{"id":6346,"date":"2026-05-16T16:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6346"},"modified":"2026-05-16T16:30:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:30:55","slug":"7-eleven-japan-now-sells-canned-water-but-does-funky-packaging-mean-funky-flavortaste-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6346","title":{"rendered":"7-Eleven Japan now sells canned water, but does funky packaging mean funky flavor?[Taste test]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733133\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-1.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"414\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Lotte\u2019s canned water makes its convenience store debut<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The first time you take a look at the drink section in a Japanese<strong> convenance store<\/strong>, you might be surprised by some of the packaging, specifically the things that you can buy in cans. Canned coffee and cocktails can be found in pretty much every convenience store in the country, and while not as common, canned teas aren\u2019t all that shocking to see here either.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But even we were surprised to find out that 7-Eleven Japan now sells canned water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733134\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-2.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"578\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Day<\/strong> is a brand of canned water from <strong>Lotte<\/strong>, who\u2019s best known as a candy and snack food maker. They\u2019re now in the water game too, though, and while the black-can The Day is carbonated, the red version isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u25bc The Day went on sale through online shops and discount retailers in September, but just made its convenience store debut at 7-Eleven on May 5.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733135\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-3.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"609\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The visual design looks more like something you\u2019d see for an energy drink or beer<\/strong>, and the contrast feels even more pronounced when you see The Day next to other brands of water, which tend to go with nature imagery and transparencies as their main visual motifs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733136\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-4.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"523\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Lotte says they chose The Day\u2019s name to symbolize its concept as <strong>\u201ca water that lifts your spirts\u201d<\/strong> and will give you a great day. <strong>There are no additional energy boosting chemicals or supplements added, though<\/strong>. The Day is simply canned natural mineral water, sourced from the town of Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture, according to the can\u2019s text.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733137\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-5.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"634\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u25bc And yes, we did accidentally drop this can on our way back from 7-Eleven, leading to the first time in our lives that we can say that we dented our water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733138\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-6.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"573\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733139\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-7.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"589\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Once back in our taste-testing center, we cracked open the non-sparkling The Day for a comparison with Suntory\u2019s Tennensui, one of Japan\u2019s most popular bottled water brands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733140\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-8.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"474\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oddly enough, while the red-can The Day is supposed to be the non-sparkling variety, after we poured some into a glass we did still see some air bubbles<\/strong>. Not so many that we\u2019d call it a full-on carbonated beverage, and this might just be a side-effect of the canning process, as opposed to an intentional design choice, but still, the water wasn\u2019t completely still.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733141\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-9.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"629\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Taste-testing duties fell to our ace reporter Mr. Sato, and he says The Day\u2019s mouthfeel is smooth, imparting a refreshing sensation as it glides down your throat<\/strong>. He reports <strong>no unpleasant metallic taste or aroma either<\/strong>, so while it feels unusual to be drinking water from a can, the flavor isn\u2019t funny, and is perfectly satisfying.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-733142\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/cw-10.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"731\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>But why has Lotte chosen to put The Day in cans, and not the plastic bottles that are the industry norm?<\/strong> In its press release, the company says it sees the day as \u201cOne answer to the needs of a new age of wellness,\u201d and the choice of more easily recyclable aluminum seems to be an extension of that philosophy. The uniqueness factor probably doesn\u2019t hurt either, as the packaging and design really do stand out against other brands of water. Lotte might also be hoping that the more substantial feel of a can helps position The Day as a premium product, and at a price of 158 yen (US$1) for a 480-mililiter (16.2-ounce) can, it is a little on the pricy side, as most other water brands are 140 yen or less for a 500-miiliter bottle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There is one clear drawback to The Day being in a can, though, which is that once you pop the top, there\u2019s no way to close it back up again<\/strong>. This isn\u2019t an issue for coffee or alcoholic beverages, since they tend to be things where people drink the entire can shortly after opening it. Regardless of whether it started out hot or iced, coffee tends to taste significantly worse once it gets to room temperature, and beer and cocktails aren\u2019t the kind of drinks most people go walking around with. A lot of people, though, buy a bottle of water while commuting to work or out on a walk, take a few sips, then put the cap back on so they can toss the bottle in their bag and have some more when they feel thirsty again a little later on.<\/p>\n<p>By nature of being in a can, The Day doesn\u2019t lend itself to that \u201cI\u2019ll have a little now, and then the rest later on\u201d style of consumption, making it a much less convenient choice than its competitors. On the other hand, being locked into drinking the whole can once you\u2019ve opened it does promote taking the time to mindfully hydrate, and with <a href=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/2026\/04\/21\/japanese-government-creates-new-word-for-cruelly-hot-summer-days\/\">Japan\u2019s cruelly hot kokushobi-level summer weather<\/a> on the way, maybe that\u2019s not such a bad thing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photos \u00a9SoraNews24<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RocketNews24En\">Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RocketNews24En\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lotte\u2019s canned water makes its convenience store debut. The first time you take a look at the drink section in a Japanese convenance store, you might be surprised by some&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}