Local Drinks

1. 緑茶

   Ryokucha

   Green tea

   Usage

   The umbrella term for Japan's unfermented teas. The free tea served with a meal is usually green tea, drunk without sugar

   Grammar Note

   Saying just "ocha" normally means green tea. Sencha, bancha, gyokuro, genmaicha and hōjicha are all kinds of green tea

2. ほうじ茶

   Hōjicha

   Hojicha (roasted green tea)

   Usage

   Sencha or bancha roasted over high heat. Brown and toasty, lower in caffeine, and suited to evenings or after a meal

3. 番茶

   Bancha

   Bancha (coarse green tea)

   Usage

   Everyday green tea made from mature leaves and stems — the cup you are typically served in a diner or inn

4. 玄米茶

   Genmaicha

   Genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice)

   Usage

   Sencha or bancha with roasted rice added. Nutty in aroma and mild in astringency

5. 麦茶

   Mugicha

   Barley tea

   Usage

   Roasted whole barley steeped in water. Usually drunk chilled in summer, and caffeine-free

   Grammar Note

   Called a "tea" although no tea leaf is used; the older word is "mugiyu". People with barley allergy should check the ingredients

6. 昆布茶

   Kobucha

   Kobucha (kelp tea)

   Usage

   A savoury, salty drink of chopped or powdered kelp in hot water, often offered at inns and souvenir shops

   Grammar Note

   Read "kobucha", though "konbucha" is also heard. It is not the same drink as English "kombucha" (fermented tea)

7. そば湯

   Sobayu

   Sobayu (buckwheat cooking water)

   Usage

   The water the soba was boiled in. Brought out after cold soba, it is poured into the leftover dipping sauce and drunk

   Grammar Note

   Written 蕎麦湯. It contains dissolved buckwheat, so anyone with a buckwheat allergy must not drink it

8. 甘酒

   Amazake

   Amazake (sweet rice drink)

   Usage

   A sweet drink of rice fermented with rice kōji. Sold hot around shrines at New Year and at festivals

   Grammar Note

   ⚠ The kōji-made version is essentially non-alcoholic, but the version made from sake lees contains alcohol. Children, pregnant travellers and non-drinkers should always ask which it is

9. ラムネ

   Ramune

   Ramune (marble-bottle soda)

   Usage

   A carbonated drink in a bottle sealed by a glass marble. A fixture of summer festival stalls and beach huts

   Grammar Note

   From English "lemonade". The same word also names a powdery pressed candy flavoured to imitate the drink

10. サイダー

    Saidā

    Cider (clear lemon-lime soda)

    Usage

    A clear, sweet carbonated soft drink, available from any vending machine or convenience store

    Grammar Note

    ⚠ The word comes from English "cider", but Japanese saidā is a non-alcoholic soft drink, not the alcoholic apple cider

11. 缶コーヒー

    Kan kōhī

    Canned coffee

    Usage

    Coffee in a can. Vending machines sell it hot in winter — red labelling means hot, blue means cold

    Grammar Note

    "Bitō" means lightly sweetened; "mutō" or "burakku" means unsweetened. With no such label, expect it to be sweet

12. お冷や

    Ohiya

    Ohiya (glass of cold water)

    Usage

    The complimentary cold water served in restaurants. Asking for "omizu" works just as well

    Grammar Note

    ⚠ Without the honorific "o", the bare word "hiya" means unheated sake in a drinking establishment. Ask for "ohiya" or "omizu" if you want water

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