Pokka Sapporo Ribbon Jelly Grape Drink: This is another grape jelly drink I purchased from a vending machine. It comes in a plastic bottle as opposed to a can. I like this one less than the other as the jelly is not carbonated, so the overall taste is not as unique. It's essentially a grape juice for kids that contains jelly that you break up by shaking the bottle. One benefit the plastic bottle has over the can, though, is that you can reclose and shake the bottle some more in the case that the jelly doesn't break up evenly. 3.0/5.0
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Ito En Vivit's Chiba Pear Soda: Even with lockdown measures (which I guess as of several hours ago have been lifted in Tokyo), I tried to take a daily walk to a vending machine to try something new. However, I stopped doing that about a month ago as I was running out of desirable options and was worried I might get diabetes. I got this from a discount vending machine having previously had the peach version of this line of sodas. The pear version tastes like a concentrated, slightly more balanced ramune, but still very swee... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks vendingmachine japanese itoen vivit's chiba pear soda 3.0
Ichigaku Carrot juice with ginseng : This bottle of carrot juice retains much of the pulp of fresh carrots, giving it a slightly grainy texture. The juice has been slightly flavored with ginseng and lemon. I was hoping it would either be more sweet or more carrot-y; overall, it's not particularly good or bad. 3.0/5.0
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Calpis ぐんぐんグルト: I haven't been able to write snack reviews consistently because about a week ago, my back gave out (a relapse with my herniated disc), and I had to go to the hospital to be treated, where I still am now. The meals at the hospital have been nutritional if not exactly tasty, and there are no snacks. Lying horizontally for several days, I saw little of the floor I'm staying on until a few days ago, when I was able to progress to a wheelchair and them a tall castered walker. After taking a tour ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks vendingmachine japanese calpis ぐんぐんグルト 3.0
Calpis Taste Calpis Melon Drink: Melon is a very popular flavor in Japan not just for candies but also for drinks like fruit sodas. This drink is the melon-version of the popular beverage calpis, a milky yogurt-flavored drink common enough to find in most Asian supermarkets in the US. This line of products is part of their low-calorie offerings, and it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. It tastes like a slightly milder version of liquid candy, definitely with an aftertaste I'm familiar with from drinking diet so... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Fanta Premier Peach Soda: Fanta has all sorts of flavors in Japan that you can't get in the US, including melon, pineapple, and now peach. It's made with 13% actual juice (Minute Maid branded) to give you a sense of a potential gap between packaging / marketing and actual contents. The soda has a champagne gold color and tastes very much like peach-flavored candies. In particular, I used to love eating Kasugai Japanese fruit gummies that came individually wrapped and were shaped like half domes; this drink is like... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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