It is not water that comes out of the tap, but orange juice (courtesy of Matsuyama Airport Building)
In some amazing places, orange juice comes out when you turn on the tap. There is a rumor that "in the houses in Ehime Prefecture, there are some taps that serve orange juice" - this is because Ehime harvests the most citrus fruit in Japan, including mandarin oranges etc. We don't know if the rumor is true, but wouldn't it be great if it were! This story has inspired the creation of "orange juice taps" to help spread the area's appeal. And the idea has also been extended to other regions, with taps that let you enjoy different tastes appearing all over Japan.
Sweet and Tasty!
The Tourism & Local Products Center is a place where they sell all sorts of famous products from Ehime Prefecture, and here, for just 100 yen, you can pour yourself a cup of orange juice to drink - straight from the tap.
At Ehime's Matsuyama Airport, you can also buy a cup and pour yourself some juice to taste from the "orange juice taps" which serve different citrus fruit juices depending on the season. The juice at both places is popular and is said to be “sweet and tasty”.
A tap that serves the area's specialty orange juice at the "Ehime Egao (Smiling) Tourism & Local Products Center" (courtesy of the Ehime Local Promotion Association)
The "Orange Bar" where you can enjoy juices and sweets made from citrus fruits grown in Ehime Prefecture (courtesy of Matsuyama Airport Building)
Orange juice on tap can also be found in Tokyo's Asakusa
In Asakusa, one of Tokyo's famous tourist spots, there is also a shopping center that sells food and souvenirs from all over Japan, and here they also have "orange juice on tap". At the booth for Ehime Prefecture in the center, three types of orange juice, direct from the farm, come out of the taps - these differ from season to season and include types such as the Satsuma Mandarin Orange etc. People like to drink all three to compare them.
“Orange juice taps” that give out three types of juice (courtesy of Marugoto Nippon)
“Marugoto Nippon” - a shopping center where specialty products from all over Japan are gathered together (courtesy of Marugoto Nippon)
A variety of different taps are springing up all over Japan
"Taps serving tomato juice" can be found at events in Tokai City (Aichi Prefecture) where a food company known for its ties to tomato products was born. Such events always attract crowds of people.
Taps that serve tomato juice at an event in an area that is home to Kagome - a food manufacturer that deals with a lot of tomato-related products (courtesy of Tokai City)
Taps serving crab soup stock (courtesy of Yonago Airport Building)
Tottori Prefecture is known as the best area in Japan for catching crabs and here, at Yonago Kitaro Airport, you could sample a delicious warm soup full of crab extract, free of charge. In 2018, "crab soup taps” were set up, for the winter season only, and attracted crowds of tourists both from Japan and from abroad.
There are "apple juice taps" in Aomori Prefecture - an area well known for producing apples. And in Kagawa Prefecture, which is well known for traditional Sanuki Udon noodles, there are taps that serve warm udon soup stock. You can find these taps all over the place - in airports, in shopping centers and at events etc.
There are even taps that serve noodle soup in Kagawa Prefecture (courtesy of Takamatsu Airport)
“Apple juice taps” at an event in Aomori Prefecture (courtesy of Misawa Airport Terminal)
Fighting off the common cold with a drink of tea
Shizuoka and Kyoto are well known as tea producing areas, and here in some elementary and junior schools tea comes out of the taps at the drinking stations so that children get used to drinking tea from a young age. Every day pupils drink the sterilized tea or use it to rinse out their mouths, aware of its health properties. There are a great many ingredients in tea that are said to be good in helping to prevent colds and it is thought to have a good health effects.
Green tea is served up at school drinking stations (courtesy of Shimada City's Board of Education, Shizuoka Prefecture)
So what kind of tap would you be interested in? If you find one of these fantastic taps in Japan, why don’t you try it?
