A tour where you drink a bottle of Yakult as soon as you enter
TAKARAJIMA
I’m not mentally prepared to suddenly drink Yakult.
Free Bus Tour for Distribution of Non-Sale Yakult Goods
The Singapore bus tour, as usual, used an analog method for attendance confirmation. I’m used to it now.
There’s no point in wondering why they email participants their online tickets as PDFs anymore.
This time, there were 40 participants. Full capacity.
Since I participated during Singapore’s November school holidays, there were a few parent-child pairs among the attendees.
The bus was a Volvo. Owned by Yakult. Apparently, they don’t paint it in Yakult colors.
They could have, though. A Yakult on wheels.
Comfortable ride. Well-cleaned. No strange odors.
It was more comfortable than the Japanese elementary school bus I rode the other day. There were no curtains, though. It’s the rainy season, so that’s fine.
Tours with light snacks cost around 2 SGD. This time it’s free since there are no snacks.
Ira
Russia and Israel don’t have factories, huh? (This is important)
The Yakult employee serving as our guide was a skilled conversationalist. He delivered clever comebacks to the participants’ remarks, consistently drawing laughter.
The Yakult factory in Singapore is a place every Singaporean elementary school student (I don’t know about Japanese schools) is sure to visit at least once on a social studies field trip.
Singapore-exclusive flavor
The flavors of Yakult sold in Singapore are exclusive to Singapore.
Orange, grape, apple. For some reason, the apple one has a green label. It’s green apple flavor.
I’m perfectly fine with the original flavor. But since it’s a regional limited edition, it should be popular with Japanese tourists.
I checked the refrigerator at my relative’s house in Singapore today, but it only had counterfeit Yakult products.
This manufacturer also sells them with labels in the same colors as the orange, grape, and apple flavors, giving them an appearance that looks like nothing but imitations, right?
Yakult is a superior product that invests in research and intellectual property, yet its functionality hasn’t resonated at all with some Singaporeans.
[Addendum] My Singaporean family members who participated in the factory tour this time were persuading their relatives.
SG-man
“Similar products and Yakult are entirely different in function. Please buy Yakult from now on. Yakult products actually reach all the way to the large intestine. Minoru Shirota. Minoru Shirota.”
Minoru Shirota began chanting the spell. In broken Japanese.
Did Minoru Shirota’s summoning spell work? The relatives who had been buying counterfeit products declared their intention to purchase Yakult from now on. Mr. Minoru Shirota is smiling in heaven.
A Singaporean family forced to memorize Minoru Shirota during a factory tour that included over 30 minutes of classroom instruction.
Singapore’s most popular flavor
Yakult guide: “Which flavor is the most popular?”
Quiz format.
Besides the original flavor, it seems they have orange flavor. Seriously?
There was this Mexican exchange student at my alma mater who said Fanta Orange wasn’t sold in Mexico, so he’d buy it in bulk in Japan and ship it home for his family. That’s the vibe, huh?
Orange must be popular.
The Singaporean elementary school kid sitting in front of me raised his hand for “grape.” I wonder if you like grape flavor.
Photography is prohibited in the factory except at the entrance.
However, after the slide presentation in the classroom-style room ended, everyone took commemorative photos with stuffed animals and such lying around.
Quiz answers in the first half are meaningless. Only quiz answers in the second half qualify for non-sale merchandise prizes.
Why?
During the latter half of the slide lecture, I’d completely lost focus, so I was working on creating manga on my iPad Pro.
Before I knew it, the lecture had ended. I’m still living an extension of my student days, doing side projects during class.
My family casually received some non-sale merchandise. Hey, weren’t you feeling sick and struggling with severe nausea?
I couldn’t remember the name of Yakult founder Minoru Shirota at all. The next day, a Singaporean family wagged their index finger left and right at me, saying “Tsk tsk tsk.” Cheeky Singaporeans.
Yakult Non-Sale Items
Non-sale Item 1: Prizes for answering the quiz in the latter half. Includes cutlery, clear files, colored pens, and bags with pockets.
I decided to give it away since I have no plans to use it (I’m a tablet/digital person).
So I gave it to the elementary school family sitting in front of me. The older brother who first received it then passed it on to his younger brother.
Their mother urged, “Go say thank you,” and the younger brother came over to say “Thank you.”
Good parenting.
I thought the father of this family was Singaporean and the mother was probably Myanmar. Nearly one-third of marriages in Singapore are international.
Non-Sale Item 2: Yakult Post-it Notes
Participation prize. The paper is not white, but beige.
Non-Sale Item 3: Yakult Design Cooler Bag
Only consumers who purchase Yakult Family Packs after attending Yakult classroom lectures can obtain this coveted non-sale-item insulated bag.
Japanese group leaving without buying anything
My family went home without buying anything.
We took the bus back and dispersed. By chance, a Japanese person had joined this tour.
“Are you Japanese?” they asked me.
TOKYO-TOSHIMA
光栄です
FUTAOIJIMA
光栄です
This person also came back without buying anything.
Reasons: “I don’t need the family pack,” “It seems a bit cheaper, but I don’t know the retail price at supermarkets.”
While nearly all tour participants purchased the Yakult family pack, only the Japanese group ended up buying nothing. We’re the thrifty generation who never experienced Japan’s bubble economy. We share cars rather than owning them. We shop carefully too.
Singapore’s field trip-style social studies program
About, Ira a) Manga creator living in Singapore b)My relatives: Singaporean, Malaysian and Japanese. c)Have covered about 460 islands in manga
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【Personality】 Born in the island nation of Japan. living in Singapore.
【Master's Degree】 Intellectual Property
【Qualifications】 Intellectual Property Analyst (Contents), Intellectual Property Management Skills Test Level 2, etc.
【Research interests】 Student conducting fieldwork in folklore in Japan and abroad.
TAKARAJIMA
Ira
SG-man
TOKYO-TOSHIMA
FUTAOIJIMA
HAKOMARU-kun
SUWANOSEJIMA