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How to get drinking water for free when you travel to Japan. Solution: Mujirushi & Mymizu

 

Getting water when you travel to a foreign country will require you some information.


In some countries, you definitely cannot drink tap water, but in some countries like Japan, people usually drink tap water.


So in this article, I'm going to talk about how to get drinking water for free when you travel to Japan.

(On some occasions, the drinking water is free!!! )


Where can I refill drinking water for free in Japan?


Mae refilling water by using the Mujirushi water station 


I have written another article about water in Japan titled Is tap water drinkable in Japan? Ph level and its quality? so this time I would like to share with you how to get free drinking water in Japan.

I googled before writing this article, and I find no one writing about these travel tips, so this knowledge will be extremely valuable for you to know before coming to Japan.


The places to get the free drinking waters are...

  • Muji Water Station (Mujirushi-Ryohin) 
  • Places registered to Mymizu


Muji Water Station (Mujirushi-Ryohin)


(This is the pic that I've taken when I was filling my water bottle)


Muji is Japan's one of biggest grocery stores.

If you are traveling in the city area, you will find it anywhere.


Open Google map and put "Mujirushi" or "無印良品" (⇦copy and paste this) and you will find where Muji is located.


The reason why you can refill drinking water for free at Muji is that recently they started a water refilling project to reduce plastic garbage.


If you are with your water bottle, you can just go and refill the water.

If you are not with your water bottle, they also sell a small water bottle so you can buy the empty water bottle and get the water for free there.

Muji Osaka Sation also sells 100 yen coffee. So lovely.


One thing to pay attention to is that not all Muji stores have installed the water machine; meaning some stores may not have it.


I will pick up some Muji stores with the water machine for those who can not read Japanese.

All the shop below listed includes the town/city name, so if you have any problem finding them, you can ask the locals.


Tokyo Area

and more.


I'm not going to write all of the water station availability so if you want to know where the closest water station to Muji is, it is better to find Muji close to you first and ask the clerk.


There is one in Osaka's main station as well.

Muji Hankyu Sanbangai (阪急三番街)


If you can read it in Japanese, here are Muji website showing all the water station locations.


Places registered to Mymizu


There is an app called "Mymizu" in Japan.

Even in Japan, not so many people know about this service.


This app is showing the places you can refill drinking water for free.

The word "Mizu" （水）means "water" in Japanese. 


The system is very simple.

Restaurants or coffee shops registered to Mymizu can offer free drinking water to anyone if they are asked.


What you have to do is just ask them to refill the water bottle you have.

One thing you should know is that they don't offer the water bottle itself so you have to have to empty the water bottle.


I use this app to find the water station as well, so installing this app before coming to Japan is going to be very smart.


The official website is mymizu. co 


To use the app during your trip you have to have a prepaid Sim card.

You can purchase a prepaid Sim card at the convenience store.

If you're interested in other features of Japanese convenience stores please refer to the article 5 reasons why Convenience Stores in Japan are Amazingly Convenient


Another tip: restaurants offer drinking water for free


Basically, if you are having a meal at a restaurant you don't need to pay for the drinking water.

It may sound a little surprising but almost every single restaurant in Japan offers us water for free when the customers are ordering something.


So if you are kind of thirsty but at the same time hungry, stepping into the restaurant and ordering the food will give you free water as well.


However, one thing to pay attention to is that if the restaurant you are enjoying is not registered with Mymizu, it is not possible to ask them to refill the water using your water bottle.

This is very rude so please be careful not to do this.


Please leave a comment if you have any questions about this topic.

Cheers to you all and I hope you all have a safe trip.