Japanese Hangover Preventatives/Cures

As anecdotal as it seems, there are some hangover preventative drinks which you can buy in Japan which do actually work to limit your hangover the day after drinking too much. I recommend (though I can't stand the taste of it) ウコンの力 (ukon no chikara):

This is a combination of turmeric and many of the vitamins you lose during a drinking session.

200yen. One before drinking, one at the end, happy next day (within reason).

There are loads of other drinks you may want to try, each advertised as miracle injections of your body's vital elements, usually containing maca, turmeric or some other witch's torture root.

Of course, hangovers are mainly caused by the level of poison in your blood... but there are some common-sense things you can do to limit the pain caused by a lack of something rather than an excess.

1. First of all, the headache is usually caused by a dehydrated and shrunken brain wrenching on the membranes which attach it to your skull. Solution: drink loads of water during and after drinking, duh. Sounds obvious, but it's still something I can't be bothered to do when it's necessary.
   
2. Next, you lose a lot of vitamins and minerals in dealing with alcohol, so make sure you (as gross as it sounds) eat some salt before bed (wash it down with the water). Alternatively a healthy dose of an electrolyte drink (like Aquarius or Pocari Sweat) will do the trick, just as long as you have the confidence to control your bladder during the night.
   
3. If you're in a smoke-filled bar you'll be losing vitamin-C at a stupendous rate. This will make you feel like a bag of nails in the morning. Buy some supplements and take several when you get home. Persimmons are also good for replacing those lost vitals. Convenience stores even sell a special vitamin C tablet for smokers. I'm not sure how it differs from regular vitamin C, however.
   
4. Eat something. A good dose of ramen will either help absorb the bad stuff, or eject it out of you the fastest way known to man.

Not averse to taking things to another level, the Japanese doc may recommend an injection of B1 and C. If you feel like your hangover is bad enough to go to the doctor about, then maybe that's the option for you. Good luck getting there.

Right as rain.

Anyway, happy drinking. And anyway, if you don't wake up on the street with sick on your head, using your wallet as a pillow, that's a successful night out.