Season of the Keg

While most Americans have experienced a keg party at some point in their lives, there are some who have not experienced the fun of ever-changing seasons. Ahh, the hell of fresh slushy snow in the city, the serenity of red leaves falling in autumn, the beer goggles of summer, and of course, the simplicity of a fine spring day in April. In Japan though, many have the opposite issue–all Japanese have experienced the changing of the seasons, but very few have ever experienced the sheer badassery of a full-on keg party with friends in the wilds of a local park! While AmericanCraftBeer.com can’t adjust the weather in the mono-climate zones of America, we can offer up our educational services to our friends in Japan. To alleviate this beer injustice, it’s time to introduce a new American word into the Japanese vernacular: kegger (for those of you pulling up a language app, that’s kega in Japanese).

Japan is the ideal place for a kegger because you can drink beer outdoors, anywhere and at anytime. This is your legal right as a citizen and resident of this fine country–and in some cases, your cultural duty. One of the best times of year in Japan is spring, a part of which is known as Hanami Season. Hanami means Cherry Blossom Viewing Party. For one week or so in May, the Sakura [Cherry Blossom Trees] bloom a spectacular pink all over the country. Each city has many areas popular for hanami parties–Osakajo Castle Park and Utsubo Koen Park are two popular places in Osaka (and also easy to get a keg to by bike or taxi). During this time, many Japanese bring blue tarps to the park, do BBQs, and drink lots of beer. It’s by far one of the happiest times of the year throughout the country as everyone officially says sayonara [goodbye] to winter and konnichwa [hello] to spring.

More keggers are clearly in order for both Japanese and expats. To set up a keg party, you first need to acquire a keg by contacting a local liquor shop that sells imported American kegs, such as Craft Beer Base in Osaka or Antenna America in Yokohama. You can also contact an importer such as Nagano Trading Company,AQ Bevolution, Evergreen Imports, or Ezo-Beer to see if they can sell kegs directly to customers (most likely yes). Just tell them when and where you want the keg shipped. Next, you will need a bucket with some ice to keep the beer cold. Finally, you will need a tap/pump. US kegs use the Sankey (D system), which is different from the couplers in Japan. You can easily buy a Sankey tap/pump online from Keg Works as you can pay in yen and have it sent internationally. You will probably be unable to rent a party pump and don’t need a jockey box or Co2 tank if you are going to drink the beer in one day, so it is worth buying the tap/pump if you plan on having more than one party. Most likely, after your friends become envious of your keg party, they will be inspired to have a keg party of their own as well and will need to borrow the pump. So, be ready. Long live the season of the keg.

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