A Quest for Dr. Pepper in Japan

Last Updated on March 14, 2023 by PowersToTravel

Where to find Dr. Pepper in Japan

Prior to our arrival in Japan, Greg had seen a picture of a Diet Dr. Pepper vending machine in Japan. He was so excited to think that he would be able to readily find Diet Dr Pepper.

Oh, not so! And he was so sad. He even struggled many times to find “Coke No Sugar” (as they call Diet Coke there.) The Japanese do not seem to have embraced diet soda yet. For me, a diabetic, and Greg, always watching his calories, the lack of diet sodas was an ordeal and disappointment.

However, he did, on occasion, find real Dr. Pepper, and you can be sure that he indulged when he did! This posting is a report of every location in Japan where we found real Dr. Pepper, complete with pictures and directions. You can be sure that he looked everywhere at the attractions we visited. If you have found it in other locations, don’t hesitate to add a comment to this article!

You just don’t want to leave finding Dr. Pepper to chance!

Osaka

Q-Mall Supermarket

Lower level of the Q-Mall at a store called “Supermarket” (we couldn’t read the Japanese signage to understand its name). It seems to be a standard stocked product!

Directions:

There are actually two “supermarkets” in the lower level of the Q-Mall, a large anchor-store huge supermarket and a storefront smaller market. We found Dr. Pepper at the smaller storefront market – see the picture below.

From the subway network, get off on the Tennoji Station which is M23 on the Midosuji Line or T27 on the Tanamachi Line. There are two ways to get to the Q-Mall from the subway at Tennoji Station:

• Open-Air: In the main level of the pedestrian concourse of the Tennoji JR Station head south, pass the JR Central Gate on your left, and at the end of the concourse go up a set of stairs to the upper-level outdoor pedestrian walk-ways following signs for the Kintetsu Dept Store, the Abeno Harukas building and/or the Hankai Tramway. Perhaps there are signs for the Q-Mall? The Q-Mall is visible looking south from the pedestrian walkway as you stand over the road. It’s located across the street from the Abeno Harukas building.

• Underground: It appears from Google Maps that an underground walkway leads all the way to the Q-Mall. We followed that same underground walkway as far as our hotel, Hotel Trusty Osaka Abeno, which is next door to the Q-Mall, but the maps show that it goes all the way to the Q-Mall. To get to the underground walkway, start at the JR Central Gate, and with your back to the gate, head left to a set of stairs going downstairs. Go downstairs, turn right and follow signs for exit 12.

Costco

Various forums told Greg that Diet Dr. Pepper is available at Costco. The problem was that we had no car, and the Costco is located about a 2-hour mass-transit ride from our Tennoji Station, and we didn’t have time in our schedule for the detour. I’d welcome comments to this article about whether Costco does sell Diet Dr. Pepper.

Kyoto

Arashiyama

Surprisingly we found Dr. Pepper in a vending machine at the base of the Monkey Park Iwatayama trail. Here’s a map showing the location of the vending machine:

Map

And here is the proof!

Takayama

Almost as enticing to Greg as Diet Dr. Pepper is Tex-Mex food. Is that because he loves the food, or is that because all Tex-Mex restaurants are required to sell Dr. Pepper? Chicken before the egg? Cart before the horse? Regardless, we went to lunch at the EVILTEX restaurant in Takayama, and surprise, surprise, they sold Dr. Pepper!

Here’s a map of where to find EVILTEX. Their food was very, very good. Greg had the fajitas and I had one of the burgers.

Map

Misawa

Air Force Commissary and Shopette

If you are active or retired military and have ids, you can shop at the Commissary and Shopette on the Misawa Air Base. At the Commissary they carry Diet Dr. Pepper and Regular Dr. Pepper in cans and in both cans and bottles at the Shopette. Greg bought not only two 12-packs while we were there, but also some Dr. Pepper collector 16 oz bottles as well!

Sky Plaza Misawa

There is a plaza just outside the Air Force Gate called Sky Plaza Misawa which carries US products – food and an eclectic array of used collectibles. They carried Diet Dr Pepper in cans! They also carried Kirkland products (from Costco). Strange that, since it wasn’t a Costco. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the store, but there’s a picture on the Google map. You can see it if you click on the red market below, then “View on Google Maps”. Here’s a link to the store.

Map

Tokyo

Shibuya

At this point in the narrative I’d like you to imagine our train trip south from Hachinohe back to Tokyo. Our suitcases were numerous due to my carry-on of diabetic supplies. Add to the suitcases at least 12 cans and 3 bottles of Dr. Pepper. Thank goodness when the train arrived in Hachinohe there was space behind the last row of seats to store our suitcases so Greg didn’t have to lift them above his head!

On to Tokyo and fast forward one day…

Shibuya Station is a huge, complex area. We arrived there from the south on a subway and simply wanted to find the Scramble Crossing and ended up wandering all around the massive area. Then when I decided I wanted to see the Moyai Statue (looks like an Easter Island statue) the circuitous trek continued. So, when I give you the following instructions, please be aware that you may be hours going around looking for this location! I wish you better luck than we had. We just happened on the vending machine while looking forlornly at our cell phone trying to tell us the invisible Moyai Statue was right nearby.

Directions

We found Dr. Pepper in this vending machine to the south of the Moyai Statue, so if you can possibly find the Moyai Statue you are within a short walk of the vending machine, at Gate 32 of the bus station. It’s strange how they have set up a smokers’ area right next to the statue, so you can walk by it easily without seeing it. Here’s a map identifying the Moyai Statue and the vending machine:

Map

Here’s some pictures of the vending machine and bus stop:

Yoyogi

After the Scramble Crossing we walked north towards the Meiji Shrine. After the Shrine we headed to the Yoyogi subway station via a pedestrian walkway parallel / next to the elevated train tracks. It was within a couple blocks of the station that we bumped into a vending machine selling Dr. Pepper. Our feet were so sore by this point, and we were so tired, but Greg immediately perked up!

Map

Ueno Station

It was a Dr. Pepper bonanza that day. We took the JR Yamanote line (loop line) to Ueno Station. On our way out of the station, heading east towards Asakusa, we bumped into this vending machine:

Asakusa

Don Quixote Store

In the pedestrian area on the western edge of the Asakusa neighborhood you’ll find the Don Quixote store, a multi-story extravaganza of groceries, health and beauty aids and all sorts of general stuff. That’s the description of every Target or Walmart in the US, but Don Quixote is different! The store is tall and narrow, so you’ll be going up and down stairs more than on the level. All kinds of interesting stuff can be found. You have to experience it for yourself.

Greg started his experience at the ground level, in the refrigerated foods section. He not only found Dr. Pepper, he found it in collector bottles!

Turning from the refrigerated section he headed to the cans section. Dr Pepper there as well!

Seiyu Store

Just down around the corner and down the street from Don Quixote is a large department store, ROX, with a mainline supermarket called Seiyu in its basement.

We headed there one morning on our way out sightseeing. We took an escalator downstairs and found the large supermarket.

Like the Don Quixote, they sold Dr Pepper in both bottles and cans.

Conclusion

While Greg was happy with his taste of Dr. Pepper from time to time in Japan, he was forlorn at the lack of Diet Dr. Pepper. We often bring an entire suitcase of Diet Dr. Pepper on our vacations when the airlines let us bring more than one suitcase apiece. In fact, we had started our vacation in Queensland Australia, and Greg had drunk his way through the first two weeks with his best buddy, Diet Dr. Pepper.

But by the time we arrived in Japan, Diet Dr. Pepper was a mere memory, and with his high hopes of finding it in Japan dashed, he was disappointed.

Our visit to Greg’s daughter and son-in-law at Misawa Air Base was an exciting one, not only to see the family, but to buy can after can of Diet Dr. Pepper! That 12-can box he purchased as we left Misawa held him only part-way through our Tokyo visit.

It is unlikely we will return to Japan in the near future, but if you have Dr. Pepper Japan experiences to add to help others in need 🙂 , please don’t hesitate to write about them in the comments section.