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Did you know that carbonated soft drinks have been around since the 1800s? Sure, we all have popular favorites like Coca-Cola, Sprite, or Mountain dew, but have you ever wondered about the local carbonated drinks of certain countries? Japan has some of the best fizzy drinks in the world, and it will be so fun trying them all out when you get to visit the land of the rising sun.
You have probably heard that there is a lot of tea drinking in Asia, but don’t rule out Japanese carbonated drinks. There are many unique beverages in vending machines and convenience stores. In fact, some flavors get sold out very quickly and may not be available for weeks.
Notice how ramune rhymes with lemonade? Well. It is a Japanese soft lemon drink that pretty much tastes like lemonade. It has a long history in Japan because it was introduced as far back as 1884. However, what makes it special is that it comes in a Codd neck bottle which is pretty unique.
This bottle has a marble inside its neck, and it may be tricky for first time users to drink while preventing the marble from stopping the flow of the juice. Even though this type of bottle is not popular anymore, ramune has continued to use it and is popular in Japan. Nowadays, there are other ramune flavors like banana, blueberry, coconut, curry, takoyaki sauce, and even cotton candy!
Melon soda may seem a bit strange to you, but in Japan, it is very popular. Japanese people love melons, so it is no surprise that the bright green melon-flavored Japanese pop drink made its way to this list. A popular kid's dessert using this drink is the cream soda, where a scoop of vanilla ice cream is added to a cup of lemon soda along with a cherry. It is the perfect blend of sweet and fizzy and it is made by different brands in cans or bottles. Even ramune has a melon soda flavor!
In some countries, Fanta may seem like the usual orange-flavored drink with little variety, but it is completely different in Japan. The awesomeness of the flavors is to die for. You can find white peach, Japanese plum, Muscat grape, salty lychee, and the Okinawa shikuwasa fruit flavor which is extremely rare. There is even mystery-flavored Fanta in Japan. One more interesting fact is that the orange-flavored Fanta in Japan is a blend of sweet fizziness with orange squeeze and extract.
This is another popular Japanese carbonated drink that has been around since the 1880s. It was primarily sold in metal bottles, but is now sold in plastic bottles all over Japan. While the usual cider drinks are made from the fermentation of apples, the original Mitsuya cider has a distinct taste that comes across as a mix of lemonade and ginger ale. It is usually clear like Sprite, but there are now several flavors like grape, lemon, white grape, pink grapefruit, and apple with various colors.
While you're here: Check out our article about Japan's best non-alcoholic drinks!
Calpis is a Japanese carbonated drink usually marketed as Calpico Soda in Japan. Calpis started as a unique milky non-carbonated drink in Japan. The process of making it involves 2 stages of fermentation. First, the lactic acid bacterium which is good for the body is mixed with yeast and added to milk. After the first fermentation is done, sugar is added for the second stage of fermentation to create the drink known as Calpico. Calpico soda is basically Calpico mixed with carbonated water, the result is a fizzy version of this sweet drink. It is definitely one of the drinks to look out for when you visit Japan.
This well-known lemon soda was launched by Suntory in 1984, and its ubiquity in Japan has increased ever since. Even now, it is well-known throughout the world thanks to anime, manga, and television productions. Many visitors to Japan choose a cool bottle that has 50 lemons' worth of vitamin C in it! Yes, it has a fantastic, genuine lemon flavor. One of our clients requested this listing, so we obliged.
The most popular Tomamosu soda flavor is the mango cider. What's unique about all of their flavors is the cute bottles they come in. It isn't designed in a boring way so you can feed your eyes before you start drinking. It is light, sweet, and not heavily carbonated so you get to enjoy the flavors. You can find watermelon, mango, pineapple, melon, and peach flavors in Japanese stores. Another surprising thing about these drinks is that the color is mostly clear, there is no artificial coloring but don't let that fool you, they are packed with flavor.
Most of the drinks on this list are completely non-alcoholic, but the chuhai carbonated drink has a low degree of alcohol. It is basically a shochu (Japanese distilled alcohol) with soda and it is a go-to drink in Japan popular with office workers and casual drinkers. Chu-Hai is actually a shortened form of shochu Highball, which is the original name.
They are sold in cans and are available in vending machines and convenience stores in Japan. Let's talk about the flavors of this drink; the lemon flavor is the most popular with many variations like strong zero double lemon, Hyoketsu lemon, and Mediterranean lemon. Other cool flavors include apple, grapefruit, strawberry, orange, and peach.
When it comes to sodas, the most popular in Japan has to be Ramune, it's been around for a long time and there are at least 55 flavors! Sake and green tea are other popular drinks in Japan.
The legal adult age in Japan is 20. People can start drinking when they reach that age.
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This article was originally written by our freelance writer Umm-Kulthum Abdulkareem, and edited by us.
