Novelty Drinks Up North / 北海道・東北限定飲み物

Hokkaido Guarana

Well, I wasn't familiar with guarana, but the can looked cute with its picture of the polar on it. Someone said they were surprised Hokkaido had such a drink as guarana is native to Brazil. But as it says on the can, "It is sweet and tasty" and it was.

自分はガラナはなんだか分からなかったけど、缶に描いてる北極熊が可愛いからつい買っちゃいました。あと日本人的で“限定”という言葉に弱い。誰か北海道にガラナの飲み物あるのが珍しいと言ってた、ガラナの原産地はブラジルですから。ま、缶に書いてる「It is sweet and tasty」（訳して“甘くて美味しい）で、その通りでした。

Sohya no Shio (Sohya Salt) Fantastic Cola Blue / 宗谷の塩 シオコーラ

Okay, my sister and I couldn't resist not trying this. For one thing, the cola is blue. Also one of the main ingredients is salt! Salt? Yep, that's what it says - salt from a place called Sohya. That would Sohya Salt (not soy sauce, oops, sorry for the American joke!). And this being a product of Hokkaido, the label has a picture of the Ezo Brown Bear, with a warning label that says "Beware of Bear" as well. It wasn't as salty as I thought it might be, in fact it didn't taste too different from a regular cola. It was pretty good.

僕と妹がこのコーラを気になって仕方なく購入しました。第一、コーラが青！それに気になるのは宗谷の塩入り。（宗谷の塩使用！あっ、やばい、日本語でもオヤジギャグが出た！）。ラベルも素敵でしょう。北海道らしくエゾ熊が描いてる。それにあの「熊出没注意」はなんか変。味がちょっとしょっぱいと思ったら、全然。普通のコーラ味に近い。結構美味しかったよ。

Dracula's Grape Soda

I don't know if this only sold in Hokkaido but I had to try it just because of the name. How can you not try something with the name Dracula on it?

これは北海道限定かどうか分かりませんが、名前が面白いことだけで買っちゃいました。だって、ドラキュラでしょう。ドラキュラの名前が付いた商品は気になるよ。あと関係ないけど、ブドウは感じで「葡萄」ですね、難しい感じだ。

Lamune Sour

I suppose my American readers would wonder what lamune is. In its most easiest description, it would be similar to Sprite or 7-Up. But there's that word Sour on the can as well, and below that "chu-hi". Yes, this drink includes alcohol. Chu-hi would be Shochu mixed with lemon, lime, or in this case, lamune. This is probably available elsewhere as well, since I bought it in Aomori after participating in the Nebuta Festival.

多分アメリカ人の読者はラムネがしらないでしょう。日本人は普通に分かりますから、下記の最初の文章は訳すことは不要でしょう。これも北海道限定ではないと思う。なぜかと言うと青森で買ったんですから、ねぶた祭りに参加したあと。でも東北限定でもないと思う。

Tohoku Summer Festival Beer


As you can see, this is a product of Sapporo Beer. Its just a regular draft beer, but you can only find this in the Tohoku Region as it depicts seven different festivals that are held throughout the summer. For you trivia buffs, the Big 3 are the Nebuta Festival of Aomori, the Kantou Festival of Akita, and the Tanabata Festival of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture.

缶を見れば分かる、これは札幌ビールの製品です。普通の生ビールですけど、缶は東北限定です。缶に描いてるのは東北の夏祭り。もちろん東北三大祭りと言えば。。。言える？答えは「青森のねぶた祭」、「秋田の竿灯まつり」と「仙台の七夕まつり」。でも何で竿灯と七夕まつり、「まつり」はひらがなでねぶの「まつり」は漢字で書く？ 謎だね。