Mutant muffin

Is this what happens when muffins get cancer?  Nope.  Some company in Japan actually sells muffins like this.  As you can probably tell it's a muffin (I believe chocolate chip) fused with an Oreo.  They also sell a muffin fused with a lump of cheese but I didn't have the balls to try it.  

Icelandic Booze

Given how badly in trouble Iceland's economy is, due to the collapse of essentially all of their financial institutions, I thought it would be an appropriate time to do a post on Icelandic booze. There are a few different kinds but it all tastes roughly the same (think Buckley's cough syrup but instead of getting rid of your cold, guarantees you will feel sick).  According to this poster Quentin Tarantino has been quoted as saying "This is what poison must taste like".  Now that the government of Iceland is about to go bankrupt I bet they wish it really was poison.

Nikka Whiskey Black

Nikka Whiskey Black, a mixture of whiskey and water, which I found in Japan, is not in and of itself that weird.  Plenty of people drink whiskey and water, especially a lot of old people.  What is weird though is that it's 9% alcohol.  That's enough alcohol to have most Japanese people vomiting like the little girl in the exorcist.  Also it's sold out of a vending machine.  I mean how many 70 year olds could there really be that are so desperate to get piss your pants drunk, that they need this stuff to be conveniently placed in vending machines all around Tokyo?

Pocari Sweat

Pocari Sweat, a Japanese sports drink, which has the same translucent milky appearance as sperm, although thankfully not the same texture (I can't comment on the taste), has been amusing English speaking tourists for close to three decades now.  Originally launched in Japan in1980 by the  Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company, Pocari Sweat is now available in much of Asia, and some of the Middle East.  

According to the front of the bottle "Pocari Sweat is a healthy beverage that smoothly supplies the lost water and electrolytes lost during perspiration."  What I would like to know is if Pocari Sweat is so popular, why Otsuka Pharmaceutical has not launched an energy bar that is a cross between a Snickers and a Kit Kat that "tastily supplies the fibre and peanuts lost during excretion" and called it Pocari Shit?

Crunky

Today's snack, Crunky, a kind of chocolate covered corn puff is actually very good. It's something I found in Tokyo and to be honest I bought it because I just liked the name. In fact before I bought it I'd seen it in a convenience store near my hotel and I thought the name was "Crunky Time". After I left I found myself just walking around muttering to myself "Crunky Time. That's got a nice ring to it. Crunky Time", so I went back and bought some. Turns out it's just called "Crunky" but I would still put it in my top five product names of all time. If you're interested, number one is also a Japanese product. It's made by Suntory and I believe it's called "Life Partner Zero Style". Amazingly this is an energy drink and has nothing to do with

If I can find some Life Partner Zero Style before I leave Tokyo I will do a post on it too. I am not absolutely sure if it definitely is called "Life Partner Zero Style" but it definitely has all of those words on the front of the bottle.

Appologies in advance if this turns out to be something available all over the world marketed by Little John or some other rapper.

Sausages?

For most of the food in convenience stores that you buy in Japan, you really just have to guess what it is. The majority of items aren't labelled in English and let's be honest they eat such bizarre things that most of the time you're guess is going to be a bit wide of the mark. Below is a very good example of this.



















Looking at the image on the packet, you think to yourself "this must be a package of cut up hot dogs". Why the Japanese would sell a packet of cut up hot dogs though is besides the point. I mean why do they eat any of the things they do? (examples: Sea Urchin? Looks and tastes like an unbrushed tongue; Pork knuckle? It's a pigs fucking foot. )



















Pulling it out of the package and smelling it you start to have your doubts. Pop it in your mouth, it's definitely not a sausage related product. Luckily, given the myriad other things it could be, it's just cheese. Just cheese. Phew.