Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, is used to freezing temperatures. Every winter without fail they are exposed to bitter cold and treacherous conditions. For people living in other parts of Japan, it’s hard to imagine exactly what a Hokkaido winter would be like.

This viral video, taken in Sapporo, the prefectural capital of Hokkaido, gives somewhat of an insight into just how cold Hokkaido is, and it revolves around a bottle of ‘straight tea’.

Iced tea is a popular drink all over Japan, but it seems we didn’t know the true meaning of iced tea until this video appeared.

Despite being its expected liquid form, with just a shake of the bottle, parts of the tea start to instantly solidify and coalesce, until the all the remaining drink has formed a solid block of ice.

The phenomenon of liquid remaining it that state even when in below freezing temperatures is known as supercooling. The shaking created a stimulus and caused the ice to form in the freezing cold car.

Further proof that Hokkaido’s winters are no joke.

Last summer, Japan hoped to combat the sweltering heat with vending machine drinks that freeze before your very eyes. Watch the unbelievable video in our past article!


By - grape Japan editorial staff.