Drinking In Japan in the 90’s

Bourbon whiskey
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Drinking In Japan in the 90's

When I was stationed in Iwakuni, Japan between 1992-95 there was this bar not too far from the front gate, just past the train tracks that my friends and I would go to on weekends and toss back a few. It was a small little dive, not much bigger than 25’x25′ in size and the owner was an old Japanese lady who wore way too much makeup and a wig, she went by Judy. There was also this much younger waitress, likely her daughter, but I don’t recall her name. The insides of the bar were adorned with U.S. one-dollar bills that we would write a message on and tape to the wall, there were hundreds if not thousands of them on the walls. There was this shooting-style arcade game that we would play around with.

We would drink a few too many, but it certainly passed the time. This is where discovered Suntory Japanese whiskey. I don’t recall which one I liked, but I know that if you mixed it with Coke, it was dangerous. I mean you couldn’t taste the whiskey and we got a friend of ours (Sgt Hill) drunk one evening, as he said he hated the taste of liquor and he could taste it so there was no way we could get him drunk. By the end of the night, he regretted making that statement.

Looking at what Suntory offers today (I’m sure it is a different product line than in the 90s), I think it was something like Hibiki which is a sweet whiskey.

Japan was the first time (and only actually) that I got drunk. I remember the three of us stumbling back to the barracks, that was the night we saw this Marine, shit-faced drunk staring at a tree. We joined him for a minute and then returned to the barracks. At the barracks, I remember having to put my anchor out and I had to get up at 5 am to open Baskin-Robbins (my part-time job). I regretted drinking too much as I was in the giant deep freezer digging out the 31 flavors for the day. On MCAS Iwakuni, Baskin-Robbins was where the teenagers hung out on Saturday mornings.

Those were the days!!!

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Average Joe

Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.

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By Average Joe

Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.

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