Mystery of Japanese fizzy bottle

Tag: bottle packaging machine

You're looking at a cult object. As cults go, this is not such a bad one.

It's centered on a Japanese soft drink shown here, Ramune. But it's actually the bottle that gives the cult its special fizz.You can buy the drink at Asian restaurants and grocery stores ($1.39, Whole Grain Fresh Market, Westmont).

What people seem to find most captivating about this carbonated soda pop is the packaging, which involves a plunger, a clear glass marble and four steps printed on the label under "How to Open."

The challenge of opening the beverage is just part of the mystique. For more on that, there are 31 videos on YouTube.com, including one labeled "Doofus vs. Ramune." The title says it all.

In opening the bottle, there is a pretty good chance that you'll get sprayed with the sticky soda that fans say tastes like bubblegum Sprite. The plunging process frees up the glass ball that then rattles when you tip the bottle to drink.

The drinking part is funky too because it takes some time to figure out exactly the right angle to keep the marble from blocking the opening.

Once you've solved the opening and drinking mysteries, many cultists seem to want to retrieve the marble. It's not easy.

You can risk eye damage by smashing the bottle to smithereens with a hammer. Or you can risk hand surgery by whittling away at the very hard plastic top that keeps the little ball in the bottle.

One fanatic leads you through the cutting method of "liberating" the marble in insanely detailed instructions that promise results in "under an hour" (leadpencil.net/ramune).

Cindy Choi, owner of Fuji Grill in Forest Park, says the drink is especially popular with kids who clamor for "the marble drink" because "it's fun to open."

Which makes it especially killjoy that Ramune bottles come with a half-dozen parental warnings, including, "Adults should open the bottle for small children."