Tap water safe to drink?

[dreamer]

Hi people,

I just had a question regarding tap water...is it safe to drink it in Tokyo?
I see people boiling it and then using filters before using it so I was wondering if I shouldn't do the same thing?

[Akakubisan]

As far as I know it is safe to drink. It's not the greatest tasting and that is probably why they boil and filter it. Actually I haven't seen anyone boil it unless they were heating it for tea or coffee.

[dreamer]

Well...I have been here only for two weeks and still don't know many people, but that was a recommendation I got from a lady in the subway...

[Kirirao]

I've been drinking tap water all the time ever since I got here. In tokyo and in saitama-ken.
Still alive and kicking. You could attach a tap filter if you're worried tho.

[JerseyBoy]

In general, you can drink tap water without getting sick. If you cannot drink the water, there should be a sign which clearly alerts you not to drink it.

[ArmandV]

I never had any problem drinking water from the tap (or drinking fountain) in Japan. No Montezuma's Revenge there.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Chlorine is included in tap water.
The reason is because it sterilizes the microbe which can become the cause of the disease.
Remaining chlorine is 0.2mg / liter by a Japanese law.
Chlorine evaporates,
If time passes, chlorine disappears from tap water.
Generally let it boil to lose chlorine from tap water early.
But ,
When tap water boils,
It is said that there is the danger that a carcinogen is generated.

Tap water had better seem to install a water purifier than boil.

[dreamer]

I see...then I should buy one tomorrow. Does anyone know the price range for such devices?

[Mike Cash]

In general, you can drink tap water without getting sick. If you cannot drink the water, there should be a sign which clearly alerts you not to drink it.

There are such clearly posted signs. Fortunately they are very rare. Unfortunately, they tend to be in Japanese only.

And one can get a great deal of "information" from some of the characters one meets on a subway. It was the internet before the internet was the internet, if you get my drift.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

I see...then I should buy one tomorrow. Does anyone know the price range for such devices?

There are some kinds to a water purifier.
1.Faucet installation type
2. Lay it; dye cloth using paper patterns
（Hose installation type）
3.A desk model
（A pot pitcher type）
4.Lay it; dye cloth using paper patterns
（Hose installation type）
http://translation.infoseek.co.jp/?ac=Web&lng=en&token=f79a2656390452e840c9afd226f59944fc369129&submit=&selector=1&dsp=1&web_translate_url=http%3A%2F%2Fkakaku.ecnavi.jp%2F compare_guide%2Fwater%2F

Recommending it is the fourth type
It is have a clean water function and a spring water function.
You can buy it in Yodobashi Camera or household appliance store .
As for the type to add a cartridge to a faucet, running cost is cheap, but clean water ability is low.
http://kakaku.com/kaden/water-filter/

[lenn]

Chlorine is included in tap water.
The reason is because it sterilizes the microbe which can become the cause of the disease.
Remaining chlorine is 0.2mg / liter by a Japanese law.
Chlorine evaporates,
If time passes, chlorine disappears from tap water.
Generally let it boil to lose chlorine from tap water early.
But ,
When tap water boils,
It is said that there is the danger that a carcinogen is generated.
Tap water had better seem to install a water purifier than boil.
Whew! we are staying here for more than a year now. and we used to boil the tap water for our drink and for our child infant formula., I am alarmed about the carcinogen...

[Robin1]

Well...we do not know how clean will be the water supply department and its cleanliness. Thats why always suggest to have water form water purifier. It is a matter of health and no risk can be taken...

[Glenski]

If you believe bottled water is safer, tastier, and healthier than tap water, read this.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1209-10.htm
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/chap1.asp

Besides, bottles may leach certain chemicals into the water (like antimony, phthalates, and bisphenols), and the bottles themselves are a disposal problem and other environmental hazard.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html
http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/plastic_bottles.htm

People say that chlorine itself (which has a lower boiling point than water) will evacuate from a container of water if you leave it uncovered in the fridge. However, that pretty much defeats the purpose of the action of chlorine in itself -- its disinfectant properties against bacteria. In other words, you can get rid of chlorine, but doing so leaves you open to bacterial infection. You choose.

Don't want the chlorine? Use an activated carbon or charcoal filter. It'll take out other stuff, too, so be aware of that. Those minerals may be good for you, y'know.

Is chlorine proven dangerous in tap water? No. Is it suspected? Yes, but you really have to read carefully about when and in what situations. "Chlorine reacts with organic material in the water supply – dead leaves, vegetation, farm runoff – to produce chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM), some of which cause cancer in laboratory animals exposed to extremely high doses. Based on years of animal and human studies suggesting, but not establishing, a causal relationship between THMs and cancer, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspects that THMs in tap water cause a small number of bladder cancers in humans. As a result, the EPA set a limit for THM concentrations in 1979 at 100 parts per billion (ppb). It lowered this to 80 ppb, effective January 2002. "

How many "ifs" can you read in the above quote? Plenty! Oh, and from the same article, here's a good quote you should read more than once, too:
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in fact, ranks chlorinated water among the
greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, right up there with penicillin and vaccines. Thanks
to chlorine treatment, the chronic outbreaks of cholera and dysentery that plagued crowded American
cities through the 18th and 19th centuries are gone. "

People are working on chlorine substitutes, nonetheless, but until they are in place worldwide, I say drink the tap water that most people declare to be safe, or filter it if you are afraid.
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/gfilters.asp

[justin]

I'm sure its like going to any other country. The water is going to taste different and it might take some time for you system to get used to it.

[Kappa]

My Japanese family would only drink water from the dispenser at the grocery store. This didn't seem uncommon as there was usually a line when I went to fill the bottles. I never really got a clear answer as to why, but they were adamant.

[Glenski]

Kappa,
Did they use the right kind of plastic, or the type that leaches chemicals into the water? ;)

[pipokun]

Is Bottled Water Better Than Tap?
Americans Are Spending Billions on a Drink That's Virtually Free
By JOHN STOSSEL
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/Story?id=728070&page=1

Both Japanese and Americans are stupid.

I heard sterilization of bottled mineral water is strictly regulated in Europe, so their water sources there are off-limits to not only humans, but also wild animals.
Animal right activists in Europe should stand up for the freedom of strolling around.

[markantony]

Bottled water may be of two types, spring water or purified water. Spring water is preferred because it is natural. Purified water is tap water that has been treated, dechlorinated and softened. Drinking water can safely be treated by use of the home filtering cartridges available in the market. These are safe and easy to use and are highly recommended for drinking water. These cartridges are good at improving the taste in water and removal of disease causing organisms in water.

[rosetaylor]

Filtered water is safe for health...