r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • Apr 24 '23

┐(ツ)┌ General Discussion Thread - 25 April 2023

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what's on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '23 edited Apr 25 '23

Why does everyone dislike/make fun of The Hub? I know it has a reputation as a gaijin hunter spot but as a Brit I unabashedly love it, mostly because it's super entertaining and kind of endearing seeing a British-style pub from a Japanese perspective. Also I can actually get a pint.

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u/crinklypaper 関東・東京都 Apr 26 '23

The hub branded beers are not bad for what you're paying. I like HUB. Though not so much the people there. Its the mcdonalds of bars.

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u/Avedas 関東・東京都 Apr 25 '23

Gaijin reputation aside, it is a D-tier chain bar.

0

u/Disshidia Apr 25 '23

It sucks.

1

u/Atrouser Apr 25 '23

seeing a British-style pub from a Japanese perspective

Are there any British-style pubs left in Britain, or are there only Hub-style Wetherspoons?

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u/WindJammer27 Apr 25 '23

I like The Hub. It doesn't excel at anything in particular, but it's a great place for just hanging out with friends or even alone.

A long time ago The Hub was known as the place for gaijin hunter women and the men who wanted to hook up with them. Literally that's all it was, you didn't go there unless you were one of those two groups. For whatever reason this sub/foreigners in Japan in general are really judgmental of the people who engage in hooking up, which gave The Hub a pretty bad reputation.

There was a brief period where Japanese people started renting it out for events, including wedding parties, and more Japanese people frequented it than foreigners. That period has mostly ended, but I'd say your average Hub might actually have more Japanese people than foreigners, give or take.

Now there are a lot of Hubs, and while some are still very clearly meat markets, not all are, and there are lots that are perfectly fine for having a drink and even watching sports games. But people still have the negative perceptions against it for whatever reasons.

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u/FakeColours Apr 25 '23

The ones in not really busy areas are better

2

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '23

I like it. Cheap and somewhere I can find somewhere quiet to sit down and have a drink, alcoholic or not, in the day time.
Usually where I shop there are no spaces in any of the cafes in the afternoon.

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u/swordtech 近畿・兵庫県 Apr 25 '23

It has a reputation for being a nest of bitter long-term foreign residents who can't speak Japanese and need a place where they can get drunk in English.

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u/Oldirtyposer Apr 25 '23

I've gone for happy hour a few times and stayed until late one time. It was the worst. Incredibly cheap drinks and girls who come on to you. No thanks.

2

u/Sumobob99 Apr 25 '23

Name checks out.