Sure, the Japanese drink a lot of tea. (unsweetened of course)
But, they also come up with some pretty inventive drinks not involving tea.
Some good. Some bad. All…uh…drinkable.
Bacchus/Ribovitan-D
These are Japanese versions of Red-Bull. It’s chock-full-of caffeine, B-vitamins, Royal Jelly (the stuff baby bees eat) and most importantly, nictotine. I found out about the nicotine part the hard way, after final exam week and a nagging addiction.
(Robovitan-D; Very strong, very addictive.)
Tokyo Milk
Milk here is a lot creamier, and seems to last a really long time. No gallon jugs to be found, just small cartons like this one. A high percentage of Japanese people are lactose intolerant but that doesn’t stop them from drinking milk. Which is why they are so tall.
Japanese-y Cola Flavors
Pepsi & Coca-Cola, Japan seem to try a new type of flavor every year. Using tradition Japanese flavoring like, Azuki. (Sweet Red Bean), Shiso (Parilla Leaf), Green Tea.
And even more random foods like yogurt, and Baobob (Monkey Fruit Tree?). whatever that is.
The Shiso isn’t bad, but even Japanese people don’t seem to care for the others.
Tropicana Orange Juice With Rare Cheese Flavor
What goes better with a nice tall glass of Orange Juice than Rare Cheese? Well, nearly anything I can think of. This shocked and appalled everyone, Japanese and foreigner alike. Some theorized it might taste like an Orange Julius, but the one brave Japanese man I know who tried it, said it tasted like Orange Juice with Cheese. Pass.
Water Salad
Tastes like watered down V-8. Not bad, not great.
Non-Alcoholic Gin & Tonic
There is a whole line of non-alcoholic cocktails and beers, some of them having zero calories. Which begs the question, with no calories, and no alcohol, just what ARE they?
Hoppy
Hoppy is a barley/hop/malt flavoring that some people add to soda and Japanese Vodka (Shochu) to make a beer-like beverage without the carbs, or because they prefer the taste to beer. It’s not bad, but I prefer the good ol’ fashioned “hoppy” Pale Ales myself.
Ukon & Black Garlic Power Drink
(HUGE Hangover Remedy Promotion in Shinjuku Station!)
“Ukon No Chikara” is made from Tumeric, the root that makes mustard yellow. It’s been proven to prevent hangovers and this is essential in the heavy weeknight drinking culture of Tokyo. Seems to work, although I’ve never been one to get a hangover, but others swear by it.
“Kuro Ninniku No Chikara” or Power of Black Garlic drink is made from Black Garlic and also is said to help with hangovers and concentration. The commercials always show people golfing as one should be outdoors with a heavy breeze after drinking black garlic.
Protein Water
Tastes like sweet, watered-down, yogurt. Lots of protein, I drink it after the gym. The bottle is shaped like a dumb-bell, so you know it’s for muscles.
Check out the commercial! A dance battle between “hoso-macho” or Skinny-Macho, and “Gori-macho” or Gorilla-Macho.
What's your favorite energy drink?
Check Out The Top 11 Signs That You Had Too Much To Drink Last Night!
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