I myself seldom enjoy the taste of alcohol and even with friends or at in social situations do not really enjoy drinking in general. However when I took a business trip to Tokyo I had more fun drinking then I had ever had with a group of total strangers who's English was as bad as my Japanese. 

I know all about how vastly different Japanese work and drinking culture vary so I know this is not the typical US/UK pub or club situation, but I feel in this circumstance, if alcohol was not involved very few words if any would have been exchanged and it would have been just another quite night out. In fact, later that night I was looking at the business cards I had got in exchange for mine, and one older guy was the CEO of a major engineering company.