BalbC

Yep, convenience stores sell hard liquor, as do supermarkets, department stores, or even online or from the occasional vending machines in little bottles with. So it's really not just specialist liquor stores. You can buy hard liquor 24 hours a day by the bottle from convenience stores and from some supermarkets and Donkis.

There's a loose group of retired men in my neighbourhood that spend their weekends sitting on benches near a 7-11 drinking all day. They are quite chatty and loud, sometimes the local police sit and talk with them and they don't seem to mind the public drinking. There's also plenty of drinking in parks, so it doesn't seem to be illegal in many public places. On the other hand, walking round and sipping a beer, especially in an onsen, might well get you angry looks.