Have you ever in your wildest dreams thought you could get a beer that cost less than a Coke in the land of the rising yen? Well, there are decent eateries that serve beer and other alcoholic concoctions for JY100. Yes, that does say JY100. Here' a selection to help those who are in dire need of a brew, but can't afford to pay JY800 for a pint with two inches of head. Maki Nibayashi

The Kinndai Building No.3
La Wasshoi B1 03-3980-8187.
Frisco Kitchen 1F 03-3980-9337.
Le Kobayashi 2F 03-3980-8716,
Okkei 4F 03-3980-8714.
Jizo-san 5F 03-3980-8715.
1-26-2 Minami Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. Ikebukuro stn, east exit, three minute walk. Just before Sunshine Street on the right. This building is a beer lover's dream tower. All the izakaya and restaurants in this building (except on 3F) are owned by the same company and they charge only a hundred yen for a jug of draft beer as well as some cocktails and chuhais (sours). There is one little nitch. Each person must order one food dish and there is a mandatory and predetermined starting dish (oto-shi) that each person must pay for. So it's not like you can go to one of these places and just order 20 beers for only JY2000. Nevertheless, it's still a great deal and the food is dirt cheap. Seafood salad is JY570. Most times the whole meal will come to about JY2000 per head. All restaurants are open from 4pm to 2am every day.

Kokkeko
Sun Palace Bldg 1F, 1-27-8 Minami Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. Tel: 03-3985-6695. Open: 4pm to 2am daily. Ikebukuro stn, east exit, three minute walk. Specializes in yakitori and chicken dishes.

Danran
Nakagin Social Bldg 1F, 1-13-11 Higashi Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. Tel: 03-3981-5974. Open: 4pm to 2am daily. Ikebukuro stn, east exit, three min walk. Retro interior from the Meiji era.

Izakaya Nakanishi
5-6-17 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3797-6100. Open: Mon-Sat, 11:30am-5am. Sun/holidays 3-10pm. Three minutes from Omotesando stn, exit A1. Specialties include kimuchi BBQ beef JY700, thin udon JY800, udon-suki JY800. Draft beer for JY100 only on Sunday.

Asahi Beer 21 Shinjuku NS branch
NS Bldg 30F, 2-4-1 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Tel: 03-3349-8787. Open: 5-10pm daily. Shinjuku stn, west exit, seven minute walk. A great view and JY100 draft beer on the 21st of every month. (The 21st is dubbed as "draft beer day.")

Tokyo Ichiba Charade
Prison Bldg. 3F, 25-3 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3464-1140. Open: 4pm-12am daily. Shibuya stn, Hachiko exit, two minute walk. Happy hour style JY100 deals on draft beer, wine and chuhais from 5-7pm.