Akagi Gari Garikun Ice Candy Soda Popsicles: These are popular soda-flavored popsicles that taste like a combination of Sprite and Ramune, with a slight pear flavor but mostly tasting of sugar. It has an ice-blue color and is sized just like fruit popsicles in America. Overall, it's so-so - something you might like as a kid but not particularly interesting or delicious as an adult. 3.0/5.0
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Cheerio Melon Cream Soda: Got this bottle from a 100 ¥ vending machine in Tokyo. The flavor is sort of like a fruit-equivalent of Mountain Dew in that the sugar and flavor concentration is shocking, but I actually kind of like it. It strikes a really good balance of fruity and creamy and does taste like (an extremely sweet) version of a fruit soda float. In that way, it's exactly as advertised. But I can't drink much of it in a single sitting because it's so sweet. 3.5/5.0
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Chanmery Peach Soda: Chanmery is like the Japanese equivalent of Martinelli's, meant to be a celebratory champagne-equivalent drink for kids. Its main innovation is a "twist and pop cap" that's both threaded and depressed such that opening it leads the built-up pressure of the bottle to push the cap upward, emitting a satisfying pop sound not unliking uncorking a bottle of champagne. The bottle has just enough for about 2 servings, which is to say quite small. The peach soda has a strong fruit flavor that is ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Fanta Socata Soda: This is a limited edition vending-machine exclusive in Japan from Fanta, the first in a series they're calling 'Delicious Flavours of the World,' where they introduce flavors only available in other regions of the world to the Japanese market. I found out about it because I was intrigued by the name SOCATA?! on the label, with the universal white and blue color scheme of mystery flavors (e.g. White Air Heads, Mystery Oreo, etc.) The label also features a castle in the background, hinting a... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Coca-Cola Strawberry Coke: I saw this bottle at Family Mart, and while I typically drink diet soda, I decided this was too interesting to pass on. Strawberry coke is a Japan-only product introduced only earlier this year in January. Since I enjoy cherry coke, I was interested in the soda giant’s take on a beloved fruit, particularly in Japan (I’ve seen several boxes of light pink strawberries going for an inordinate sum here). In color, the coke looks exactly the same as regular Coca-Cola, but the taste is undeniab... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Vivit's Peach Mix Soda: This was a vending machine purchase made out of dehydration. In the US, I had solely associated Ito En with calorie-free bottles of ice tea, but they own a wide variety of brands of sweet drinks in Japan. This one is extremely sweet and reminds me a lot of ramune, but tasting of peach instead of pear. It's also very fizzy and one of the more carbonated drinks I've had here. Maybe it's the nostalgia of drinking ramune as a kid, but I really liked this one, even though I could tell it was ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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