Let me start off by saying I am worried about the Japanese... What on earth were the minds behind this product thinking?
This story begins way back in August of 2017 and my first forays into the Steemit experience. I came across a post by @aussiesteem where they were celebrating 300 followers by running a contest to see who had eaten the weirdest fast food. Having spent a month in Thailand in 2005 I had of course snacked on the deep fried grasshoppers sold on the streets of Bangkok (I remember them to have been delicious but it might have been the Chang talking...). Long story short, I won the competition and @aussiesteem went about sending me my prize. South Africa's postal service being what it is the package took forever to arrive but eventually it did:
Now I've never had candy that came with "some assembly required" but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I used to build model tanks and airplanes when I was a kid so the skills are there, if a little rusty. A few minutes later my little plastic toilet was assembled and decorated. I'm not sure why he's sad or why there is an apple and a strawberry involved but not being able to read Japanese I resigned myself to always wondering.
The only bit that remained a mystery is what steps 2 and 3 in the yellow bit really mean. It looks like you pour the contents of the sachet into the cistern and then give it a shake before adding water using the lid.
This is what I did but I think there might be an instruction as to how many lids of water to add. I added one and it worked as intended but there was still quite a bit of powder left afterwards and I had to add more water to dissolve it all. Anybody that can read Japanese please let me know! There's a second sachet to be had and if one is going to be drinking fizzy, sweet goodness knows what from a tiny plastic toilet with a sad face and an apple then you have to do it right!
It actually tasted quite pleasant. It was of course very sweet and fizzy. For the South African readers, I'd compare it to the taste of the green Fizzer. For you guys who don't know what a Fizzer is the closest I could get is sherbet of some sort. This was the blue packet. @bunnychow (my gorgeous wife) and myself are looking forward to tasting the pink one soon!
Lastly, I want to thank @aussiesteem for a cool contest and for taking all the trouble to send the prize all the way to South Africa!
Let me know in the comments if you've ever had anything like this, or what the strangest candy you've ever had was!
Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone
Hehe, nutty Japanese. Creating unrealistic expectations. Next time the kiddies go for a poop they're gna expect sweeties
Just why.. Why would you make your product look like that and why would one buy it when a Fizzer looks way better? Congrats on winning the contest!
I know dude. The product development guys must have been high when they thought this up. There's even what appears to be a competition on the box where you can win a golden tiny toilet. Why you'd want to I don't know but the chance is there...
If it tastes like sherbet I'm pretty sure you've got it right lol . Just to confuse you on the idiosyncrasies of Japanese culture even further, in addition to the toilet they also make a washing machine! I find having lived in Japan, sometimes it's best not to ask questions, but just to bow politely, accept and move on. Actually, that works well in Australia sometimes too lol...
I saw the washing machines on your original post. I can't wait to visit Japan! Yeah the bow and move on idea works in most places! Thanks for checking out my post :)