Saturday May 26, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Do you prefer tap water or bottled water for drinking?

Have Your Say Jul. 11, 2009 - 04:50AM JST ( 34 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

34 Comments

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sk4ekJul. 11, 2009 - 08:20AM JST

Tokyo's tap water tastes perfectly fine, but you never know, so I use a Brita filter pitcher and just refill the same two or three 500ml PET bottles from it for convenience (washing them from time to time).
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BettingJul. 11, 2009 - 09:13AM JST

As I've got one kidney I prefer bottled water as I believe it to be cleaner (not that I've ever done scientific tests on it or anything of course).
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hoserfellaJul. 11, 2009 - 09:35AM JST

Betting- thats a fallacy. Ordinary tap water is held to much stricter government standards than bottled water.
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stirfryJul. 11, 2009 - 09:37AM JST

hoserfella: yeah but this is the JAPANESE government we're talking about...standards are ignored, made up on the spot, or simply bribed away if they're an inconvenience
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IntricateJul. 11, 2009 - 09:46AM JST

Is there actually a difference? As far as I know bottled water is either of the same or lower quality as tap water. Lower, because there's more stuff left in bottled water (minerals etc. that can be healthy) Also, in some areas of my country the water that comes out of the tap is the same water they sell bottled at higher rates elsewhere.
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StatisticianJul. 11, 2009 - 10:21AM JST

Tap water
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SargeJul. 11, 2009 - 10:52AM JST

"Is there actually a difference?"

Yes. The price.

Why pay tens of thousands of yen for bottled water over a year when you can buy a 3000 yen water purifier which will make your tap water taste like bottled water for a year?
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sk4ekJul. 11, 2009 - 11:08AM JST

Of course if you shop at Costco then a year's supply of bottled water will only run you about 20,000 yen...
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FoxieJul. 11, 2009 - 11:41AM JST

Bottled water - it tastes better and I drink it for its mineral content
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pawatanJul. 11, 2009 - 11:41AM JST

Like Sarge I just put a filter on my tap. Tastes just like bottled water for the cost of a few big bottles. Why spend more?
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seesawJul. 11, 2009 - 11:53AM JST

Why pay tens of thousands of yen for bottled water over a year when you can buy a 3000 yen water purifier which will make your tap water taste like bottled water for a year?

Sarge: thanks for the idea!..:)
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cow76Jul. 11, 2009 - 02:28PM JST

Water purifier? I just drink water straight from the tap. Tastes fine. People who pay for bottled water (and aren't millionaires) seriously need their heads examined.
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the_harperJul. 11, 2009 - 02:30PM JST

I don't know about Tokyo but in country areas of Japan most of the tap water is ground water, and I'm not sure how much treatement it receives before arriving at your tap. The tap water at one of the schools where I taught tasted so foul I hated using it to make tea or coffee for the adult students. After I left, I heard that there was a furor over people (especially children) getting sick from the tap water in that town because the ground water had been contaminated by chemicals from the factories. In the town where I lived, I ended up drinking the water from the spring at the local shrine. It was free, and at least the ground it filtered through was covered in forest not factories.
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najackJul. 11, 2009 - 03:35PM JST

I prefer to be on the safe side so I use a tap filter cartridge which is quite expensive but lasts about four months. On the other hand, how many of us actually run tests on tap water to know what's in it? What about all those farm chemicals and factory preservatives we take in when we eat? We can all go paranoid thinking too hard about this.
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darbysanJul. 11, 2009 - 04:25PM JST

after the kettle has boiled with tap water once the left over has cooled put that into a container to use later and you have the of both worlds purified and a great taste of water in any location in the world its great
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DisillusionedJul. 11, 2009 - 04:35PM JST

A little known fact: When Tokyo's was water system was put into place nearly a century ago the piping used was lead lined for dexterity. They have since spent the last half a century replacing the lead lined pipes. Have the Tokyo dwellers every wondered what that pink smear is that builds up around the shower recess and on the water level of the dunny bowl? It's lead oxide! And, you drink it? Enjoy! - Call me Ripply if you like, but it is as true as the day is long.
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Sanatan22Jul. 11, 2009 - 05:35PM JST

Since I came to Japan 25 years ago I have been using tap water run through an active carbon water filter to get rid of the chlorine and other nasty chemicals. It tastes as good as bottled water if not better and it costs me nothing more than once a year a new filter cartridge. The whole bottled water thing is a scam and bad for the environment as well since they pump water away from natural places so there the trees die.
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studebakerJul. 11, 2009 - 06:11PM JST

Save water, drink beer.
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SargeJul. 11, 2009 - 08:50PM JST

"Of course if you shop at Costco then a year's supply of bottled water will only run you about 20,000 yen"

To shop at Costco you have to spend 4000 yen for a member's card, so if you buy a 3000 yen water purifier you save 21,000 yen, plus all the trips to Costco and lugging those bottles of water.

Jordan fades back...
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CosJul. 11, 2009 - 09:24PM JST

That depends where. You mean in my secondary house in Vietnamese jungle or in town in Osaka ?

Sitting weeks in PET pollutes the water, not much, but we drink a lot over a lifetime. And the whole thing of bottling, merchandizing, recycling is pure waste. Getting glass bottles or big ballons is possible for a restaurant or a business, but that would cost an eye and a leg at home. So the local tap water + brita filters for drinking is the best here. In addition of sanitary controls, a citizen group double-checks it regularly in case the water company would cheat and the officials would be corrupted. Nobody controls as much the bottled water. I don't need to filter the water to boil pasta, etc.
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XinefJul. 11, 2009 - 11:12PM JST

I prefer some brands of bottled water, but can only afford tap water...
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MeanRingoJul. 12, 2009 - 12:37AM JST

I used to use the "Cooking Water" from the refilling station of the local Kansai Super because I felt the tap water smelled and tasted funny (though the water in the area was considered higher quality than most areas in Kansai). When I mentioned this to a colleague she almost fainted. Does anyone know why she may have reacted in this manner? I just chalked it up to the regular Japanese paranoia when it comes to doing something outside of their stringent parameters, but maybe I was wrong. What is it that they do to this water that makes it better than tap water for cooking, but worse than tap water for drinking? Any ideas?
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jigjapanJul. 12, 2009 - 02:23AM JST

We drink tap water in our apartment rather than spending another money for bottled water...For almost a year and a half of drinking tap water here in Sasayama Shi, Japan nothing happen in our health. I believe that tap water here is safe to drink.
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TheMarionJul. 12, 2009 - 10:38AM JST

I nave a third tap in my sink that delivers water that is processed though reverse osmosis and it is very satisfying. It absolutely filters out all nitrates and nitrites which do cause pancratic cancer.
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gaijintravellerJul. 12, 2009 - 11:05AM JST

The taste of tap water seems to vary according to area, maybe even building. Many buildings have tanks on the roof, some of which are not cleaned for a long time. I think this explains why Tokyo tap water often tastes disgusting and even undrinkable. Mind you one brand of tap water produced by a famous American soft drink company doesn't taste much better.

I drink filtered water using a decent-sized triple filter which I purchased overseas for less than the price of the pretty useless small toy filters sold over here that need replacing every couple of months.
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TokyoHustlaJul. 12, 2009 - 02:09PM JST

Bottled water, of course!
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griffJul. 12, 2009 - 07:05PM JST

the fact that water, one of the most abundant substances on the planet, i now a consumer item is surely an indicator of the impending downfall of the capitalist system... anyway, bottled water is certainly useful at times, but in case it escaped people's notice, both bottles and water are available separately. the industrial process used to combine the two isn't nearly as complex as some people must believe it is
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blvtzpkJul. 12, 2009 - 07:50PM JST

tap water for drinking Evian for bathing
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EUgirlJul. 12, 2009 - 09:16PM JST

Tap water. Bottled water is most useless item in consumer society.
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dammitJul. 12, 2009 - 09:18PM JST

Tap.

Betting, surely all the minerals in bottled water makes it worse for you with only kidney? Unless you buy the bottled tap water some companies probably sell, (even coca cola did that in the UK until consumers found out the truth.)
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helloklittyJul. 13, 2009 - 12:04AM JST

There is no bigger waste of money than bottled water.
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bdaniel08Jul. 17, 2009 - 09:38AM JST

Tap water ? You have to be kidding !

I only drink bottled french water :)

To tell the truth, 35 years ago when i was living in a house, i was drinking tap water...at that time, tap water was clear, pure, fresh and cold...that was for about 20 years. After that, since i move in an old mansion with very old (40y) tube (water pipe ?), i have been advised to never try to drink this tap water...so i dont.