How strict is the drinking age in Japan?

Question

I am visiting Tokyo in a few months and would be hoping to have a few drinks during my stay there. However I am not yet 20 so I would like to know how strict they are on ID.
I have heard that they dont tend to ID foreigners and I was wondering how true that may be.

Thanks in advance for your help. : )

Answer 1

Easy: Buy your alcohol from vending machines.

They're usually found outside liquor shops and along streets near train stations.

Answer 2

I lived and worked in Japan for a year when i was 18. They are very strict on their own people with the drinking law and punishment is harsh for kids who are caught drinking. You can get alcohol from vending machines but kids mostly respect the law and don't take it- exception is Tokyo where kids push boundries a little more.

For foreigners though they are not as strict. As i said i was 18 when i lived there and i went to pubs and clubs alot. My boss even took a few of us out for drinks and knew i was only 18. If you get really drunk and cause trouble you may be in trouble. Also in Japan it is very rude to ask someone's age so your ID will never be checked! lol.

Although when i went on a exchange at 16 one of the other girls i went with was caught buying alcohol in tokyo by cops and was sent home to Sydney.

Good luck and have a fun time! Go to Kareoke bars- they are the best!

Answer 3

20, but drinking is no problem. I've had my ID checked once in all the time I've been here (1st time I came here I was 18) and it was at a British run bar. Every Japanese person I've asked has never had a problem. There are beer vending machines on many streets, and drinking on the streets/trains is completely legal. However if you make a scene, or are drunk/drinking while riding a bike you can get into trouble. It is much more difficult to smoke now that they installed the "Taspo" system into cigarette vending machines. But still, I wouldn't be expected to be carded at anytime for anything, but always keep your passport on you, as it's illegal not to have it with you.

Answer 4

Drinking Age In Tokyo

Answer 5

Not strict at all. Just as someone else mentioned, you can buy alcohol from vending machines...along with porno magazines, I might add! Anyway, since "gaijin" (foreigners) are often seen as looking older than their age by Japanese standards, you will be able to walk into a convenience store and buy all you want...that goes for any restaurant, too.

Answer 6

If you are mature enought to handle the spirits of the fire water, the it should be no problem for you. If you are the type that drinks the liquid courage and becomes badder and tougher than the average bar bouncer, then you may want to think twice. In Japan, if you are a gaijin and are caught breaking the law, the immigration authorities would really love to throw the book at you. One common thing that can happen is they can ban you from entry into Japan for up to 5 years.
Now if you are mature enough to drink then no problem.

Answer 7

How old exactly are you?
If you're like 18 then I don't have that big of a problem with giving you advice on how to party in Japan. But if you're like....12 then seriously, you gotta stop drinking. You're too young.

Anyway, as for ordering alcohol, I know I'm a hypocrite but but I started drinking in Izakayas (Japanese drinking holes) in japan when I was 16 so you should be fine as long as you don't look like you're in Jr. High. Also don't go to the major chain Izakaya joints like Tsubohachi and Watami. They sometimes card you. (But only sometimes)

Most restaurants will not ask for ID if you order a beer during a meal. And night clubs will almost never ask for ID when getting your drink. Of course some clubs ask for your ID when you enter it so you really never know until you try. (I was carded at Club Asia in Shibuya when I was 17)

As for buying booze, as many have said there are vending machines but they're not as common as cigarette vending machines r soft drink vending machines so you may have trouble finding one.
Buying them at convenience stores (7 Eleven, Lawson, AMPM etc...) will probably be easiest because although they sometimes card Japanese minors, I doubt they do it to foreigners because of the whole language issues. (Most convenience stores clerks are part-timers so they don't really care too much about selling to minors although it's probably store policy not to.)

Answer 8

It is not strict at all. Beer is sold in vending machines so even elementary kids can buy it if they are tall enough to put the money into the machines. Parents even offer their kids alcohol on occasion. If you look too young, they will card you at stores, but if you just say you are buying it for your parents they will let you buy it. I have seen elementary kids around 3rd grade do that. Same thing with cigarettes.

Basically, if you look old enough, you can get alcohol. I am totally against any type of alcohol, so I would recommend against it.

Answer 9

They rarely card forigner this is kinda true. Reason is becasue they will not know how to ask in english or just bothered to do it. Also if you look old enoguh as long as it is not a big shop. ( go to small self-owned shops) You will have no problem buying it. They rarely card and they even sell it to kids because they just want the money.

Answer 10

Can you reach coin slot on the vending machine?

Congratulations, you are old enough to drink the alcohol in Japan.

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Answer 11

They only place that would be an issue is some creepy gaijin bar that you probably wouldn't want to go to in the first place.