An Ode to POCARI SWEAT, Japan's Best Summer Drink
It's getting ridiculously hot in Japan. In fact, it's the hottest it's ever been in June, and the shortest a rainy season has ever been.
The heat is to a point where any activities during the day are more or less impossible outside without liters of sweat. But we all need to go outside, commute, go to school, go to the combini. And we can assure you with a full sabukaru cosign that POCARI SWEAT is going to be your best friend.
First introduced in 1980, the iconic POCARI SWEAT is one of Japan's leading sports drinks by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, instantly recognizable by the infamous white & blue package design. The logo was created by renowned typographer Helmut Schmid, and package design by graphic designer Gan Hosoya. At the time, blue was heavily avoided as a color for drinks, as it resembles water and tastelessness, but Hosoya went with blue to resemble the source of life, blue water and white waves.
The product concept behind POCARI SWEAT was "an IV drip you can drink", containing 7 types of ions that exist in the human body. The story behind its birth is also quite interesting. Rokuro Harima, who was in charge of the energy drink Oronamin C, was visiting Mexico for business. He then got a stomach infection from dirty water, and was told by the doctor to drink ginger ale. This wasn't because ginger ale is good for diarrhea, but because Mexica had a shortage of mineral water. It was then he got the idea to make a drink that would get instantly absorbed by the body, POCARI SWEAT.
POCARI SWEAT is also known for their large-scale advertisements, featuring some of Japan & the world's biggest celebrities like The Rolling Stones, TWICE, Cindy Crawford, Takeshi Kitano, and even YOPPI of Hombre Niño.
Today, many variations of POCARI SWEAT exist, like the jelly type, the powder type, the ion water type, and more. There is even a popular drink, dubbed "Oropo", which fans drink after a sauna visit, a mix of Pocari Sweat and Oronamin C. Check out some iconic images of POCARI SWEAT above, and be sure to stay hydrated this summer.
