City Weekend's nightlife columnist Mark Hiew gives you the lowdown on how to party like a salaryman in the capital's best Japanese bars.

One of my friends loves to crow about Tokyo’s nightlife. As attractive as a weekend exploring Japan’s famed whisky and cocktail culture sounds, let’s face it: Tokyo’s expensive. Besides, I figured that in a city with as many Japanese residents as Beijing, there have got to be some authentic bars in town to blow off steam like a salaryman and learn the secrets of their country’s nightlife. So I set out with a Japanese friend to do just that.

“Japanese like to obsess over Western things, like cocktails, then reinvent them with their own characteristics,” explains Moto, co-owner of Japanese cocktail bar Twilight in Jianwai Soho. Such attention to detail is evident in his bar’s signature Moscow Mule, made with house-brewed ginger ale and its Bloody Mary, served in a bacon-crumb-encrusted glass.

Service is another defining factor in any authentic Japanese bar. Stepping into Jipangu, located on the second floor of the Huakang Hotel in Maizidian—the closest Beijing gets to a “Little Tokyo”—we were greeted warmly by the owners with warm face towels and appetizers of fresh radish slices.

The sake presentation at Jipangu can be intimidating for newbies. Here the bartender places a small glass into a masu, a traditional lacquered box. He then pours the sake into the glass until it overflows and fills both the glass and the masu. After we finished the sake in the glass, we sipped the sake directly from the masu. The substantial pour cost just ¥80, though, like at many Japanese bars, there was also a ¥30 seating fee here.

A few doors down from Jipangu is a sunaku or “snack bar,” where businessmen sing karaoke with hostesses in skimpy dresses. My companion and I decided this was a part of salaryman nightlife that could wait for another night. We skipped the sunaku and headed to my favorite discovery of the night: the G-Zou shochu bar.

G-Zou’s owners say that 90 percent of the clientele is Japanese, who often come alone to snack on traditional cold dishes and soak in their dozens of shochu varieties. They also told me shochu, distilled from sweet potato or barley, is hangover-free and healthier than other alcoholic drinks.

All and all, I was impressed by the service, detail and drinks at these Japanese bars. Next time, I’ll remind my friends who sing the praises of Tokyo’s bar scene that we don’t need to fly to Tokyo. We can “kampai” anytime we want right here in Beijing.

If you've got an itch that only teppanyaki can scratch, check out City Weekend's comprehensive list of the city's Japanese restaurants.