One recent evening near Shimbashi Station in Tokyo, a mix of drinkers at varying states of inebriation — salarymen who had just finished work and other revelers — had gathered for a casual open-air drink, in what has become an increasingly common scene across the capital.
While drinking with friends on the street with booze bought from a convenience store has long been a popular activity in Tokyo’s centers of youth culture, such as Shibuya, the practice has spread in recent weeks as the weather has warmed and restaurants and bars have faced closure requests due to the state of emergency.
Drinkers might be savoring the opportunity to maintain a social life amid the coronavirus pandemic, but authorities have been less welcoming.