Party Like A . . . : Sarariman

Business as usual at Japanese bars

by Simon Fowler

I love the Japanese. They have a work ethic that would put Ramses’ slaves to shame, invent technology that I covet with every ounce of my being, and party like it’s the end of the world practically every night of the week. The “sarariman” (salaryman) and his female counterpart, the “OL” (office lady), typify that spirit. Sararimen and OLs are practically married to their jobs. But when they finally clock out, they hit the town hard, quaffing Suntory whiskey like it’s going out of fashion and only heading home when their vomit-soaked bodies have been kicked out of the last bar in town.

Taiko Kobayashi, self-professed OL and my guide on this particular ribender, met me at G Zou, where we enjoyed impossibly cold Asahi beer in earthenware mugs (RMB 10), and potato shochu (gentlemen’s moonshine, RMB 35). Having successfully used the Japanese toilet – imagine pissing on a fax machine – and giving ourselves a healthy post-work buzz, we ran off into the night in search of mischief.

Promise in Jianwai Soho proudly sports its Best Bar award from Concierge magazine (a local Japanese listings rag). A bartender with a collar the size of a Jacobean ruff offers a vast arsenal of whiskey. He takes his drink seriously. Our shots of Suntory (RMB 50) came with one giant ice cube the size of a tennis ball. Apparently its size minimizes the ice melting into the liquor. After an hour or so of polite chitchat and profuse bowing with the other patrons, the urge to cut loose gripped us. We made our way to Wain Wain in Soho New Town.

With unlimited refills for RMB 90 on mixed drinks, and private rooms with the addictive and baffling Nintendo Wii, Wain Wain unleashed the 15-year-old boozehound in me. We switched back to beer (RMB 15, not included in the deal) and amused ourselves with tennis, bowling and boxing on the Wii, stuffing our drunken faces with bento boxes and pizza. By then I’d forgotten that I had work the next morning and was itching for a nightcap.

Taiko knew of a place next to the Chaoyang Theater that she insisted was the best Japanese bar in town. As we schlepped into Ichikura, I became intensely aware that I was not sophisticated enough for this type of establishment. We took seats at the bar and surveyed the hundreds of bottles of whiskey in front of us. The friendly but slightly creepy bartender came to take our order, and I asked him to recommend a smoky brand of whiskey. In a flash he returned with an ornate bottle in hand. We inhaled the intoxicating scent. “It’s a little bit expensive, sir,” the barkeep said, “100 kuai a shot.” The laowai in me conquered the sarariman. I ordered something less … smoky.

Ichikura
36 Dongsanhuan Beilu (next to Chaoyang Theater), Chaoyang District (6507 1107)

G Zou
1/F (west side), Bldg C, 2 Guanghua Lu (inside Sunshine 100), Chaoyang District (5100 3038)

Bar Promise
Room 1537, Bldg 15 2/F, Jianwai Soho, 39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District (5900 0151)

Wain Wain
Room 3512, Bldg A, SOHO New Town, 88 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (8589 4383)