Melon Soda in 2015

It seems there’s a lot less of it. Everywhere I go, I search for my beloved Fanta Melon Soda, but it always seems to be hiding. I’ve had a few knockoffs, and some of them were better than others. They’ve got Fanta orange most places, and plenty of grape. They’ve got peach out now, and maybe a few more, but, thus far, I’ve only found the real stuff in one place. It’s about as common as the Lemon Scotch Fanta that sits next to it. There’s just not a whole lot of Melon Soda to go around.
And, maybe that’s the way things are, right? Maybe that’s life. I mean, years ago, when I was first in Japan, you could find Melon Soda anywhere you went. Walk down the street, and you’d nearly trip over the stuff. It was on every corner, on tap at every restaurant, flowing wherever karaoke broke the sleepy Hikone silence. Rows of it at Heiwado, they even had it in the castle, if memory serves.
It’s funny. I want it. I really do. But, as I sort through the garbage on my floor, I only see one empty can of the stuff. There’s a Coke, some lemon vitamin drink (two kinds, actually), a Pocari Sweat, that Lemon Scotch stuff, a beer, and who knows what else if I turn all the way around. But only one bit of Melon Soda.
I guess it just doesn’t feel the same way when you’re going to go off and track it down. I mean, I know, theoretically, that Melon Soda is available down the road at the 7-11. I don’t mind going there for beer or for curry or for . . . anything, really. I’ll even sit outside and sing. But it’s just not the same. That was half the fun of melon soda: you’d just find it. You’d think to yourself, “Melon Soda . . . “, and, is by magic, there’d be a vending maching or something right in front of you with delicious Melon Soda ready for you right then and there. You didn’t even have to think about it.
What’s more, you could take it for granted. Obviously Fanta was the best, but what about Suntory? There was a close second. The Melon cream was a nice touch. I don’t know if they changed the recipe, but the picture on the can has a cherry and some cream in the glass. There was a brief moment, on a random walk, that I tried a blue drink that reminded me more of what I remember Melon Soda being.
Just checked. As of 2012, it’s harder to get over here.
Isn’t that about right?
It’s just not going to be the way it was. I’ll have to go out and get it. It won’t just be there waiting for me anymore. It’s got to be something I choose, not something I happen into. That’s Melon Soda for you.