What is the best japanese drink?

[Bounty Hunter]

hi i was just wandering what is the best japanese drink, the reason why i ask is because am going to tokyo in september and i wanna try new things.

p.s i have heard of sake from my friend potatoe

[Buddha Smoker]

Do you mean alcohol or non-alcohol (like coca-cola, etc.)?

I recommend sake if you never had it.

[NANGI]

Konnichiwa HITMAN-X-san!

hi i was just wandering what is the best japanese drink, the reason why i ask is because am going to tokyo in september and i wanna try new things.
p.s i have heard of sake from my friend potatoe

Hahaha... yes, Sake(Japanese rice wine) is good! :romance:
I recommend the calpis. It's a very tasty. :bluush:

http://www.calpis.co.jp/english/

NANGI

[Buddha Smoker]

Don't forget Aquarius too

[kirei_na_me]

If we're talking alchohol, I like umeshu, and the only beer I will touch is Kirin Ichiban.

Ramune soda is good too, and neat, because it has the ball in it... :p

http://www.animesnacks.com/ramunesoda.html

[Gaki]

Pocari Sweat !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :balloon:

[RockLee]

Sapporo Beer is any good???? :? I'm dying to try it all *grabs wallet*

[Buddha Smoker]

Honestly, there are really any bad drinks in Japan :wave:

[Bounty Hunter]

thank you for the info :cool:

[playaa]

Awamori, shochu, sapporo, asahi, kirin, sake are my favs

[misa.j]

You should try to find a traditional tea ceremony where you can try the Japanese green tea called MATCHA. It is very bitter, so I recommend you to have it with some sweet snack which probably will be served with the tea.

[kirei_na_me]

Yes, definitely. I love green tea with daifuku. Yum.

[Riven]

I love hot sake. I only tasted Asahi Beer (I like it ... little comon tast though)

Yes, definitely. I love green tea with daifuku. Yum.
I have green tea (I really really like it), but what is daifuku ? (I only know it is some firm's name ...)

[Buddha Smoker]

Awamori, shochu, sapporo, asahi, kirin, sake are my favs

I take back what I said about bad drinks in Japan....Awamori....yech...it's from Okinawa and made from potatoes. I didn't care for that.

But, I don't consider Okinawa part of Japan sometimes. :D

[Lina Inverse]

Try the Lychee stuff (dunno what it's called right now), it's great :cool:

[neofusion]

is all sake clear? is there only one type of sake? i have had sake before and i reallllly have to get myself drunk on other stuff to even start drinking it! LOL, i think ill have more tonight......

[Lina Inverse]

is all sake clear? is there only one type of sake? i have had sake before and i reallllly have to get myself drunk on other stuff to even start drinking it! LOL, i think ill have more tonight......
All sake I know is clear, so I'd say yes.
Try Kirin to start drinking. It's also avaiable as Light or Ichiban.
Kirin Homepage (http://www.kirin.com/) (english)
http://www.kirin.com/images/think.gif

[Daniel]

There are five types of sake. Here's a short description I took from another site:
Junmai-shu (pure rice wine; at least 30% of rice polished away; no adding of distilled alcohol)�
* Honjozo-shu (at least 30% of rice polished away; a tad of distilled alcohol is added)�
* Ginjo-shu (at least 40% of rice polished away; with or without alcohol added; if bottle is labeled Ginjo, it means distilled alcohol was added; if labeled Junmai Ginjo, it means no alcohol added)
* Daiginjo-shu (at least 50% of rice polished away; again with or without added alcohol; if bottle is labeled Daiginjo, it means distilled alcohol was added; if labeled Junmai Daiginjo, it means no alcohol added)�
* Namazake (special 5th designation for unpasteurized sake; incorporates all four above)

[mad pierrot]

But if you like dark beers, Yebisu Black is damn tasty. A bit expensive, but well worth it.

Alcohol aside, can coffee is more addicting than crack.

:nuts:

[Buddha Smoker]

Has anybody tried the new C2 (Coke Cola 2)? I was curious what others thought of it?

It was sort of a mix between regular coke and diet coke. Well, it has half the calories..so I guess that would make sense :D

[RockLee]

Yeah I had Sapporo beer this weekend and is was GOOD :cool: :-) ...Can't wait to taste the rest :lol:

[Buddha Smoker]

Yeah I had Sapporo beer this weekend and is was GOOD :cool: :-) ...Can't wait to taste the rest :lol:

Japanese Beer is not bad but sometimes it is not satifying..know what I mean? I'm still looking for those C2 folks.

[curveegrrl]

I used to love Chu-Hi. My favourite flavours were lemon and grape. Lychee was good too, and my flatmate loved peach. Anyhoo, there are lots of flavours and brands to try.

[Haitun]

Pocari Sweat !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :balloon:

agreed..... me love this drink a lot....

[Buddha Smoker]

So no C2 drinkers, eh?

[Spaceghost]

I tried some plum wine Choya a while back, at first as it goes into your mouth it is really sweet, but then when you swallow it, it is quite bitter and suprisingly burns, so I stopped drinking that.

I have some sake as well (Jozoshu - Honjozo-shu), but I have not tried it yet. It comes in a nice microwavable jar!

[Buddha Smoker]

I have some sake as well (Jozoshu - Honjozo-shu), but I have not tried it yet. It comes in a nice microwavable jar!

Warm/Hot sake is always good. I love the stuff when I drink.

[Hachiko]

Ramune~~~!!!! Calpis is a close second.

[Exidez]

has anyone tried the alcoholic version of calpis?
I couldnt imagine getting drunk off it... although it is highly possible
its not something you would take to a party or anything!

[Buddha Smoker]

has anyone tried the alcoholic version of calpis?
I couldnt imagine getting drunk off it... although it is highly possible
its not something you would take to a party or anything!


There's a few actually and I didn't mind them. Of course, the ones I had were pretty light so it would take a lot to get really drunk unless you were weak for alcohol.

[chiquiliquis]

Midori (which is greener than it's name) + Sambuca + Lime, and an optional lighter = very happy Chiquiliquis!

:lol: :box: :smoke: :snore:

A lot of my coworkers really like Shochu and Coke. But I had heard, until quite recently, that Shochu was a drink for geezers. It is supposedly coming back into fashion for the younger crowd.

[Buddha Smoker]

A lot of my coworkers really like Shochu and Coke. But I had heard, until quite recently, that Shochu was a drink for geezers. It is supposedly coming back into fashion for the younger crowd.

That's not true....it's can just be a good and cheap way to drink :D

[BigBossIchi]

I started off with Sapporo Draft and have since moved on to Asahi Draft. Those are the only two choices here in Canada that I know of. I enjoy drinking Sake from time to time as well. Non-acoholic, I enjoy Jyuroku Cha-Asahi. It's a cold tea drink made by Asahi and contains 16 different tea sources. Very refreshing! I also I'm a huge Sencha green tea drinker as well, I prefer brwewing straight from the whole leaf.

http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/english/companye/group/image/drink_img01.jpg

[Golgo_13]

A cold glass of Mugi-cha (Roasted Barley tea)

You might find it bitter at first but once you acquire a taste for it you'll like it.

[canadian_kor]

Sake is the best! :cool:

[reicheru]

So no C2 drinkers, eh?


Yup, I love c2, it tastes even etter than regular coke, I find for some reason.

I love Choyu plum wine. Are there any other good plum wines?

[Wakaranai]

Asahi is good beer. Asahi is the only Japanese beer that I have tried.
Asahi is GREAT with Tako.

[potatoe]

has anyone tried one of those oxygen bars, i heard they are really good

[duff_o_josh]

sapporo for the win!...im not a fan of kirin lager its just nothing special. you should have some santori whisky!

[Lina Inverse]

has anyone tried one of those oxygen bars, i heard they are really good
I've not heard of them... why are they called that way?

[PopCulturePooka]

I like Cassis Orange, Calpis Sour or Calpis water.

Oh and everyone I've talked to said C2 is death in a bottle. Death mixed with AWFUL!

[ragedaddy]

Duh duh da da da duh duh duh, JINRO(as I do the candid dance)..... yep I am a fan of olong hai as you can tell. There isn't much taste to it, but bottle after bottle gets you feeling warm. I also like taking some sho chu shooters as well, but that's where you can get drunk really fast. I also recommend trying amazake, there's not much alcohol in it, but it's really tasty. I guess they drink it on New Years and other special occasions. Also, milk tea makes for some tasty sippin'.

[Kapurnicus]

I recommend trying some of the different teas if you get the chance. Genmai and Houji teas are really nice.

[RinniGal]

c.c. lemon. pocari sweat. suntory has an aray of goodies to swizzle on ^.^

oh, and i tried an oxygen bar... it's otay. i dunno, i think back to it now and i want to eat everything i smelled. ^.^ I'm an eater

[blessed]

...koka-kora :D

[vorpar]

I found a type of clouded sake made by a company in Oregon. It's called Momokawa, and is described as a Nigori - unfiltered.

I'm sure you could still find sake like that in Japan, it all used to be cloudy until modern filtering.

[honey0501]

Konnichiwa HITMAN-X-san!



Hahaha... yes, Sake(Japanese rice wine) is good! :romance:
I recommend the calpis. It's a very tasty. :bluush:

http://www.calpis.co.jp/english/

NANGI

yeah i also love sake. i have tried that many times when i was in tokyo 2 years ago. sake is the bes drink in japan! :wave:

[Flashjeff]

I'm not much for alcohol, so I've never had sake before. What's it like?

I know I'm gonna catch all kinds of hell for this, but, as for beer, how can people drink that swill, regardless of what country it comes from? I tried it once (1977) and hated the taste from jump street, haven't touched a drop of it since. UGH!
:mad:

[Faustianideals]

I've not heard of them... why are they called that way?
You well breath Oxygen through a tank for a price. Nothing is special about them. I really wouldn't reccomend using one. It's a good way to waste your money though. :wave:

[Fantt]

I've had C2. It tastes pretty much like any softdrink sweetened with Splenda. That is, it tastes not near as bad as stuff sweetened with other artificial sweeteners. Splenda is made from sugar. Still, it's not great, nor is it bad. I like it because it has half as many calories as regular coke and it doesn't taste too yechy.

As for Sake, someone asked about Sake that isn't clear. I've had some "milky" looking sake. In fact, yesterday I was doing the rounds of the Japanese markets in the Phoenix area and I came across at least 1 bottle that was like that. The milky kind tastes a lot "grainyer" in the form of ricey grainy. :D How's that for a technical description?

Here's the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake) entry for Sake.

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.

[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!


:D

[mad pierrot]

You can always drink with me Jeff!

-Just a warning-

Sake gives the worst hangovers.... :mad:

[Flashjeff]

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

[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!

[名無し]

I recommend the calpis. It's a very tasty. :bluush:NHK news (http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/dailynews.html) (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 (http://www.ajinomoto.com/) Calpis (http://www.calpis.net/)

[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... :D

[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 (http://www.coedobrewery.com/)

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

[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!!〜〜
and that cold bottles teaおいしい〜！

[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.

[Dutch Baka]

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!:beer:

[SushiShin]

http://food.3yen.com/wp-content/images/cheerio_drinks_grape_orange_melon.jpg
CHEERIO!!
オイシイ!!!!!!! :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:bluush::bluush:

[hagashiku]

Ramune is the best~! Because it comes in a cute bottle. :wave:
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.

[danaXOX]

momo no mizu (peach water)

I LOVE THAT STUFF !!

[T1FF]

i like everything! lol.

[TokyoRose]

Don't forget Aquarius too

I second that!
For alcoholic, "sawa" is great! my favourite is the "grape sawa"

[Fel1city]

we just had 8 days in japan and not a lunch or dinner went past without an Asahi, every dinner had sake as well, and "beer o'clock" in our hotel room was Asahi and "flip top lid" sake from the convenience stores: we had a GREAT holiday!!!!!!!!!!!

[Megwa]

Mmm...I like Pocari Sweat, peach-flavored water (not sure of the actual brand name), and Calpico! =D

[Matthew Ota]

is plain ocha. No additives. Here in the United States, corporations are coming out with green tea drinks that have all kinds of crap added to it.

I think it is a travesty. Plain green tea has been consumed for centuries, why try to change it?

[aoc gold]

I like sake too.Spend more time with your family and friends,eat your favorite foods,visit the places you love.