Seasonal Sodas

There have been a few interesting limited-edition sodas released this spring and summer, and I've finally gotten around to tasting of all of them. Coca-cola released a peach coke this spring and followed up with a clear coke this summer. Pepsi has released a line of J-Colas, as they're called, with Japanese art on the label. This line includes J-cola, J-Cola zero, and J-Cola midnight which has a currant flavor.

Peach Coke

This tastes exactly as it sounds. It's definitely coke, but with a really strong peach scent and flavor. I found it kind of overwhelming, and not exactly an improvement, but definitely interesting to try.

Clear Coke

                  

I was in elementary school when crystal pepsi came out, and I remember how excited I was when my mom let us buy some - we rarely got to have sodas. I was way to young to remember how it tasted, but I liked to imagine it was similar to this Clear Coke. This is a zero calorie soda, which I don't mind, but it does that artificial sweetener flavor. It also tastes lemony, and has a strong caramel flavor which was strange since it obviously doesn't have any caramel coloring. John thought it tasted like Sprite, but I disagree.

J-Cola 

                   

John thought this tasted a lot like Dr. Pepper, which is interesting because Japanese people tend to hate the flavor of Dr. Pepper. I thought it was fine, but just tasted like any old cola. I also tried J-Cola zero, and couldn't really tell you how it's different from Pepsi's other zero calorie soda. But not bad.

J-Cola Midnight

This one was really hard to find - we actually didn't see it until we were on vacation in Hokkaido. J-Cola midnight is a cola with cassis (black currant) flavor added. I actually thought it was really good. The cassis is fairly prominent, but blends into the cola flavor very well.

Summer Vacation

A few weeks ago John and I took a spontaneous summer vacation! We decided to go up to Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, for the first part of the week, and then pop down south to Kyushu for the final weekend of our trip.

Hokkaido was wonderful, much cooler than the hot humid weather Tokyo has been having, and with lots of wide open outdoor spaces. Our first stop was Noboribetsu, a small onsen town that's famous for its volcanic sulfur vents and geysers. After a night there we went to Sapporo, the biggest city in Hokkaido for several days, and then went out to Otaru and Yoichi. Otaru is a small port town with a lovely canal and old western style stone buildings. And Yoichi is the home of a major Japanese whiskey distillery. We really enjoyed seeing it all, and also relaxing, lying around reading, and spending time in coffee shops.

Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu, reminded us a lot of Tokyo but moved at a much more casual pace. In one ramen shop (that is very famous and had a line out the door) we were told to take our time and enjoy our meal! At ramen shops in Tokyo you are expected to eat as quickly as possible and get out, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

Both Sapporo and Fukuoka are know for ramen - miso up north, and pork broth in the south, and we ate our hearts out. We liked everywhere we went except for one place. Quick tip - if you find yourself in Sapporo, Yukikaze was incredibly good! And if you find yourself in Fukuoka we thought Issou did not live up to the hype.

Sulfur vents in Noboribetsu

John bought me this adorable coke

Coffee and cheesecake, plus John in the mirror

Our hotel in Sapporo had a fire pit on the roof

The old Sapporo brewery

Yukikaze ramen - so delicious!

Yoichi is old-fashioned and uses direct fire stills

Yoichi distillery

The canal in Otaru

Drinks on the beach in Kyushu

Fukuoka at sunset

If you're not having cake for breakfast you're not doing vacation right