Japanese love their snack foods but unlike much of the western world chocolate is not one of he major sellers, other than Pocky which is very popular, it's a long straw like pretzel with chocolate or other coatings including different flavours and nuts there is even a few savory flavors including pumpkin, pizza and sweet potato, and there are special seasonal varieties produced. It is estimated that Glico the manufacturers sell over 30 billion Yen of Pocky in Japan each year.

With all the vending machines in Japan you may think they are full of Coca Cola, but no you will rarely see Coke instead you will see an array of interesting and sometimes unusual beverages.

Beer or as it is pronounced BI-RU is Japan's most popular alcoholic beverage. It is can be drank just about everywhere, and in fact is can even be purchased in vending machines on the pavement which is a strange sight for someone from the west.

Izakaya are the traditional Japanese bars that are popular with Japanese businessmen for an after work drink, in recent years these bars have also gained in popularity with the younger Japanese drinker too. Traditionally to go along with your drinks small partitions of food are served at the Izakaya, giving this establishment a more of a restaurant feel.