乾杯 (kanpai, “cheers” or “dry the glass”) is Japan’s drinking toast and Instagram’s marker for izakaya nights, beer gardens, and social drinking culture. The hashtag captured Japanese drinking culture’s importance—after-work nomikai (drinking gatherings), company bonding sessions, and the social lubrication that rigid Japanese workplace formality requires.
Drinking Culture Context
In Japan, drinking serves crucial social function—the informal space where hierarchical strictness relaxes and honest communication (“本音” honne vs “建前” tatemae) becomes acceptable. #乾杯 posts documented izakaya meals, beer garden gatherings, cherry blossom hanami parties with sake, and the ritualized aspects of Japanese drinking: pouring for others, never self-pouring, and saying kanpai in unison.
Visual Tropes
Common #乾杯 imagery: beer mugs clinking mid-air, sake bottles and cups, whiskey highballs (hugely popular in Japan), edamame and yakitori plates, and group toast photos. Summer posts featured beer gardens (屋上ビアガーデン rooftop beer gardens), while winter showed hot sake and nabe (hot pot). The hashtag tracked seasonal drinking patterns.
Workplace Pressure
Critics noted #乾杯 often documented mandatory after-work drinking (nominication—nomikai + communication), where refusing could harm career prospects. Younger Japanese pushed back against this forced drinking culture, making the hashtag sometimes ironic commentary on corporate pressure rather than pure celebration, particularly during debates about work-life balance reform (2018-2020).
Sources: