At Japanese-style bars, a modest snack is often served with the first drink. If you need to be budget-minded, avoid the very expensive hostess clubs unless someone else who is a regular customer is picking up the bill. You can also ask the concierge at your hotel to suggest nearby nightspots where prices are reasonable. The most popular drink in Japan, beer is served draft from the tap or in bottles of lager. The bottles served at most pubs or bars are either small or medium.
Draft beer comes in jugs or mugs at beer halls.
During the summer season, open-air beer halls, some on the roofs of department stores, draw large numbers of beer lovers. The price for a bottle or mug of beer can vary somewhat by type of drinking spot, but is within a range of 400 to 900 Yen from small to large. This does not apply to the hostess clubs, where prices can be astronomical. Japan's own native rice wine is the national drink. Sold in large bottles at liquor shops, it is not served by the bottle but in small ceramic flasks, from which it is poured into a small drinking cup.