Try one of these the next time you head to an izakaya with friends
The first thing freshmen learn at college is how to play drinking games in Japan. There are actually so many Japanese drinking games. As a college student myself, I will introduce to you the 5 most common and fun Japanese drinking games to play at an izakaya.
Most of these games are learned and played through student clubs and organizations. At the beginning of the school year they usually hold recruitment events where they invite out freshmen and teach these games. It’s a great way to meet people and make friends when starting at a new school.
1) 山手線ゲーム / Yamanote sen Game
This game is based around a category. You pick a category, and then you go around in a circle where each person says one thing within the selected category. If you accidentally repeat something already said or if you can’t think of anything then you must drink! The name Yamanote sen comes from the train line in Tokyo, so originally the category was the train line and players took turns listing stations, but it can be played with any category.
2) 炙りカルビゲーム / Aburi Karubi Game
This is a tongue twister drinking game in Japan. I honestly think this is one of the most difficult games because I make mistakes even when I’m sober. The rules are pretty simple, you need to say Aburi Karubi as much as possible until making a mistake and the person who says it the most incorrectly has to drink! Aburi Kaburi are the grilled boneless ribs which are served at Yakiniku (Japanese bbq restaurants.)
3) 風船ゲーム / Fusen Game
Technically this is a rhythm game. It’s a little bit difficult to remember if you’ve never played it before but you’ll get there eventually. I’ll explain how to play step by step. By the way Fusen means balloon in Japanese.
- Form a circle and decide who will start (the starter is called Oya/Parent) and in which direction you will play. After the first turn, the Oya changes to the next person.
- When Oya says Odai/Subject, everyone says Action!
- There are 3 types of Odai
Chichai Fusen / Small Balloon
Make like a big circle with your arms and says Ha-i (pitch goes up at the end)
Okki Fusen / Big Balloon
Make like a small circle with your hands and says Ha-i (pitch goes down at the end)
Chukurai no Fusen / Middle Balloon
Touch your shoulds and then put your hands up saying Ha-i 2x (normal pitch)
Again this is a rhythm game, so you need to follow 4 beats. So basically, you have to do the opposite of whatever the Odai is. And if you make a mistake, you have to drink.
The easiest way to learn this game is by observation. Ask your Japanese friends how to play it and play it for fun! Let us know if you don’t understand the rules!
4) ピンポンパンゲーム / Pin Pon Pan Game
This is an easy rhythm game even for players who’ve never played before! The players go around repeating the sequence Pin Pon Pan. Here are the rules step by step!
- Form a circle and decide who starts
- The first person says Pin and the person next to them says Pon, and so on.
- The person who says Pan has to then point to someone who will start the pattern over.
- The person who is pointed out must say Pin. This continues until someone makes a mistake.
Whoever makes a mistake has to drink! It’s very fun to play with friends!
5) NGワードゲーム / No-Go Word Game
This game is easy and fun to play! You just need to decide which words will be a no-go. If you say them, you have to drink. For example, it’s common to decide that you aren’t allowed to say foreign loan words. So when you’re talking, you can’t say words like サッカー(soccer). You have to say something like “sport where you kick a ball” in Japanese. It’s pretty hard because in Japanese we use a lot of foreign loan words.
These descriptions are the basic forms of these games but there are many variations. You can even make your own variations to make it more complicated and difficult. Try your best to not lose! You can play these Japanese drinking games with your friends at these 7 cheap izakaya chains in Tokyo for a university budget!
Thank you for reading. I hope you have an amazing time with your friends at an izakaya. Let us know if you have any questions! We’d love to connect you and talk about Japanese culture!
Please also check this article about the life of freshman year of college in Japan.