So I know this is a strange question but is it ok to request non-alcoholic options or just water at bars in Japan. I will be going on a trip soon and recently found out I’m pregnant so alcohol is not an option but my husband is a huge whiskey lover so we are going to be visiting at least a few whiskey bars. I just want to make sure I’m not breaking any etiquette rules by taking up a seat and not ordering alcohol.
6 comments
It’s common for customers who don’t drink alcohol to order “uron-cha” or iced oolong tea. “Mugi-cha” or barley tea is common too.
Given your circumstances, ordering non-alcoholic drinks at bars would be no problem in most venues. If they do some cocktails, ordering virgin cocktails would be an option for you. Water is usually free, so ordering just water in bars is not a good idea. Still, many bars are not smoke-free in Japan, so please be careful.
There are several non-alcoholic beers in Japan. I’ve only had the one and it was *OK*, but not great.
Not sure about venue availability, but definitely seen them in convenience stores.
Non-alcohol beer is very common. You can get it at konbinya (convenience stores) but not unusual to find it at izakaya (pubs) and other dining establishments in “nama” (draft) form. I drink alcohol but get the non-alcohol (beer) options quite often just so I’m not drinking non-stop when in Japan. Common to order with lunch, where you want the taste of beer but don’t want to get drunk middle of the day. A lot of other cocktails can come non-alcoholic too.
1. There’s non-alcoholic beers and cocktails
2. There’s often a soft drink menu
3. If anyone gives you a weird look, just rub your stomach and say “baby”. Most likely no one WILL give you weird looks for not drinking.
It’s fine. You can always find soft drinks, ginger ale etc., and mocktails are a thing now. Tokyo restaurants weren’t allowed to sell alcohol for a while as a covid measure so a lot of places started to create mocktails and tea pairing sets.
Water is free so it would be best to order something else.