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Things I Noticed in Tokyo: Aquarius vs Pocari Sweat

Aquarius is a Coca-Cola Japan sports drink from 1983. Pocari Sweat is an Otsuka drink from 1980. Read how they taste and when people in Japan drink each.

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Two colorful vending machines on a city street corner in Japan
Photo by Oskar Korošec / Unsplash

It started on the same train ride where I first noticed the clear umbrellas. The man standing in front of me had a backpack that was, in its own quiet way, perfectly balanced: a large clear umbrella strapped to one side, and a large clear bottle strapped to the other. The bottle was labeled Aquarius.

Aquarius. Interesting. I made a mental note of the name so I could buy it later and carry it around like a local. Oh, and I can't forget the matching umbrella.

After I got to the hotel, I walked to the nearest convenience store, bought a bottle of Aquarius, stepped outside, and took a long, confident chug. The confidence lasted about half a second.

I stopped mid-sip. It was not water. Not that it tasted bad. My brain was expecting water, and my mouth got something else entirely: a little sweet, a little citrusy, and a lot of "what the...?" In my defense, it looked like water, and with a name like Aquarius, I had assumed it was Japan's answer to Aquafina. So much for acting like a local.

So what is it, exactly? Some kind of cider? No bubbles. Is this what counts as water in Japan? Unlikely. A sports drink? Doesn't look like Gatorade. Wait, does Gatorade exist in Japan?

The mystery was solved a little later, when I told a local colleague about my Aquarius experience. With what I would describe as a polite amount of restraint, they explained that Aquarius is a sports drink, and a very popular one. Japan, it turns out, has had its own sports drinks for decades. Then they asked whether I had tried Pocari Sweat.

Pocari Sweat. Interesting. I'll admit the name made me hesitate. It's hard to approach a drink with an open mind when its name is Sweat. Later that night, curiosity won, and I bought one from a vending machine. At least this time, I knew what I was drinking.

Three colorful vending machines with drinks and snacks
Photo by Kei Selma / Unsplash

Pocari Sweat and Aquarius: where they came from

Pocari Sweat came first. It was launched in 1980 by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, a company better known at the time for making IV solutions for hospitals. The idea came from an employee named Rokuro Harima, who came up with it after a bout of food poisoning on a business trip to Mexico. Since his company already made IV fluids, his question was a natural one: what if people could drink something like that instead?

It was not an instant hit. Japanese shoppers did not really know what a sports drink was, so Otsuka spent years handing out free samples at saunas and sporting events, and even sent salespeople door to door. It worked. By the mid-1990s, Pocari Sweat had passed $1 billion in cumulative shipment value.

Three years after Pocari Sweat arrived, Coca-Cola Japan answered with Aquarius, launched in April 1983 as a grapefruit-flavored sports drink. The name, according to Coca-Cola Japan, comes from the zodiac sign and from aqua, the Latin word for water. So my mistake wasn't entirely my fault. The name really is telling you it's water. It just isn't telling you the whole truth.

More than four decades later, the two are still competing for the same thirsty commuters, often side by side in convenience store coolers across Japan.

Why Pocari Sweat has "Sweat" in its name

Let's address it directly. For many English speakers, Pocari Sweat is a name that takes some getting used to.

It was not an accident. The first part, Pocari, means nothing at all. It was chosen because it sounded vaguely European and was easy to pronounce. The second part, Sweat, was entirely deliberate: the drink was designed to replace what your body loses when you sweat. Otsuka's researchers found that everyday sweat differs from sweat during hard exercise, and they built the drink for everyday sweat.

In other words, the name isn't a translation error. It's a product description, and a very honest one.

So what do they actually taste like?

If you grew up with Gatorade, recalibrate your expectations. Neither drink is neon-colored, and neither tastes like a melted popsicle. Pocari Sweat is a cloudy white, Aquarius is nearly clear, and both are lightly sweet and much more subtle.

If you're noticing a pattern, you're right. Both are citrus-leaning, lightly salty, and designed to go down easy. Two rival companies, decades of competition, and remarkably similar ideas.

While the difference may seem small on paper, fans of each will happily argue about which one is better.

Not just for athletes

Most people carrying these drinks around Tokyo are not on their way to a workout, and that's the point. In Japan, these drinks are less about sports and more about everyday life.

Woman with a clear umbrella walking by a row of vending machines in Japan
Photo by Hakan Nural / Unsplash

Good to know

  • Where to find them: Practically everywhere. Convenience stores, supermarkets, and train station kiosks usually carry both.
  • Lighter versions exist: Both brands make lower-sugar versions, such as Pocari Sweat Ion Water and Aquarius Zero, if the originals taste too sweet.
  • Eat it instead: Look for Pocari Sweat Jelly, a squeezable jelly pouch billed as hydration you eat. Yes, really.
  • Try both: The only way to settle the debate is a side-by-side taste test. Just don't expect either one to taste like water.
  • Closer to water: There's also Aquarius NEWATER, a zero-sugar, zero-calorie version pitched as the best of water and a sports drink. Turns out the Aquarius I thought I was buying does exist.

Looking back, the man on the train had it figured out: a clear umbrella on one side of his backpack, an Aquarius on the other. A Tokyo survival kit. One for the rain, one for the heat.

As for which drink is better, Pocari Sweat is the longtime favorite. It recently topped a Netorabo survey of 1,130 people in Japan on the sports drinks they most want to keep at home. I just can't drink it without thinking about the name. So Team Aquarius for me. 

This is part of Things I Noticed in Tokyo, a series about the things that seem completely normal if you live in Japan, and completely fascinating to everyone else.

Do Japan like a local. Find events on Peatix.

Pocari Sweat and Aquarius: common questions

Q: What is Pocari Sweat?
A: A Japanese sports drink made by Otsuka Pharmaceutical since 1980. It replaces water and salts lost through sweat.

Q: What is Aquarius?
A: A sports drink launched by Coca-Cola Japan in April 1983. The name comes from the zodiac sign and the Latin word aqua, meaning water.

Q: Why is it called Pocari Sweat?
A: Otsuka says "Pocari" has no meaning. The company chose it for its sound. "Sweat" describes what the drink replaces.

Q: What is the difference between Pocari Sweat and Aquarius?
A: Pocari Sweat is cloudy white with a mild, soft citrus taste. Aquarius is nearly clear and slightly sharper.

Q: Where do you buy them in Japan?
A: Convenience stores, supermarkets, vending machines, and station kiosks carry both.

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