Question: water in japan

[Tturtle]

When I went to Germany I discovered to my dismay that whenever I asked for water I was given what they call "water with gas" or what we (in the US) refer to as carbonated water.

Is that the case in Japan. Will I need to go to the grocery store to get water like I did in Germany?

Admittedly, I was in a small town in the Black Forest area in Germany, but I thought I would ask just to make sure.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Tturtle

When I went to Germany I discovered to my dismay that whenever I asked for water I was given what they call "water with gas" or what we (in the US) refer to as carbonated water.

Is that the case in Japan. Will I need to go to the grocery store to get water like I did in Germany?

Admittedly, I was in a small town in the Black Forest area in Germany, but I thought I would ask just to make sure.

No, you'll get normal tap water in a restaurant. Depending on where you live, you may or may not want to buy bottled water.

[Tturtle]

Originally Posted by MMM

No, you'll get normal tap water in a restaurant. Depending on where you live, you may or may not want to buy bottled water.

Thanks. I was advise not to drink the water in the part of Germany I was in and I observed that even the locals didn't drink it so I thought I'd find out BEFORE taking off this time around. Thanks again.

[Nyororin]

You definitely will not get carbonated water here. In restaurants they generally serve boiled (then cooled) tap water. I`ve never been to an area in Japan where the tap water wasn`t fit for drinking, although it tastes better in some places than others. We drink bottled water, but only because I associate the taste of tap water with taking medication. It makes me gag. (But I still use it to take medication. I don`t want to ruin bottled water!)

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Tturtle

When I went to Germany I discovered to my dismay that whenever I asked for water I was given what they call "water with gas" or what we (in the US) refer to as carbonated water.

It's the same as in Italy. They like that carbonated junk. At least it's not like some parts of China where you'll buy bottled water just to find out that the seal has been broken. Meaning that someone drank the bottled water, then refilled and sold it to an unsuspecting foreigner.

[Retrogamer77]

Originally Posted by Tturtle

When I went to Germany I discovered to my dismay that whenever I asked for water I was given what they call "water with gas" or what we (in the US) refer to as carbonated water.

Is that the case in Japan. Will I need to go to the grocery store to get water like I did in Germany?

Admittedly, I was in a small town in the Black Forest area in Germany, but I thought I would ask just to make sure.

I know what you mean, we were stuck on a boat once and It was hot. But I couldn't just down a bottle of water because it was all carbonated!

[Josichan86]

Ok I admit that when you ask for water most of the germans will think that you mean carbonated water, but you just have to ask for silent water or water without gas (german:"Stilles Wasser"). You can also drink the tap water in most cities, here in Berlin its one of the best ^^v

[Retrogamer77]

Originally Posted by Josichan86

Ok I admit that when you ask for water most of the germans will think that you mean carbonated water, but you just have to ask for silent water or water without gas (german:"Stilles Wasser"). You can also drink the tap water in most cities, here in Berlin its one of the best ^^v

We stayed in Hamburg with our host families for most of the time, but the tap water there was fine too.