Ramune

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ramune is the name given to a group of popular carbonated soft drinks sold in Japan. They are widely known for the unique design of their bottle, which are also called codd-neck bottles after their inventor Hiram Codd. They are made of glass and sealed with a glass marble; the marble is held in place by the pressure of the drink. To move the marble a special opening device is provided with the bottle. The marble is pushed inside the neck of the bottle where it rattles around while drinking. Two little glass nodes inside the bottle allow the drinker to hook the marble in place while drinking. Japanese people find it amusing to watch foreigners drinking Ramune, as it takes practice to learn to stop the marble blocking the flow of drink.

Other than the unique design of their bottles, their flavour is otherwise quite conventional, largely resembling other carbonated lemon-lime sodas.

According to some sources, marble playing in Japan began when children began removing the marbles from the Ramune bottles in order to play marble-games shortly after the introduction of the bottles in 1876.