Four tips on Nagoya's nightlife:
- Keep your passport with you to make sure you get into the restaurants.
- Some clubs have a strict dress code.
- Often, women pay less than men to get into a club.
- A large beer typically costs 500-600 yen, which is a little over three euros.
For the price-conscious traveler
The areas around Nagoya’s main railway station and the Kanayama station are full of izakayas.
Give sake a try
Sake, or nihonshu in Japanese, is the traditional Japanese alcoholic drink. The beverage, with an alcohol percentage of 15-17%, is made from rice. Sake is usually served hot, but it can also be served refrigerated, especially in the summer.
The Finnair flight to Nagoya is the fastest connection from Europe
Nightlife
The Sakae area is the hub of Nagoyan nightlife. The area is filled with bars, pubs, clubs, and other venues. The city’s nightlife is surprisingly lively considering Nagoya’s reputation as an industrial city. The opening of the new Centrair airport has made the nightlife scene even more international than before.
Nightlife in Nagoya
Traditionally the Japanese partied by eating, while drinking some beer or sake. In recent years the nightlife scene in Nagoya has become much more diverse, attracting clubbers all the way from Tokyo. Thanks to the fast connections, the distance is not a problem.
In Japanese cities the nightlife is usually concentrated in one area. Nagoya’s bars, pubs and clubs can be found in the Sakae area.
Nightclub entrance fees are reasonable: even the hottest clubs may cost only 10 euros, including three drinks.
Many clubs are open late into the night. After the clubs close, most people take a taxi home, while some opt for the capsule hotels.
Restaurants of all kinds
Would you like to see three dozen Elvises in one go? Or maybe you’d rather spend the evening eating and drinking in an izakaya restaurant, as has been the custom in Japan for thousands of years? In a big city, the choices are endless.
Izakayas
The direct translation of izakaya is “a place of eating and drinking”. This means that eating is accompanied by drinking – or for many, drinking by eating. People sit and eat, drink, party and laugh in an izakaya for hours.
Karaoke
In addition to eating, singing is today an essential part of a Japanese night out. In Japanese karaoke, you do not have to perform for the whole restaurant; instead, a group of friends can rent a separate room with its own karaoke equipment and order food and drinks there.
Discos and clubs
Clubs are meant for dancing. Hip-hop, trance, house and reggae are all on offer. Some clubs organize theme parties. Whatever the theme of the club, the night is most probably worth experiencing, as Japanese clubbers really dress up to express their subculture.
Live music
Japan’s big cities attract megastars. Tickets for concerts can be purchased online. Smaller live music venues are called live-houses, or raibuhausus. The gigs start early, sometimes even in the afternoon. Flyers in record stores are a great way to find tips on what’s going on.
Pubs and bars
Traditional Japanese pubs – also known as snack bars – differ from their Western equivalents. Their clientele consists mostly of regulars, who have their own bottles at the bar. These pubs are either very reserved or warm and welcoming.
Lately many Western-style bars, such as British pubs showing football games or minimalist Scandinavian style bars, have emerged in Japan.
Host clubs
Host clubs are a Japanese specialty. In these clubs the customers, usually men, sit and converse with so-called hostesses – women employed by the club. Touching the women is prohibited, but everything is charged for. Although the clubs offer an interesting experience, they are best avoided unless your travel budget can handle it..