Water feels very close in Japan.
Vending machines.
Convenience stores.
Drugstores.
Supermarkets.
Train station kiosks.
You can buy it almost anywhere.
And in many restaurants,
water is served automatically,
without even asking.
For Japanese people,
it feels completely normal.
In Japan,
if you turn on the tap,
drinkable water comes out.
That too
is not something guaranteed everywhere in the world.
But abroad,
the feeling can be quite different.
In some European countries,
water is something you order at a restaurant.
In France,
if you want free tap water,
you ask for “une carafe d’eau.”
Otherwise,
water may not appear automatically at the table.
Japanese water is also generally soft water.
It has a gentle taste
that works well with tea,
rice,
and dashi broth.
In many overseas regions,
hard water is more common.
It contains more minerals
and can feel heavier on the tongue.
Even though it is all called “water,”
its character changes from country to country.
In Japan,
there are many kinds of bottled water as well.
Some feel smooth.
Some feel lighter.
Some somehow feel easier to drink.
People experience water differently.
Recently,
I even heard someone say,
“You can feel whether water suits your body just by holding the bottle.”
I do not know the scientific basis for that.
Still,
the fact that people feel
“This water suits me”
or
“This one does not”
is interesting in itself.
As a pharmacist,
people sometimes ask me:
“What should I take medicine with?”
Basically,
medicine should be taken with water.
Tea.
Juice.
Sports drinks.
Coffee.
Some drinks can affect absorption,
or make bitterness stronger.
Especially with powdered medicine for children.
Some medicines today are coated
to reduce bitterness.
However,
certain drinks can break that coating
and suddenly make the medicine taste much more bitter.
At the same time,
for small children,
taking powdered medicine only with water can be difficult.
So in real-life practice,
rather than simply saying
“Only use water,”
we often explain which drinks should be avoided,
while helping parents find a way their child can actually manage.
Medicine is not only about ingredients.
Can the person take it?
Can they continue taking it?
Only then
does medicine truly become usable.
Water is not medicine.
But between medicine and people,
water is almost always there.
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