How To Open A Ramune - Tips For Enjoying This Iconic Japanese Soda Drink With A Marble!

If you’re familiar with Japanese soda, then chances are you’ve come across ramune before. Ramune is an iconic Japanese soda drink that often times comes in a distinctive bottle with a marble inside. At first glance, opening the beverage may look a tad bit intimidating though. In this article, we’ll walk you through exactly how to open a ramune bottle and teach you how to obtain the cute marble inside too!

What Is Ramune?

Ramune is a popular Japanese soda pop drink that’s well known for its particular bottle design and unique method of opening. The soda itself comes in many different flavors (let us know if we should do an article on this!) but lemon-lime is the most popular flavor. You’ve probably come across ramune before in your local Asian grocery store or even at conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Ramune is especially popular with children too. 

History Of Ramune

Ramune has somewhat of a long history dating back to the 19th century. It was first introduced by a Scottish pharmacist living in Japan named Alexander Cameron Sim. Sim developed a carbonated lemon drink recipe that was referred to as “lemonade”, but the drink later came to be recognized as “Ramune” in Japan. 

Since its creation in 1865, Ramune has grown to become extremely popular in Japan, but its popularity greatly increased during the Meiji era (1868-1912) when Western influences began permeating throughout Japan. At this time, carbonated beverages such as soda became heavily popularized, and drinks such as Ramune soda were associated with modernity and Westernization. Not to mention, Ramune was adored for its flavor and bottle design. 

While Ramune is loved by many for its refreshingly sweet and tangy taste, the Japanese soda’s unique bottle design also fascinates many, especially the sealed marble inside of the bottle. This marble not only helps to preserve the carbonation of ramune but also makes the fizzy beverage look more interesting. It’s not even ridiculous to say that Ramune and its distinctive marble have become synonymous with one another.

Nowadays, you can find ramune pretty much anywhere in Japan including convenience stores, restaurants, summer festivals, and so on.

How To Open A Ramune Bottle?

Now, onto the portion of the article you’ve all been waiting for. How do you open a ramune bottle? It may seem a bit tricky to open a ramune bottle if you’ve never done it before, but it can be done in a few easy steps!

1. Remove the Plastic Wrapper: Tear off the plastic wrapper from the top of the Ramune bottle to expose the opening.
2. Take Out the Small Plastic Plunger: Inside the wrapper, find the small plastic plunger attached to it. This is essential for opening the Ramune bottle.
3. Position and Press: Place the plunger over the marble at the bottle's top. Firmly push down on the plunger to release the pressure and push the marble into the bottle.
4. Discard the Plastic Wrapper: Discard the plastic wrapper and the plunger. You don’t need these to enjoy your fizzy beverage!
5. Enjoy your Ramune: Unscrew the cap and enjoy your Ramune soda!

How To Drink Ramune?

Now that you’ve successfully opened your Ramune bottle, let’s talk about enjoying the soda itself. It’s actually quite simple! You may notice two indents near the top on the sides of the bottle. These indents serve a purpose: they help keep the marble from sliding up, ensuring you can fully enjoy your Ramune. To drink, simply tilt the bottle slightly so that the marble rests in one of the indents, and then sip away at your fizzy Ramune soda.

How To Get The Marble Out Of A Ramune Bottle?

Okay, so how do you remove the marble out of the ramune bottle? You’ve probably all been secretly wondering this. While you could just smash the bottle to get that marble out, we very much do not recommend that. To remove the marble from the ramune bottle, you simply need to: 

1. Heat up the plastic lid of the ramune bottle (using a hairdryer or by sitting the cap into a bowl of warm water for a few minutes). 
2. Pop off the cap after a few minutes. Heating the lid will make it much easier to remove.
3. Enjoy your ramune marble! Wipe it clean and the marble is all yours to enjoy! 

Ramune Products On Japanese Taste

If you can’t find the iconic ramune in its bottle with marble form, there’s still plenty of its delicious flavor to go around! At Japanese Taste we carry ramune soda in can form, soda candy ramune, ramune mentos, and even ramune toothpaste. Find your new favorite ramune product here at Japanese Taste. 

Have you successfully opened a ramune bottle and retrieved the marble before? Let us know in the comments below!