Lonely Planet's "A Broke-Ass Guide To Drinking In Tokyo"

Above, a Kirin beer vending machine at Toho Sound Studio in Setagaya. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo has a reputation for being an expensive city. Some of this reputation is justified and some of it is not.

The good folks at Lonely Planet has a guide to stretching your yen while out bar-hopping around the city.

They start off with:

When planning a night of overindulgence, it’s important to know what you’re up against. In this case (as in most cases) your enemy is expensive prices. So I’ll lay it out: generally speaking the average cost of a beer in Tokyo is around ¥600 and the average mixed drink is around ¥800. On their own, these prices aren’t too bad, but knowing you (or rather, knowing me), you’re not gonna have just one drink. 

So what’s a broke-ass who wants to get drunk supposed to do? Drink in the streets! It’s totally legal in Japan to drink pretty much everywhere, so your best bet is to go to any of the many convenience stores that seem to be everywhere and buy a chu-hi. A chu-hi is a can of shochu mixed with some kind of citrus carbonated water. The combination is so good that a chu-hi ‘strong’ (which are around 8% abv), tastes like a refreshing soda. Because of this it’s important to pace yourself. You do eventually want to make it into a bar, don’t you? Keep your eyes peeled for vending machines that serve booze. Unfortunately they are harder to find now than they used to be.

The photo at top shows were one can buy a beer at a vending machine in Setagaya. Down the hatch!

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/travel-tips-and-articles/a-broke-ass-guide-to-drinking-in-tokyo#ixzz2ranqnw8S