“Order jingisukan after 9PM and you get 60 minutes of highball all-you-can-drink for 0 yen.”

Not one free drink. Not a discount. 0円飲み放題 — zero-yen 飲み放題 (nomihōdai, all-you-can-drink).

It sounded too good to be true…と思いきや (omoi kiya) — just when you think it must be a lie — the official site really does say “0 yen.” So we headed to the scene: 大衆ジンギスカン酒場 ラムちゃん (Taishū Jingisukan Sakaba Ramuchan) to see if it was real.

Is It Really 0 Yen?

“Lamb Chan” has locations in Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa. On the regular menu, the 60-minute highball 飲み放題 (nomihōdai) costs 660 yen (tax included). That’s already cheap—but not free.

The trick? You need the official app coupon.

And there are 条件 (jōken, conditions).

To qualify for the 0-yen drink deal, you must:

• 注文する (chūmon suru, order) the 1,078-yen “Lamb Chan Set” or
• Order the 食べ放題 (tabehōdai, all-you-can-eat) option

In other words, the drinks are free—but only if you order specific food.

There’s one more twist. The app requires 会員登録 (kaiin tōroku, membership registration), and the first-time registration costs 200 yen. At first, that feels like, “Wait… what?”

But as a perk, the 440-yen appetizer charge (お通し, otoshi) becomes free forever after that.

“Forever” is a strong word.

In Japanese izakaya culture, お通し (otoshi) is a small appetizer automatically served and charged per person. Not paying it is extremely rare—especially at an all-you-can-drink place. From the second visit onward, you’re basically paying only for food and getting the highball tower for free. It almost feels like a system glitch.

The Highball Tower: A Magical Faucet

Every table at Lamb Chan has a highball tower—a dedicated server that dispenses highballs.

Once you order the 飲み放題 (nomihōdai), you can pour freely from the tap. No waiting for staff. No empty glasses sitting around.

It’s like a magical faucet.

The “Lamb Chan Set” includes:

• Salt-aged premium lamb shoulder loin
• Lamb leg jingisukan
• Domestic onions

You also get unlimited sauce refills, condiments, and beef fat.

As soon as the iron grill is set up, a stopwatch is handed to you. The moment you press start, the 60-minute countdown begins.

No time to relax. One match. Sixty minutes. Fight!

Grilling and Drinking Is a Sport

Trying to grill jingisukan while constantly refilling your own highball? It’s busy.

You watch the meat. You pour your drink. You flip. You sip. Both hands are always moving.

The staff grill the first batch for you and recommend eating the premium shoulder loin medium rare. The fat drips into the grooves of the pan, making that satisfying juuuuu sound.

“どうぞ！” (Dōzo!) — “Go ahead!”

Dip it generously in sauce loaded with condiments and take a bite.

The result? Surprisingly clean flavor. The lamb’s usual gamey smell is minimized, leaving only concentrated umami. Honestly, it felt impossible to cook it better myself. The best bite of the day came right at the start.

Upgrade or Not?

For an extra 220 yen, you can upgrade to a “7-drink” all-you-can-drink plan. You mix soda water from the tower with different bases like lemon sour, gin, or shōchū.

It feels like a science experiment.

But honestly? Probably unnecessary.

Grilling and drinking is already hectic. Adding more mixing tasks might not be the best strategy in a 60-minute sprint. If time is short, sticking to straight highballs may be smarter.

The Final Minutes

With 24 minutes left, temptation struck.

Instead of relying only on the set, we placed an 追加注文 (tsuika chūmon, additional order) for more jingisukan and something called “Mountain of Bean Sprouts” (418 yen).

It truly was a mountain.

Surprisingly, the bean sprouts soaked in lamb fat were so delicious that we finished them completely—ぺろりと完食してしまった (perori to kanshoku shite shimatta). The grammar 〜てしまう here shows something done completely, almost unintentionally. “Oops… I ate it all.”

Then: 8 minutes left.

35 seconds.

One second.

With one second remaining, one final highball was poured successfully. Immediately after, the alarm rang. Time’s up.

Total drinks? Probably six or seven. For zero yen.

The Final Bill

The total お会計 (okaikei, bill) came to 2,994 yen (tax included).

Next time, the appetizer and membership fee won’t apply. Skipping the drink upgrade also keeps costs down.

Which means: from the second visit onward, you’re essentially paying only for food and getting highball 飲み放題 for 0 yen after 9PM.

For a second party (二次会, nijikai)? This might be the spot.

Walking out felt like finishing a full-speed time attack. Exhausting—but worth repeating.

Cultural Context: Why Jingisukan?

ジンギスカン (jingisukan) is a lamb barbecue dish popular in Japan, especially in Hokkaido. Meat and vegetables are grilled on a dome-shaped metal pan, and the style is often casual and social.

Pairing jingisukan with 飲み放題 (nomihōdai) is very typical of Japanese group dining culture. Restaurants often use time limits (like 60 or 90 minutes), creating that competitive “drink as much as you can” atmosphere you saw in this story.

Learn Japanese from This Article

Key Vocabulary

Grammar Spotlight

1. 〜と思いきや

Meaning: “Just when I thought… but actually…”

Structure: Plain form + と思いきや

Example: 嘘だと思いきや、本当だった。 Uso da to omoi kiya, hontō datta. Just when I thought it was a lie, it was actually true.

This pattern is great for surprising twists—very common in blogs and reviews.

2. 〜てしまう

Meaning: To do something completely or unintentionally (often with emotion)

Structure: Verb (て-form) + しまう

Example: 全部食べてしまった。 Zenbu tabete shimatta. I ended up eating it all.

It can express regret, surprise, or completion.

Useful Expressions

• どうぞ！ (Dōzo!) — Go ahead!
• おかわり無料 (okawari muryō) — Free refills
• あと◯分 (ato ◯-fun) — ◯ minutes remaining

You’ll hear these constantly in casual restaurants.

Continue Learning

• Want to understand the verb forms used here? Check out Masu Form: Mastering Polite Everyday Speech.
• Want to learn more about lifestyle? Check out our lesson on Basic Vocabulary Building: Embracing Words Without Latin Ties.
• Want to learn more about lifestyle? Check out our lesson on Greetings and Self-Introductions: Authentic Entry Phrases.

これからもよろしくお願いします。 Kore kara mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.