Drunk Driving in Japan: Alcohol Levels and Penalties

At the end of last year, Dan told us about Kenmon, or checkpoints set up on major thoroughfares in Japan to help catch drunk drivers. He mentioned that drunk driving is a serious offence in Japan, and it is. Here's how serious:

Legally there are two classifications for driving under the influence of alcohol in Japan: 酒気帯び運転 (shuki obi unten) and the more serious 酒酔い運転 (sake yoi unten).

Local Brews: Umeshu

Along with sake and shochu, Japanese plum wine, or umeshu (梅酒) is one of Japan's iconic liquors. Now that we have covered local beers, local sake, and local shochu, lets take a look at how to find a quality bottle of umeshu.

Local Brews: Shochu

Spend enough time in Japan and you will likely develop a healthy love-hate relation with shochu (焼酎). As any seasoned ex-pat knows, when the sochu bottle comes out, you are almost certainly on a one way trip to Hangoverville, population: you and the toilet.

But if you are one of those people who actually likes to savor their sochu as opposed to using it as a cheap binge drinking accessory, then you are in luck as there are tons of local varieties avaliable to please your pallet.

Local Brews: Sake

Now that we have covered finding local beer in Japan, it is only appropriate that we pay some attention to Japan's iconic alcohol, sake (酒).

Local Brews: Beer

Japan is not what most experts would call a beer lover's paradise. If you are the type who frequents after-hours work parties or simply spends enough time at the local watering hole, you will learn to loathe Asahi Super Dry or one of its few equally bland counterparts.

While local beer is not easy to come by (or cheap, for that mater), it does in fact exist for those with a sharp eye and discerning pallet.