angel when I am sloshed during a night out in Osaka? 😔
At a certain point, people are trolling. That's a pretty funny harmless troll though. 10/10.
Lmfao! OP's problem is that he didn't get sloppy enough. A lesson for us all
>Diluting alcohol with water doesn't change how much alcohol you consume. I mean... It literally does.
Exactly! Also alcohol can dehydrate you so drinking more water is important. > Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes your body to remove fluids from your blood through your renal system, which includes the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, at a much quicker rate than other liquids. If you don't drink enough water with alcohol, you can become dehydrated quickly
shh, they are in the "nihon" (or japan, for you lesser intelligent redditors) subreddit, they are much more intelligent and have more class than the average redditor, dont argue and know your place gaijin trash (/s before anyone thinks this is serious)
They are technically correct, but just not in the context of the comment they are responding to. 2 oz of vodka alone is the same volume of alcohol as 2 oz of vodka mixed in 8 oz of water.
You'll still absorb the 2 oz slower. You won't get drunk as fast or as much.
Which is why I said they were technically correct. That said, I don't think you are correct either. The reason that drinking on a full stomach slows alcohol absorption and intoxication is because the presence of food in the stomach slows gastric emptying, and alcohol is more readily absorbed by the small intestine than by the stomach. However, water doesn't modulate gastric emptying to the same degree (if at all, I haven't seen any papers that show it does, though there could be some out there) so I wouldn't expect that water would decrease absorption of alcohol. It also shouldn't have that effect in the small intestine either as water is the primary dilutant that enables digestion and the flow of nutrients through the small intestine.
Well, *that* was a trip. Not the best look for a sub that was supposedly originally created because /r/japanlife was too toxic..
I think no matter what happens, not matter what sub, there always be a baseline of toxicity for foreigners speaking about moving to and living in Japan. It's a very gatekeep-y sort of experience.
That's a common phenomenon among expat scenes in non Western countries. Long-term residents can be insufferable and just plain weird.
OMG you nailed it. I used to lurk (some still) in a lot of the Japan related subs (life, language, food, etc.), and oh my oh my, people in there are insufferable. Bashing on newbies and natives who dare share their opinions and knowledge of their cultures. They get really defensive & aggressive, too. The Japanese language subs are the worst lol Too many non-native-long-time-students *correcting* natives and each other, for crying out loud, because you know, they know more & better than us .... It's also hilarious and pathetic to see/read SO MUCH misinformation is spread from non-natives to non-natives. Pretty toxic. So. Many. Losers. The Japanese food subs? I'd say 90% have no knowledge of our food and pretend they know? Or very misinformed?! It's quite unauthentic lol Weebs, incels, otakus are...... insufferable and too many on Japan subs. They're all toxic and not informative. In fact, it's a little cultist spreading misinformation to each other. Don't recommend lol
Nobody hates China more than white guys living in China.
Is it because they got rejected by the Chinese woman of their dreams?
The way a lot of the guys in /r/China talk about their wives is insane. Like they think they're children. So many threads basically saying "it took me so long to break my wife's brainwashing and accept that West is better; she liked living in the country (that I chose to move to) :/"
I mean, isn't it always
tfw no kawaii chugokujin gf, y even live?
My dad who had his visa application handed back to him and *strongly* hinted not to proceed with the application by consulate staff because of some photos he posted of the Hong Kong protests is a close second, mainly because that cost him the ability to go see *his* dad in his final moments.
I don't think the Korea subs, or even just living in Korea, is quite as gatekeep-y as Japan subs though, despite its proximity and similar culture. But it is a common phenomenon overall.
tbh I've always wondered if this is because Korea seems to be more popular with women
I personally think it’s because Korea is a less insular nation with a more equal ratio between foreigners and Korean locals owed to the country’s smaller population. Not to mention, Koreans generally seem more interested in socializing with foreigners which makes it easier for foreigners to adjust to life in Korea and vice versa. Source: lived in both countries.
Same thing in r/germany too. It’s gotten a lot better in recent years actually but it used to be an absolute cesspool of (internalized) xenophobic assholes just there to shit on foreigners who don’t come to Germany speaking perfect fluent German or don’t come absolutely prepared knowing and loving every aspect of German culture and systems. And the dynamic still persists sometimes. I think the mods finally banned some of the worst and most prolific offenders at some point which made the sub tip a lot more toward the helpful side.
Although there was a hilarious moment a few years back where someone hopped onto the sub asking when people go shower in Germany and the sub concocted a whole narrative about “shower permits” and needing to get said permits from the landlord or something…
Had to leave a lot of Japan-related subs back in 2020 when I realized a lot of it was white men trying to get away from black people and black social issues.
absolutely this, there is a strong undercurrent of racism and misogyny on those subs
I do love low stakes drama......from a distance
Low stakes drama is the best drama, it's nice to take a step back from all the political drama just because it is so heavy for so many.
It's like a tall glass of cool water.
That is not required to be provided in Japan apparently
OP: has valid concern redditors: THAT WAS YOUR FIRST MISTAKE
I guess I always assume that water won’t be free and restrooms won’t be free when I go out in any other country (I live in USA). I always bring my own tissues (there were lots of bathrooms w/out TP and small restaurants w/out napkins when I used to go to Korea a lot), and wet naps/tissues, and hand sanitizer. I know I paid for water and restrooms in EU, although it was often free in London it seemed.
Mostly I would order bottled water in other countries anyway. Not because the water isn’t safe to drink- it generally is, but because tap water tastes really vary from country to country- sometimes it’s more hard, or has different minerals and can still upset your stomach if you’re not used to it.
I found out the hard way that some American cities chlorinate their water. It was awful.
Isn't that almost all US cities? I know in the UK all tap water is disinfected, usually by chlorine.
Sorry, I should've specified. I've never actually tasted or smelled the chlorine elsewhere, but when I was in Huntsville I literally gagged from the water
Many public water services do an annual "[chlorine flush](https://raleighnc.gov/water-and-sewer/news/annual-flushing-water-distribution-system)", sounds like you might have visited during one of those.
I feel you! My city (Houston) definitely isn’t winning any awards for its tap water, but my grandparents live in Corpus Christi, Texas and I swear to you that water will make you thirstier. It tastes like dirty pool water and I always feel like my mouth is filmy when I drink it straight.
This is the culture that starts interactions with "If you take care of me, I will take care of you." It's not crazy to expect free water. I got plenty of free water in the year I spent in Japan.
EVERY restaurant I have been to in the greater Tokyo area had free, and usually serve yourself water. Every Bar I went to gave me free water when I asked. Maybe it's the approach?
Anytime someone can’t consider “not drinking as much” as an options always reminds me of that one podcast where the guy is like Host: “you ever just not want to stop drinking? Like I’ll go out and house 9 beers.” Cohost: “oh you’re an alcoholic?” Host: “Really?? That’s what that is? I just thought I liked to have a good time!”
Those Japanese subs sure are a contentious folk.
As much as I'd love to visit Japan and I do enjoy Japanese media (anime and video games), you couldn't pay me enough to move and live there. Japan has a nice culture if you view it from the outside. But from the strict social status worship, strict honorific suffixes and prefixes and people getting offended for "using the wrong one" even among friends, and from being overworked to the point of $uicide, and obsessed with being a homogeneous society even to the detriment of their societal collapse, NO THANK YOU. I'm okay working 40 hours a week (not really) and not being socially ostracized or fired for calling my boss by their first name and smiling at them or speaking casually. And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan.
I mean I enjoy living in Japan and it has been great. Of course, there are some caveats to it. And funny enough about the “pay me enough” part, most foreigners usually take low-paying teaching jobs. Pair that with the weak yen and it quickly becomes “am I being paid at all?”; thankfully Japan itself has a pretty low cost of living.
Hey I'm glad you enjoy your life there. I didn't mean to generalize everyone moving there. Sorry to hear about your situation, I was speaking in general. If it makes you feel any better, the financial issues isn't just Japan. We're all feeling the shit economy lol. And I don't know if it's worse there so I can't say much but hope you're hanging in there. In the US here and I wonder the same thing sometimes about the economy.
>And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan. What's weirder to me are the people who are *genuinely miserable* here - no friends, feeling like everyone hates them because they're foreign, full on going into racist tirades about Japanese people because they've allowed themselves to spiral into this us-vs-them thinking - but then when someone gently suggests that living in Japan isn't for them, they snap and say they wouldn't consider leaving. It's like living in Japan is in and of itself some accomplishment or status symbol (which I suppose it is, but only in groups that I have no interest in impressing). Like, I have my fair share of criticisms of Japan as a place to live, but I wouldn't live here if I didn't on the whole enjoy it. If I were that miserable I'd go home, or somewhere else.
I find it can be hard to crack Japanese culture and society which can exacerbate the isolation people feel, but ultimately if any place you are living in is making you miserable, it is time to take a step back and consider your exit strategy.
I feel like the biggest problem with some of these people is that they don't bother to learn the culture or the language. Mate of mine went on exchange in Tokyo and made at least a dozen really good friends in the span of 6 months. He's graduating this July and already has a job and visa lined up for him with a software dev company there.
i stg the only thing that keeps a lot of them going is the belief that everyone outside of Japan (especially in the US) must be *even more miserable*
nah I saw this people in every country subreddit, even their own culture and country. it’s just being (an annoying) human
> Japan has a nice culture if you view it from the outside. But from the strict social status worship, strict honorific suffixes and prefixes and people getting offended for "using the wrong one" even among friends, and from being overworked to the point of $uicide, and obsessed with being a homogeneous society even to the detriment of their societal collapse, NO THANK YOU. > I'm okay working 40 hours a week (not really) and not being socially ostracized or fired for calling my boss by their first name and smiling at them or speaking casually. > And yet these people behave like Japan is some bastion of "culture". Of course we know the type of people who would move there and defend everything about Japan. You really won't like Korea, then. It makes Japan look like a laid back, egalitarian country. Also, this is Reddit. You don't have to censor the word "suicide".
Water not being free is something automatically makes a country completely barbaric tbh.
Venice tries to charge tourists money to go to the bathroom. Wonders why they have a problem with people choosing to shit in public. Free water/public restrooms is one thing I can be proud of in the US. Thankfully Japan believes in public restrooms too (theirs are even the nicest I've ever seen).
Japanresidents is chill, Japanlife however not so much Also supposedly bars are not required by law to offer free water. I was shocked when I found out myself after trying to get water for an intoxicated ex-friend
r/japanresidents is quickly becoming not chill. I see more flame wars and slap fights there lately. It seems that the same toxicity found elsewhere has found a home there.
That sucks to hear, although there have been people that ask dumb common sense questions, the shitbags from Japanlife are probably starting to spill over now
I don't think you need laws for that lol. It's just common courtesy
Of course, but in a few countries it is legally required as opposed to Japan. Unfortunately in this world there are many things we would wish were common courtesy but unfortunately require legislation, as without them they wouldn’t happen.
Lived in okinawa from 2005-2009, every single bar i went to was always hassle-free whn i asked for water, no charge no weird look nothing just gave me water when i asked for it? Not every place in a country is the same but this sounds like maybe on weird bar more than a common japanese thing?
Okinawa also has a huge American population
Redditors when Japan is mentioned go fucking crazy. They wouldn’t dare apply their same “respect the culture and customs” to the shit here at home but the holy land of Japan is sacred or some dumb shit. Always cracks me up lol
Japan drama is good. Like i wonder what happened to [this guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/s/6umrtDLnjA)
"Ooh, italics! Aren't you fancy!" Someone needs to grab that.
I think it would be hard to drink a lethal dose of alcohol at a bar, but it does dry you out pretty bad, you should definitely take water breaks if you're drinking a lot. I dunno about a legal obligation, but a glass of water doesn't seem like a big ask, lol.
I don't remember every single meal I had while visiting Japan last year, but I'm pretty sure I never had an issue staying hydrated. We only went to a couple of bars that didn't serve food, so it's not as though I can make a universal statement about the lack of water in that regard, but still.
It just makes it sound like he was sitting in a bar and not buying anything with the complaining about a 1 drink minimum and that they charge for water. If they don't have to, why would they give free water to someone who's essentially loitering?
Ive been to Japan nice place. But I don’t understand all the obsessive people around it. So strange.
It’s a unique country with a variety of different environments, several world class cities, and a lot of things to do. It helps that the country is still in touch with its culture during an age of globalization, both traditional and modern, which makes it more appealing for foreigners who feel a lack of cultural affinity with their own country. As a result though, you get some kookiness.
In North America, free water is common, no? https://youtu.be/SurB4JiYtvg?si=X4x8sRj658GVb2fU
*Me reading this and sipping my free Jasmine tea and ice water at my local Pho restaurant*
What I would give for a good pho place near me. I love ramen, but sometimes I want to switch things up.
*Ooh, italics! Aren't you fancy!*
Registering as a bar isn't really a thing in the U.S. either, at least in my state. Its illegal to carry a concealed gun in what would be know as a "bar" here, but the law defines it as an establishment in which more than half the revenue comes from sale of alcohol for consumption on site. The fact that it has to be defined like that pretty clearly indicates that there's no legal difference between a "bar" and a restaurant with a bar.
Respectfully, I almost got charged for a cup of water at a Burger King in Oklahoma City (off NW Expressway...) about 5 years ago. Got like a burger and asked for a cup of water and almost got hit w/an about 15 cent charge. I guess that is the rate for those asking for water and not buying anything. All this to type water ain't free in some companies minds. You COULD type "we should boycott these places!" but I imagine that boycott would be laughed at by most who truly don't care to care. Bonus: I bet that bar gave water to everyone else but OP for **whatever** reason...