All the Whey

Today it rained buckets. It started before I went to bed last night, was still going when I got up and so far hasn't stopped. When the weather is wet Tokyo becomes a plastic sea of umbrellas and is quite hard to navigate. The average hight that the people hold their umbrellas at is about the same as the average high of my eyes, and a simple walk down the street means big danger. I was uncomfortably pronged in the nose a couple of times but as of yet haven't lost the gift of vision.

In other news, I've finally solved my milk problem: Calpis Water.

Calpis is a very popular drink in Japan. The semi-opaque white liquid looks like it should more properly be spelled with an "ow" than an "al" and for this reason I'd been keeping away from it. Today, however, curiosity got the better of me and I bought a bottle from a vending machine, crossed myself and poured it down the hatch.

As is often the case with Japanese food, what initially looks or sounds disgusting turns out be fantastic (Raw fish anyone? Sweet beans? Horse meat?). Calpis is no exception. It has a sweet, creamy, lemony taste- like a melted citrus mini milk. The bottle boasts "Happy Refresh" and I'm pleased to say it made me both happy and refreshed.

I'll certainly be drinking more Calpis, I just hope the name isn't a lie and it actually has calcium in it!