One of the first phrases you should learn when you set foot in Japan, before all the trivial stuff like "excuse me" and "where's the hospital?," is "nomihōdai." The holy grail of budget boozing, it's an all-you-can-drink offer, provided in many Japanese clubs and bars, for a fixed price and period of time. It is also regarded by a certain sort as an opportunity to get seriously sozzled while trying not to die or spend the evening sleeping in a ditch.