Clear Liquids Aren’t Always Water in Vending Machines in Japan

I’ve been to Japan 3 times in my life - once when I was 5 during my uncle and aunt’s honeymoon, another time when I graduated from college, and another time in 2008 with my girlfriend.

Now I’m not going to pretend that I know Japanese, because I don’t, but there are certain things when you go to Japan that you shouldn’t assume… like clear liquids in vending machines are automatically water. *Buzz*! Wrong. In fact, there’s a myriad of things it could be.

I learned this during the trip when I graduated from college. I was so thirsty one day that I decided to get water from the vending machine. I picked the drink with the fanciest see-through liquid I can find, not noticing the 0 cal label on the side, and succumbed into buying it. I quickly realized after taking a huge swig of the thing that it wasn’t water at all - it was, in fact, some variant on Gatorade that was so sweet that I had to buy water to wash it down. Yes, I’m not a big fan of Gatorade sadly.

So if you’re dehydrated at a train station in Japan or as soon as you touch down from the plane, look for the word “water” placed on the bottle or can itself. I know that it’s quite an overwhelming feeling being in a foreign country, but this is a difference of looking for that one special word that’s going to make all the difference when you drink it. After all, no one likes it when they have absolutely no idea what they’re eating or drinking!