What is the best japanese drink?

[wintersweet]

Royal Milk Tea! Hot, in a can, drunk while standing on a train platform on a cold evening. Anyway, that's how I first enjoyed it, on my very first day in Japan. I can buy Royal Milk Tea packets here at the Japanese grocery store, but it's not the same. I really miss hot and cold vending machines.

 

[rakuten]

まろちゃ１２０ and うめ～しゅ！

 

[Flashjeff]

FlashJeff: Beer drinking is an aquired taste. That is, until you taste a beer which is tolerable, you won't like it at all, but once you have a decent one, your tastebuds open up and are ready to try other kinds. Granted, most popular American beers: Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc taste exactly like what they look like: horse piss.

However, try an amber beer the next time you're eating steak or some other meat. For Japanese flavor, try a Kirin Ichiban. My wife absolutely HATED beer until she tried that one and now she enjoys a beer from time to time.

As for what Sake tastes like - the generic kind you find at ANY sushi bar is semi-sweet and very smooth (doesn't hurt when you swallow it like whisky). You fill up the little shot glass, yell "kampai!" and swallow the entire amount in one gulp. It's not as strong as whisky or hard liquor, so doing so a few times won't cause you to fall onto the floor.

Both Sake and Beer drinking are no fun done alone. Make sure before you try sake that you have a few friends with you.

Many thanks for the education, Fantt. I don't remember what I drank wa-a-a-a-a-a-y back in '77, only that I didn't like it. Horse piss is quite an accurate description. I'll try just about anything once, so perhaps I'll look for a Japanese beer, just to satisfy my curiosity.

As for drinking sake with friends, well, as soon s I find some friends, I'll give that a try too!

 

[mad pierrot]

You can always drink with me Jeff!

-Just a warning-

Sake gives the worst hangovers....

 

[Flashjeff]

Many thanks, mp! I might take you up on that if I ever return to Japan!

 

[ferrariboy]

Myself. It has to be amino supli for regular drink (I drink like 5 bottles everyday), for alcohol nama biru is great. Although I also like Sapporo Classic, Asahi super dry. Umeishu is nice. Shochu is nice too. There's just too many drinks, especially the alcohol kinds, in Japan to finish trying in one lifetime!

 

[shiroma]

カルピス

I recommend the calpis. It's a very tasty.

NHK news (Jun. 10th 2007) reports,

Ajinomoto to Fully Acquire Calpis​

Leading Japanese food-seasoning firm Ajinomoto is to turn health drink maker Calpis Company into a wholly owned subsidiary to strengthen its health food and drink division.

The presidents of the two firms jointly told reporters on Monday that Ajinomoto, which is Calpis's top shareholder with a stake of some 25 percent, would absorb the health drink producer in October through an equity swap.

Ajinomoto President Norio Yamaguchi said it aims to speed up decision-making as well as strengthen its health-food products division by making use of Calpis's expertise in developing health drinks.

Mr Yamaguchi said the domestic food and drink market is expected to shrink, but he believes that the health food market will continue to grow.

He expressed the hope that the merger will enable the two companies to respond better to changing consumer demand.

Our economics reporter says the two companies agreed to join forces to better meet the needs of Japan's increasingly aging society as well as the demands of supermarket chains undergoing mergers.

Ajinomoto Calpis

 

[bakaKanadajin]

Winter mornings: Boss Cafe au Lait
Summer Mornings: Itoen Apple Tea

I also really liked all the Kangome and Itoen vegetable/fruit juices that were available at the 'kusuriya'. They seemed quite healthy and tasted good too.

As far as store-bought sake goes, theres a brand of wine called Odyssey and I don't know what country it's from but it tastes good for its cheap price (~900yen). At the izakaya, it's either the Sapporo bin biru or Oolanhai for me.

 

[Goldiegirl]

In winter Calpis hot lemon. I really enjoyed it. If you don't like diet soda, I have to say that Pepsi Nex is really good. It is sweet and doesn't have a diet taste. Sake is good, but after a small glass I can't speak a clear sentence. I love all the canned coffee's and I think the kind I buy is Emerald maybe made by Coca-Cola company? It's not too sweet and just a little milk! I buy two a day for sure!

 

[Scars Unseen]

Well if you are ever in Okinawa (not sure if it is available on the mainland), you could try habu sake. Basically it's a large jar of sake with a dead habu snake at the bottom. It is supposed to be good for male virility, so if it works I guess that makes it the best japanese drink...

 

[Anohito]

All of my experience with Japanese alcoholic beverages is more than thirty years old, so I won't make recommendations on beer, sake, etc.!

Many people who have never been in Japan do not know that coffee is very popular in Japan, and they like their coffee stronger (on the average) than people in the USA. You could ask for recommendations on good Japanese-owned coffee shops (a Starbucks is a Starbucks is a Starbucks).

 

[Goldiegirl]

My favorite coffee shop in Tokyo is Le Cafe Mille...I hope I spelled that right. They have the best little cakes and sweets to go with your coffee!

 

[epigene]

To all you beer lovers:

A microbrewery in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, won a slew of top awards for five of its beers at the 2007 Monde Selection in Belgium, including the very top grand prize (Grand Gold) for two of the five.

Coedo Brewery

I think you can check out Tokyo restaurants that serve the beer or buy them online!

 

[marsans]

Pocari sweat!

End of discussion!

But really, Last week when I was in Japan I could not stop buying Pocari Sweat. I drank at least 1 or 2 a day, now that I'm home I have the shakes from Pocari withdraw.

 

[Half-n-Half]

What is WRONG with you people?! Melon Soda is the best!!

 

[izzie]

Unacha!Haha,try eel tea^^
I've tried sake before,at a local mall.
Though I'm not suppose to(age thingie)
but what the heck,it's not like I got drunk or something^^

 

[addicted2pocky]

i love QOO!!ﾂ〜ﾂ〜
and that cold bottles tea窶堋ｨ窶堋｢窶堋ｵ窶堋｢ﾂ〜ﾂ！

 

[Homerduff]

normal Calpis is ok, but the strawberry one was pretty horrible in my opinion.

I like the Cider drink that some vending machines sell..

 

[Wantalk]

There is, as mentioned before in this thread, a white cloudy sake, Shirozake (White Sake) I believe it may be called. Usually comes in smaller bottles, as it seems to be treated like a dessert wine, only one or two shots.

My advice, avoid it, unless you like something that tastes like normal sake with condensed milk stirred in.

 

[Davey]

CCLemon, and Asahi beer are my favorites.

How about some Umeboshi juice , if you want to try something different.

 

[Pachipro]

I enjoy any kind of Iced Coffee.

Pocari sweat is good and I do like "Yakulto" in the morning as the mother-in-law always insists that I drink it.

For beer it is Asahi Super Dry with Sapporo second and Kirin Ichiban third.

I like all kinds of sake both hot and cold and I also enjoy the milky white sake although I cannot remember it's name.

For Japanese whisky it has to be Suntory in the "Daruma bin" followed by Suntory White as it is cheaper, but I will drink any kind of whisky. Here in the US it is Wild Turkey 101 above all else followed by Gentleman Jack, and then regular Jack Daniels.

I enjoy Chu-Hai for a quick high as it is 7% alcohol and should be called "Cheap Hai". At 200 yen or less how can you go wrong? Tastes like soda pop to me and goes well before a 40 minute train ride home.

I enjoy sake-lime: straight sake on the rocks, with a pinch of lime or Midori Lime for flavor.

Umeshu is fine and I enjoy it now and then with the wife.

All in all any kind of Japanese alcohol is fine by me as the Japanese do not look down on alcohol consumption as we do here in the USA. Only (I think) in Japan is drinking alcohol considered a "hobby" and I throughly partake in that hobby while I am there. Compai!

 

[SushiShin]

CHEERIO!!
ﾆ棚ﾆ辰ﾆ歎ﾆ辰!!!!!!! :gulp:

 

[elektrokitten]

My favorite is Saori...I'm not big on Chu-Hai, if I were going to drink alcohol, it'd be Asahi or Sapporo. MMMM! Good stuff. I also like Mt. Dew Air....I can only find it there, and Jello in a can! Great stuff!

Don't forget Aquarius too

MMMM, I forgot about that! <3

 

[hagashiku]

Ramune is the best~! Because it comes in a cute bottle.
I like the raspberry flavor.

 

[Numark]

Chu-hai is great, my favorite non-alcoholic drink is Aquarius, i love that stuff.
I do not like sake at all though. to me its tasteless, other than the alcohol taste, like drinking straight vodka.