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want to meet at fmd_good Old Market Hall
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Tokyo dating 2026: where do people actually meet?
The biggest surprise for most newcomers is how much happens through goukon, those group dinners set up by friends or coworkers. Apps exist but they feel more transactional here, and people often use them quietly. Standing bars in Shimokitazawa or Ebisu work better than you'd think for organic meets. Learn a bit of Japanese and show up regularly somewhere, that consistency matters more than any single spot.
goukon is real but machikon (mixers with strangers, often at izakaya in Kanda) is where most of my friends actually paired off
Consistency point is spot on, my friend met her husband just from being a regular at a tiny bar in Koenji.
yeah the quiet app thing is real, people keep it off their main phone somehow. one thing id add is that standing bars work partly because seats force nothing, you bump shoulders & talk in 10 min bursts. seibu line side has a few like that too
Nakameguro river, hanami season. Everyone's drunk and talking.
Tokyo 2026: registering a brewery licence
the ward office won't touch it, alcohol licensing sits with the tax office (kazei jimusho) not the ku yakusho. the tax number thing trips people up: you file a shōten setsuritsu todoke at the tax office to get your corporate number first, then the sake menkyo application goes to the same office. hit the tax office in your ward, they'll tell you the exact order. budget like 2-3 months for the whole thing
yeah this is right, just check if ur ward's kazei jimusho actually handles sake menkyo or sends u to the regional one
mine sent me to the regional one, so worth calling ahead
otemachi, 3rd floor counter, go early
also worth noting the regional office (kanto shin'etsu kokuzei kyoku) handles anything above small-scale output so check your projected volume first
Volume threshold is 2,000 liters annually, below stays at ward kazei jimusho.
2,000L is the brewer's tax base, not total output
Right, regional office once you're past 2,000L.
yep the todoke first bit is key, they won't even look at the sake menkyo without the hōjin bangō in hand. small heads up though, if ur projected volume tops 2000L a year it goes to kanto shin'etsu kokuzei kyoku in otemachi not ur ward office. so check that before u queue up at the ku
Two to three months is realistic, though the tax office typically wants the brewery floor plan and equipment list before they'll accept the sake menkyo, so get those drawn up early. Worth asking your ward kazei jimusho for the checklist on your first visit.