Japan had a number of good beers Kirin. Asahi and Sapporo, a northern Jap favourite. Beer varied in price considerably from 100 Yen per can to you name it! Exchange rates were favourable in the early 70's at 450 Yen to the dollar. Drinking in Japanese bars could be an incredibly expensive exercise for the unwary. The Japanese culture of just delivering first and worrying about charging later combined with the vast language barrier saw many confused sailors emptied of their wallets very quickly. A very good solution to this was the 'Beer Machines'.

These vending machines are placed everywhere throughout Japan on its footpaths and sidewalks. Since there was no theft or vandalism in Japan they could remain, untouched and unharmed, on the street 24 hours per day. There was no strict legal drinking age in Japan either. So if you were old enough and bold enough to reach the slot you could get a beer. However a part of Japanese culture that was consistently ignored by us was that it was considered a no-no to drink before about 5pm. The Japs fairly got stuck into after that though! These machines were the saving grace of the 'marriedies'. These blokes would hunt in packs. Gathering their own seating requirements along the way such as empty crates etc they would set up a social gathering on the footpath around these machines and with pockets full of ¥100 peices they would get themselves legless.

Once emptying one machine of it's contents they would proceed along the street to the next one and carry out the same procedure. Once during a visit to Otaru it was so bloody cold the blokes knocked off a metal wheelbarrow and went from machine to machine carrying their own open fire along with them to keep warm. Fortunately for the married blokes the machines would be grouped together in such a fashion so as to enable one to get hot Saki, or a hot bowl of noodles at the same time. Damn clever those Japs!

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