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I just went to a bar in Tokyo and asked for two beers (¥700 each). When we asked for the bill, the waitress charged us ¥2400. When I pointed out the error, she said something about taxes in Japan.

Is this true? Are alcoholic beverages more expensive in Japan from a certain hour?

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  • Incidentally, I have seen something like that in Paris too. Bars with extra charges for drinks consumed upstairs, at the terrace, or after 18:00 (and thus possibly two distinct extra charges if you drink upstairs after 6?).
    – Relaxed
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 13:01
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    In this case it was specifically weird as it was not a touristic area and we were the only clients. It was itemized in the hand-written receipt, that is true.
    – Hector Lorenzo
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 13:04
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    @HectorLorenzo: If you have a receipt and really want to know what it was about, you could post a picture of it for people to decipher.
    – Matti Virkkunen
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 14:44
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    It's not unusual to have extra charges for late night service in some places (all over the world). What time was it? Though of course those would be charges, not taxes.
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 15:31
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    How did you make the logical leap from "something about taxes" to "are alcoholic beverages more expensive at night"?
    – Amani Kilumanga
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 7:00

1 Answer 1

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No, it's not true - but perhaps you misunderstood? Bars in Japan very commonly have a cover charge, typically in the 500-1000 yen range (per person), that could well explain the difference.

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  • Isn't cover charge restricted to sexy bars?
    – Taladris
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 1:46
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    @Taladris not in Japan.
    – Antzi
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 8:06

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