[Hatredcopter]

Although this is my own account, many other students I've talked to in Japan can attest to this.

Going out drinking with Japanese people is actually a very effective way to learn casual, spoken Japanese. Many learners of Japanese who are at an intermediate stage in their studies have the ability to communicate at least 'decently' in Japanese - but a lot of them refrain from doing it very much because they're afraid of making mistakes. A couple years ago, I found myself (and even still do now a little) being much more willing to speak and have an enjoyable conversation in Japanese after a small amount of alcohol. Conversely, Japanese folks themselves are a lot more willing to open up to talking with foreigners after they've thrown back a few drinks. I've walked into izakaya and bars countless times and have had rowdy salaryman that I've never met before start conversations with me - a few of them whom I'm still friends with to this day. Almost no Japanese person who doesn't know you will initiate a conversation with you otherwise.

As I mentioned in my other post, drinking is a big part of Japan. It allows people to let loose and blow off some steam for awhile.