Odd Drinks in Japan

There are many odd drinks you can get in Japan. One is called Pocari Sweat. It’s an electrolyte drink similar to Gatorade, but it's clear. My host family said they thought Americans don’t like it because of the name, and the fact that it’s a clear drink with an almost salty fruit flavor. So foreigners might think it’s actual sweat. Delicious. The drink is actually delicious though. I tried it, and it has a very faint flavor. It tastes kind of like tomato juice, but it's different. There are many different flavors and types of juice in Pocari Sweat, but the actual amount is small so the drink can remain clear.

Another interesting drink is a ginger drink. It’s darker than Coke or Pepsi, and it had extra ginger in it. I decided to try it with my friend on the trip with me, and it had so much ginger it was actually spicy. We dared people to take drinks of it because it was so spicy. The ginger was so strong you could smell it as soon as the drink was uncapped, and drinking more than tiny sips of the drink actually burned your tongue and throat.

There was a grape drink that was delicious that I bought in a vending machine on the trek to Kiyomizu-dera. It was a small can, and I thought it was just grape juice. However, once I took a drink I was amazed. It had actual cubes of grape in it. At first I was surprised, expecting the drink to be smooth. Generally when you want to drink something, chewing is the last thing on your mind but the grape pieces added so much flavor and good texture to the drink.

I saw a drink (but didn't try it) that was full of seeds. It was called Basil Seed and it had basil seeds in it. The basil seeds had a membrane around them, similar to pomegranate seeds but clear. It was a very interesting drink. If I had more time in Japan I'd like to try it.


[source]