Equivalent to a Rice Ball

I’m sure that most of you have read about Japan’s famous Engrish by know. In the event that you haven’t, let me introduce you to a bit of Engrish and a bit of Japanese culture.

I went running on a couple of occasions in Tokyo usually early in the morning and without a proper meal. I raided the mini-bar and found the following very strange drink. I saw it has the word “Energy” so I picked it up and gave it a try. What came out was quite a shock.

Japan drink equivalent to one rice ball.

Once I detached the top of the integrated straw, I quickly realized that this “Energy” drink wasn’t liquid. It was then that I gave closer inspection the packaging shown above. This drink was a gelatinous, semi-chunky sweet pulp in my mouth. Pretty vile in texture but passable for flavor.

The boys and I were cracking up about this thing the whole trip. “Equivalent to a rice ball”??? Is that some standard unit of measurement in Japan? I have to say, it did do me right, though. Good thing, too, as I was certainly facing a challenge or task.