What is a ”Drink Bar”？
A drink bar is another Wasei-Eigo expression, referring to a self-service free-refill drink system originally started in the first Gusto location.
In this system, you are able to drink as much (both hot and cold beverages) as you want by paying a certain amout of money, which is useful when you are thirsty or plan to stay in a restaurant for a long time.
Many restaurants offer a wide variety of drinks for drink bars, but some typical ones are cola, melon soda, ginger ale, orange juice, and tea for cold drinks and coffee, caffe latte, and hot chocolate for warm drinks. Some people like to mix several kinds of drinks (for example, cola and melon soda or orange juice and tea) to make their own original drink.
You have to make iced coffee in different ways depending on the restaurant. In some restaurants iced coffee is served directly from the drink machine, while in others you have to put some ice in a cup and then add hot coffee.
Some restaurants provide many types of tea bags, such as green tea, decaf tea, herb tea, flavored tea, and Chinese tea. It’s hard to choose when there are so many kinds of drinks!
At Denny’s, you can get a cup to use to take out drinks from the drink bar (for the drink bar fee + 40 yen). It would definitely be cost-effective to take out from restaurants like these.
Enjoy your trip to Japan, and be sure to enjoy many kinds of drinks here.
KURA SUSHI
