"Pooo Haaaaaah!" cries a man in a dark suit as he gulps down his first beer of the evening. Some say that without the pleasure of a cold beer after work, many hardworking Japanese fathers would just collapse from stress.

This is Shimbashi, a part of Tokyo that is adjacent to Ginza. It is a place that welcomes "oyaji" (unsophisticated middle aged men) with open arms. An oyaji is forced to work hard, feels detached from his family, and has little petty cash. Shimbashi has an abundance of oyaji friendly izakaya (inexpensive Japanese pubs) that cater to their every need.

It is as if Shimbashi station is the boundary between two different worlds. On the east, there is the Shiodome with its tall, shiny buildings and fancy restaurants. The east is definitely not the place for oyaji. Instead, they converge on the west side of Shimbashi Station where the alleys are winding and narrow. Buildings such as Shimbashi Ekimae and the New Shimbashi Building provide the perfect setting for the oyaji.
The New Shimbashi Building epitomizes the oyaji lifestyle in that it is not new at all-the building feels like the clock has stopped still for 20-30 years, making it an oasis for the oyaji who has not caught up with the times.

Picking the right place to mix with oyaji might seem daunting, but let's take a peak inside their special world. The first thing to do is find a pub with a red lantern, just like the one you would see at Asakusa's Kaminarimon Gate. These reasonably priced pubs are called aka (red) chochin (lantern). They are usually small and crowded, and you will have to muster up the courage to ask the middle aged lady for a seat. If you can squeeze in between the group of dark suits, you've found your spot!

Once seated, it is important to abide by the unwritten law of shouting your beer order. Just yell out “nama!” and soon you will be guzzling an ice cold draught beer.
After you have drunk about half, cry out "Pooo Haaaaaah" from the bottom of your stomach and say goodbye to your stress from work.

There is no room for fancy wine at an oyaji establishment; the drink menu consists of beer, sake, shochu (distilled spirit), whiskey (with water), and that's about it.
But it's no big loss, since nothing on the menu would go well with wine anyways.

The menu is usually written on strips of paper and pasted on the wall. In some izakaya, the there will be a black / white board with seasonal items or recommendations. This presents a new challenge in itself because if you can't read kanji (Chinese characters), you might not have any idea about what they have on offer. You can always look around at what the oyaji are ordering, but beware, the oyaji's taste is unique and you might end up ordering something quite strange indeed!

Izakaya provide a haven for oyaji. During the day, they might be wear emotionless masks which make it hard to figure out what they are thinking. But at night in an izakaya, they come alive! It's hard to believe that they are the same person. It is not uncommon to see an oyaji whip off their tie and twist it around their heads or even sleeping in the streets after a night of heavy drinking.Believe it or not, these oyaji are an important pillar of the Japanese economy!