One way to look at the arrival of summer in Japan is to focus on the bad side of the season, such as the sticky humidity, the need to have the air-conditioner blasting cold air for the next three months. All power to you, but consider how no other time of the year can you enjoy drinking and eating outdoors like you can during a Japanese summer — especially in Tokyo, where vacant lots and rooftops are transformed into bars and restaurants. It beats being huddled under the kotatsu (heated table) sadly poking at a mandarin orange.
The most prominent intersection of meat and beer in Tokyo during the summer is the beer garden, a seasonal gathering place where customers can spend several hours enjoying a seemingly never-ending supply of suds, often while cooking up assorted foods. It's a great way to spend a warm evening, but if you've been to one beer garden in the capital, it may seem like you've been to all of them. Maybe it's time to find some interesting new twists to the summer's booze-and-beef routine.
A good way to switch up your evening drinking affairs is to have them on a boat. The Tokyo Bay Noryosen offers an all-you-can-drink cruise around the city's waterfront, with food available for purchase and traditional Japanese dance performances to take in. Cruises leave Takeshiba Terminal nightly from 7:15 p.m., between July 1 and Sept. 30. Come wearing your own yukata (summer kimono) on any cruise from Monday to Thursday and you'll get ¥1,000 off the regular ¥2,600 entry price.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.