noun
The act of moving from one drinking establishment to another in a single outing, like climbing a ladder (はしご). Often used in social contexts.
See also: はしご酒
今夜ははしご飲みしよう。
Let's go barhopping tonight.
はしご飲みで、三軒も行った。
We went to three places on our pub crawl.
Synonymous; はしご酒 is slightly more common and uses 酒 (alcohol) instead of 飲み (drinking). Both mean barhopping.
Compound of はしご (ladder) and 飲み (drinking), from the image of climbing a ladder from one bar to the next. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a common modern expression.