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Customers (Kaya)
Unspoken rules
💬 “In order to preserve this townscape, people have to behave themselves. If they do, I think this interesting drinking district will survive for a long time.” -Harashima
“The behavior of adhering to norms is based on the expectation of what kind of reputation one will gain (or be able to keep) from others around one who witness one's behavior.” (Iwatani & Muratani, 2017)
Knowing what kinds of rules exist in Golden-Gai is needed to understand what is considered to be “normal” in this place. This is because… As the saying goes, "when in Rome、do as the Romans do," following the rules is considered to be one of the important factors in building good relationships with the people of a place.
Let’s take a look at the unspoken (unwritten) rules in Golden Gai !!
Do not stay too long
"Because the bar is small, when a newcomer arrives and the place is full, the person who has been drinking for a long time will often naturally give up his or her seat, saying, I'm about to go to the next one. It's not that we ask them to do so, but since everyone has several favorite bars, they can afford not to stay at one place.”-Reiko Harashima
Golden Gai is a place of barhopping. seats and tables are limited
Membership
Many bars in Golden Gai try to limit the customers by putting up the poster on the door, saying that their stores are “membership only”. The reasons for this are different from bar to bar, but we learned through our interviews that it is basically twofold: to maintain community and to prevent Covid-19 infection.
Some stores have membership-only signs because they only want regular customers. But if you ask, you can often get into most of the bars in Golden Gai. Many bars have a membership-only sign ostensibly so that they can pay the gate fee when a troublesome customer comes in. -the owner of Kurebawakaru
“The number of members-only bars has increased dramatically since the outbreak of Covid-19. Many bars have a sign that says "members only" as a means of infection control.”-the owner of Takunomi
Retrieved from Twitter
Drink alone or in a small group
A group that is consisted of more than 4 people is usually not accepted by many bars in Golden Gai.
The average size of a single bar is about 4 tsubo. The narrow door barely allowing one person to pass through opens onto a counter where five or six people sit shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a dense atmosphere in which the owner's tastes and interests come to the fore.
Golden Gai is famous for its Japanese Style Single Story Row House that can't be built under current laws, so the outside and the size of the bar can't be changed. But, everyone is trying to make it cozy inside. - Tobayama
Map of Golden Gai
Respect owners and workers
Talking with other customers you meet at the store is one of the best parts of being in Golden Gai, so the customers (especially the new ones) have to conform to the rules and atmosphere of each bar in order to maintain a good atmosphere. Sometimes, even without wanting to, the owner will teach the customer how to drink and the rules of drinking at a bar, from which one can learn how to behave and treat others in Golden Gai.
「サービスしないのがサービスだ」って言ってるんだよね。(Our service style is not to provide services.) -Tobayama
In Golden Gai, customers are not in a one-way position to receive hospitality. The workers and customers work together to create the mood of the bar and this town. If a customer is disliked by the workers/owners, he or she may be banned from the bar.
In Golden Gai, the bar workers/owners have the right to choose their customers.
✅Check the link below to get a better understanding of actual regulations and rules in Golden Gai
Regulations and rules