Lost In A Japanese Snack Bar

I left the UK bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited about the adventures waiting in Japan, surely anything would be better than slogging through a boring 9 to 5 job in England?

After spending over 2 and a half years teaching in an Eikaiwa I fear my brain has decomposed and I may spontaneously combust if I see another laminated flashcard with a capital letter A and a picture of an apple. Repeat after me "THIS. IS. A. PEN."

I needed a change of scene, why not embrace loud music, sticky floors and passive smoking? I now work in a bar. Except in Japan a Snack Bar is not quite the same as a bar in the west...

Let me guide you through this eccentric Japanese institution while trying to answer the eternal question; is the grass really greener on the other side (of the world)?