One of the things that surprised me about the U.S. was the difference between the drinking customs of college students. In the U.S., the legal drinking age is 21 years old, and many college students drink at one of their friends’ house. In Japan, the legal drinking age is 18 years old, and most students drink at the bar with friends.

Generally, college students in Japan live in smaller apartments than students here in America, because property value is higher in Japan. Many students in Japan like to hang out with friends at the bar, and many bars have divided spaces that people use as a group. I used to hang out at my friend’s apartment sometimes, but only with two or three friends. Whenever we wanted to spend time with a larger number of friends, we normally reserved the divided space or room at a bar. Also, in Japan, drinking in public is not restricted; therefore my friends and I could enjoy drinking at a park with when the weather was nice.

People think that Japanese people are more serious, but for drinking regulation, I think we are more casual.