It used to be a facet of Japanese nightlife that you could only access if you spoke Japanese. But in the past few years, more companies have been offering tours of Japan’s famous snack bars. Here’s why this post-war trend is taking off among visitors.
What are snack bars?
Snack bars in Japan are drinking and eating establishments where customers can spend time chatting with the owner and staff in a relaxed atmosphere.
There are different types of snack bars. Originally, snacks consisted of the owners – a “mama” or “master” – standing behind a bar and serving drinks. These establishments came about after Japan cracked down on bars, ordering most to close by midnight. Bars began limiting contact with customers by establishing a counter system and serving food in order to stay open later.
Customers will typically spend hours at a snack talking to the mama or to one another. Karaoke is also a staple of most snack bars.
Today, there are also “snack” bars that employ a number of waitresses who sit on sofas with a largely male clientele. Called “lounges” in Kansai and Kyushu, these businesses engage in settai (接待, customer contact) and thus are closer to host clubs or cabarets.
Traditional snacks can operate well into the morning hours. By contrast, in accordance with Japan’s current nightlife regulations, settai-style snacks can only be open until midnight.
Snacks are somewhat similar to girl’s bars, a more recent phenomenon where an all-female bartender crew serves drinks from behind a counter. However, snacks tend to have a more “at-home” atmosphere and a dedicated repeat customer base. They also tend to be a lot more affordable. They aim to be more than a business by creating a sense of community and belonging.
Anime brings tourists to Japan’s snack bars
While Japan’s nightlife is diverse, many establishments – like concept cafes or girl’s bars – cater almost exclusively to Japanese clientele. That’s due largely to the language barrier. Unless you speak Japanese well, there’s little sense in spending hours at a business where the main attraction is chatting with your host.
The same used to be true of snack bars. Not anymore, though. More companies are offering interpreted tours to snacks to inbound travelers who are sick of tourist traps and want to experience something that feels more authentic. One company says it offers snack bar tours in several cities for around 25,000 yen a person ($167).
Why are snack bars growing so popular abroad? As usual, you can thank Japan’s pop culture power. Characters like Rumi, a single mother who runs a snack bar in Shinkai Makoto’s animated film Suzume, as well as games from Japan, have stoked people’s curiosity and desire to experience it for themselves firsthand.
Tour company: 90% of Japan snack bars refused tourists
The renewed popularity is good news for some snack bar operators. The public health crisis dealt a blow to many such businesses.
Even now, conditions remain perilous. The first half of 2024 saw a 161% increase in nightlife business bankruptcies. During this period, 14 snack bars in Japan shut down. That’s a 2.6x increase over the previous period and just shy of the record 17 closures in 2018.
However, not everyone’s on board. One company that operates snack bar tours told Sankei Shimbun that when they first approached snack bar operators, 90 percent of them declined to cooperate.
Some thought the language barrier would prove too much. Others – like some restaurant operators in Japan – were worried that tourists would misbehave or simply make their regulars uncomfortable.
The company says that to alleviate fears, they set tight rules around their tour offerings. In particular, every tour requires an interpreter on hand. Guests are limited to hour-long stays, must buy a minimum number of drinks, and must agree to abide by the store’s rules and general good manners.
Some regulars feel “squeezed out”
These days, more snack bars are employing their own bilingual staff and offering English-language versions of their menus. That’s put off some Japanese customers, who say it’s changing the “atmosphere” of their favorite hangouts.
“The store I always go to is packed with foreigners,” one man complained to Sankei. “It’s tough. It feels like I’ve been squeezed out.”
Given the continued weak yen and travelers’ desire to see more of the “unseen” side of Japan, I think we’ll only see these types of offerings increase. However, both tour operators and tourists need to proceed cautiously so that regular customers don’t feel like they’re being shown the door.
Want to include a stop at a snack bar on your next visit to Japan? Contact us at Unseen Japan Tours to arrange a custom itinerary and interpreted tour individualized to your personal interests.
Have thoughts on this article? Share them with us on our Bluesky account or the Unseen Japan Discord server.
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24年上半期の「バー、キャバレー、ナイトクラブ」倒産、過去10年で最多に. ITMedia
