I'd just been on holiday to Japan and one thing that really stood out to me was how social some of the bars (and it's a bit of an assumption on my part but the restaurants in the article) are.
I suppose by now everybody is fairly familiar with Golden Gai in Tokyo now but the concept of these mini bars only seating a few known regulars does not seem to be limited to just Tokyo. I found similar setups in Kyoto and Kanazawa.
These tiny bars seem to fulfil this need for a 3rd place. To help facilitate the social aspect of them, the owner of the bar will tend to make introductions between the people that are visiting (rather than say the Australian model where the bar is kind of a "rented space" to hang out with your friends).
I've also discovered very niche bars in Tokyo, dedicated to Punk music, or Jazz etc. A place for those with similar tastes to come together and hang out and talk about these similar interests.
I'd love to bring this concept back to Australia but the liquor laws here prevent something like this from being financially viable due to the requirements around the size of the bar, available toilets (the mini bars all shared one central toilet) etc. The attitudes around alcohol were very different as well. At at Jazz festival in Kanazawa, bars were free to open stalls out the front and sell drinks to those watching gigs in the laneways. Young kids were free to mix with adults who were drinking and having a good time (here is an example of what I mean: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7...)
I suppose by now everybody is fairly familiar with Golden Gai in Tokyo now but the concept of these mini bars only seating a few known regulars does not seem to be limited to just Tokyo. I found similar setups in Kyoto and Kanazawa.
These tiny bars seem to fulfil this need for a 3rd place. To help facilitate the social aspect of them, the owner of the bar will tend to make introductions between the people that are visiting (rather than say the Australian model where the bar is kind of a "rented space" to hang out with your friends).
I've also discovered very niche bars in Tokyo, dedicated to Punk music, or Jazz etc. A place for those with similar tastes to come together and hang out and talk about these similar interests.
I'd love to bring this concept back to Australia but the liquor laws here prevent something like this from being financially viable due to the requirements around the size of the bar, available toilets (the mini bars all shared one central toilet) etc. The attitudes around alcohol were very different as well. At at Jazz festival in Kanazawa, bars were free to open stalls out the front and sell drinks to those watching gigs in the laneways. Young kids were free to mix with adults who were drinking and having a good time (here is an example of what I mean: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7...)