Tokyo is a world-class city and you can find anything you want, if you are willing to pay for it. Some things are readily available like Coke, Pringles, and Snickers. I love 7-up but unlike other imported beverages it is hard to find. Some restaurants carry it but they are few and far between (though one is in Machida!).
For one, many products sold in Japan are only season things, like canned soup, oatmeal and such. 7-up is only a summer drink. Last year 7-up appeared in some of the Suntory vending machines (big time in Japan), not all of them but we knew of three that were on our normal routes. After the summer the vending machine went back to selling warmed products like tea and coffee. So no 7-up until next summer (like the Chicago Cubs).
When summer rolled around we revisited all these vending machines. But there was no 7-up. We looked all summer but they did not appear. I guess they did not sell well last year. We were relieved that some appeared at Costco but they were imported from Singapore (still tastes great!). But on our return visit about a month later they were not to be found.
This week Elaine took a trip to Nara Prefecture for a school board meeting. When she was hanging out in the neighborhood of our newest missionary she found 7-up in a vending machine there. I guess they tried to sell it in the Kansai (Osaka) area. Thanks Elaine for dragging that can all the way home on the bullet train!
So you never know where you will find some of your home favorites. It’s always on my list when I return to the US, along with, Vienna beef hotdogs, gyros, Chicago style pizza, tootsie roll pops, and Payday candy bars.