Seiji shares a very special tip to keep warm and have fun in the Japanese New Year

Our esteemed writer brings us a new twist on the classic sweetness of amazake.

We’re now in the second week of 2019, which means already 80 percent of us have broken our New Year’s Resolutions. However, this is not true of our reporter, lover, rocker and all-round trooper Seiji Nakazawa.

Some of you may recall his battle with plastic-bottle-faucet addiction late last year, but after an intervention we’re pleased to announce he’s back on the straight and narrow, making a resolution to never make a faucet out of a plastic bottle again.

It was just in the nick of time too, as two-liter plastic bottles with mysterious yellow liquids were beginning to overtake the entire office.

Still, the holiday season can be a rough time to kick the plastic bottle faucet habit. So, to help him get through it, we’re letting Seiji surprise us with an original holiday tip using one of his favorite drinks, amazake!

Amazake is rice fermented in much the same way sake (nihonshu) is, but stopped before the sugar content is converted to alcohol. This leaves us with a delightfully sweet and somewhat hearty drink, perfect to ride out those chilly new year days with.

It can be drank in a variety of ways, but Seiji says he found a totally new amazake serving method that has never been seen before. Let’s see, first, you take… Ugh…dammit Seiji.

Alright, first you take a plastic bottle and poke a hole which is two to three millimeters in diameter near the bottom.

Then, pour several bottles of amazake into the plastic bottle while keeping your finger over the hole…sigh.

Then, even after removing your finger, the amazake stays in the bottle.

But when you unscrew the cap…weeeee….

By loosening and tightening the cap you can make the sweet fermented rice beverage flow and stop with precision. And, if you’re Seiji, you’ll make “byoo-byoo” sounds while doing it.

▼ “Byoooooo!”

Also, as we have seen time and time again, this pretty much works with any drink you’d like, but Seiji – poor, deluded Seiji – feels amazake is the best choice this season. Also, given the DIY nature of these things, you can expect a little spillage, so be sure to wipe it up with tissues.

However, don’t leave them lying around, or people will think you’re up to something different altogether.

It’s also important to note that this was originally a disaster preparedness tip pointed out by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to help people conserve water when necessary. So, if there’s one silver lining to Seiji’s crippling addiction, it’s that his repeated experiments will help us remember this potentially life-saving tip.

Images: SoraNews24

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