Kodomo No Nomimono (meaning “Children’s Drink”) can be found on shelves in supermarkets around the country come holiday season. This is not a new product for this season; it has been around for a couple of years, delighting children and stirring interesting conversations in households around Japan. A non-alcoholic beverage, Kodomo No Nomimono is a “beer” designed so kids can join in on celebrations without feeling left out when the grownups start pouring alcohol.

The bottle is designed similarly to your typical beer bottle, and pouring the drink in a glass has a similar effect to the real deal, with a beautiful white foam forming at the top. Perfect for toasts at year-end gatherings or family parties. Can adults enjoy it, too?

It says on the back of the bottle to “properly cool down” the beverage, pour it into a glass, and join the cheer! Kanpai!

Looks real enough to me! The similarities to real beer stop there, however, as this is a completely non-alcoholic drink. In fact, it’s a lightly carbonated apple-flavored soda! I found it quite pleasant, as apple happens to be one of my personal favorite flavors in beverages. However, the best part of the experience has to be the pouring of the drink into a glass. It looked so real! I don’t particularly enjoy the flavor of beer, so while I might not be the age target, I have to say I would consider grabbing one of these again as the holidays come around!

As much surprise and confusion I felt when I first found this drink in a supermarket, I’m convinced it invites some interesting conversations among families as they gather to celebrate the end of the year.

Now, here is a recent talk of the town! Drinkable mayonnaise, a bold creation that turns a staple condiment into a beverage. Japanese mayonnaise is loved internationally as well as by locals and can be found mixed in with - or topped on - some of the most iconic dishes in the country. This time, however, company Toyobeverage has released a, you heard it right, drinkable mayonnaise! To make things clear, this drink does not contain any mayonnaise, despite its strong appeal. This is rather a “mayonnaise-inspired” drink, aiming to resemble the flavor of the real thing.

On their official website, the developer states that they “created a mayonnaise-flavored drink that maintains the delicate balance of mayonnaise's unique tanginess, saltiness, and umami.” They continue, explaining that their focus was on “how closely we could replicate the taste of mayonnaise, ensuring it would be appreciated even by devoted mayonnaise enthusiasts.”

Furthermore, regarding the package design, they state that “since this is a test release, we’ve kept the design simple by stripping away elaborate elements. Even with its simplicity, we believe the illustrations and product name are enough to convey what’s inside.” If this is a test release, we might have to keep our eyes open for further updates or developments!

Alright, straight to taste testing! This drink comes in a sealed cup with a straw, and you are not able to see the color while drinking. Pouring it into a glass, it doesn’t have that yellowish tint that Japanese mayonnaise tends to have, but rather a darkish cream-white color. Well, since it’s technically supposed to be had without opening the cup, they might not have focused all too much on getting the color right!

I have to admit my heart was beating ever so slightly the moments before I went in for the first sip. I bet you’ve never thought of “drinking” mayonnaise, however much you like it. I know I haven’t! Well, my nerves could not stop my curiosity, I had a sip. Verdict? Yeah, it did indeed taste like mayonnaise, a slightly sour, silky, liquid mayonnaise! Feel tempted? This drink comes across as a novelty rather than a source of refreshment and has been all over social media, even weeks after its release. If you are a mayonnaise lover or seeking a daring new challenge on your travels in Japan, look no further than your closest Lawson convenience store!

Calpis lovers assemble! If you didn’t know, Calpis is a milky drink made by lactic acid fermentation, widely popular both in the country and internationally. Calpis regularly releases time-limited flavors such as grape, muscat, and melon. This winter, Calpis has collaborated with a fresh cream specialty store, releasing their second product together after seeing success with the 2023 release “Hokkaido Fresh Cream & Calpis.” This winter’s release is inspired by the collaborator's popular dessert, "Ultimate Fresh Cream Cheesecake," combining the creamy richness of cheesecake with the sweet and tangy taste of Calpis.

The packaging similarly has a collaboration design, including images of cheesecake, the collaborator's iconic cow logo, and both brands’ signature colors.

So, how well does a delicious drink pair with a delicious dessert? Rather well, if you ask me! If you are not familiar with the flavor of Calpis, you might get slightly confused while trying to figure out which flavor belongs to which collaborator. But as a professed Calpis-junkie, I definitely could pick up on the different flavors mixed together. The sweetness of the cream naturally took away some of the freshness of a standard Calpis drink and provided instead a nice sugary kick similar to a milk tea. I must say that I tasted the cream more than the cheesecake, had I not known what flavors were mixed, I might have guessed cream alone.

This would be a nice drink to keep in your bag and sip on throughout your day exploring the streets of Japan this winter!

Whoa, now here is a hefty drink dessert! Kōcha Kaden Nomu Milk Tea Purin is a dessert beverage from Coca-Cola Japan's Kōcha Kaden series, which you might know from their Royal Milk Tea or other fruit-flavored teas. This product was released on December 3, 2024, a winter-perfect drink that combines milk tea and pudding in a fabulous way! While the packaging shows a bin of pudding being scooped with a spoon, this drink comes with a thick straw that you poke through the plastic film cover to enjoy the drink wherever you are.

A heartwarming treat for dessert lovers!

As I am familiar with the brand’s Royal Milk Tea, I thought I had an idea of what to expect flavor-wise. I was all the more curious about the texture, wondering if this would end up just being a thicker, creamier version of the classic milk tea. Well, after trying it out, I was left with only a few words. Fantastic. Delicious. Creamy. Rich. Drinkable pudding! What a genius way to combine two delicious products!

The texture is very similar to your typical chocolate pudding, slightly softer for easier consumption with a straw. The flavor is, as expected, very similar to their Royal Milk Tea, a comforting sugar kick! These components go perfectly hand in hand. If you see someone frantically scanning the beverage corner of a convenience store somewhere south of Tokyo, it might be me out to get seconds!

The last drink on today’s agenda is somewhat of a mystery. Morinaga Milk has released "Lipton Secret Milk Tea Party: Mysterious Sweets Flavor" starting December 10, 2024. This is a milk tea infused with the flavor of a “popular dessert,” which seems to be a common theme for time-limited products this winter. The trick is they have not yet officially revealed the flavor (as of writing this article), leaving consumers guessing away!

Funnily, to coincide with the launch, a campaign called "Guess the Mysterious Sweets Flavor" is running on X (formerly Twitter) from December 10 to December 25, where participants can guess the flavor by quoting the campaign post with a hashtag and submitting their predictions. On December 26, the correct answer will be revealed on Morinaga's website. Among the correct guesses, five winners will be chosen by lottery to receive a set of Lipton-branded goods. What a fun way to promote a product!

Going into the taste testing of this, I must say my confidence was high. I had a great plan: to quickly pinpoint the flavor but then keep the answer to myself, leaving you readers on a cliffhanger! However, I ended up as confused as I’m sure many other consumers must be. Apart from the obvious milk tea flavor, there is SOMETHING there. Something sweet... In my confusion, I asked a trusted acquaintance for their take on it, and they were left just as wondering as I was.

A quick look at the Japanese side of X lets me know that others are feeling as lost as we are, with comments like “It’s sweet, I recognize the flavor, but I can’t pinpoint it, urgh!” while others are taking straight guesses. Strawberry milk, condensed milk, and almond jelly are some of the recurring comments that pop up while scrolling through the feed.

I will have to come back with an update after the official reveal has been made. Until then, let’s keep guessing!

If you are visiting Japan this winter and want to enjoy something out of the ordinary, consider heading out to find one or all of these quirky time-limited items!

* All prices include tax
* This article is written in December 2024, covering time-limited products.