I think I was about six or seven years old. After having a meal with my mother in the basement of a department store (was it Isetan?), I ordered a cream soda. Back then, during busy hours like lunchtime, it was common to share tables, even with strangers. The two people seated in front of our four-person table were also a mother and daughter, similar to us. The daughter must have been around four years old. When the brightly colored green cream soda was brought to my table, she glanced at her mother and asked, “Mine?” Her mother quietly replied, “No, that’s not yours.” My mother said to the girl, “I’m sorry. Of course, you’d want some, wouldn't you?”

 

I remember well enjoying the drink, feeling a little awkward about the drink that was difficult to share, while being conscious of the eyes of the girl younger than me. The fine bubbles passed through my mouth, and the vanilla ice cream melted smoothly. I savored the particularly rich sweetness of the melon syrup, which had pooled thickly at the bottom.

 

Cream soda is, I believe, one of Japan's romances and cultures. Although it originated in America, its introduction in Japan is said to be in 1902 at the soda fountain corner of Ginza Shiseido Pharmacy. Just recently, I recall seeing a soda fountain machine in the back of the Shiseido Parlour main store. I always wish that Shiseido would sell them there again. While the Parlour seems to offer cream sodas in various colors even now, it would be delightful if they served them by pouring the soda in front of you and topping it with ice cream.

 

The other day, I dreamt I was waiting for a friend to return from a trip. I was in a bright, spacious place, like a lounge, and ordered a cream soda. While I waited, a blue cat appeared from nowhere. It didn’t feel strange that the cat was blue. Then, a brown cat, a long-haired tabby, and finally, a formidable red tiger boss cat, and more and more cats gathered. I watched the cats, thinking, which I wouldn't in reality, that it was natural because cream soda is a favorite of cats.

 

Eventually, the cats began to float in a fan shape. They ascended towards the top of the silver pillars, obliquely set in the high, white space of the ceiling, shimmering. After watching the dazzling cats ascend, my cream soda was served. Its color was an exquisitely beautiful pale aqua, and while the color reflecting the sunlight was green, the liquid in the glass had a refreshing quality like a frosted blue horizon, or the sky transitioning from dawn to day. I forgot about the circle of cats and stared at the liquid. As I went to drink it, I woke up, and with a dazed mind, I replayed the dream I had just had.

 

Suddenly, I remembered that cream soda had appeared in a poignant drama I had seen before. Its color was exactly that pale aqua. It was the drink the heroine was having in an airport lounge while waiting for her son, and given the context of the drama, it was an unexpected appearance and deeply memorable. Moreover, its color was truly beautiful, and I recalled feeling that it was perfect as a color to accompany the story, which wove together poignancy and sweetness.

 

 

Akiko Shibauchi
Director of Akasaka Animal Hospital. After graduating from the College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, and working in research laboratories such as the Clinical Pathology Laboratory at Nihon Veterinary and Zootechnical College, she became the director of this hospital in 2016. As the third-generation director, following her father and mother, she promotes medical care for companion animals and treatment centered on the "Human Animal Bond." Specializing in internal medicine, general surgery, and regenerative medicine, she has also served as a former member of the Veterinary Affairs Council of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and as an part-time lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University. She is also dedicated to social contribution through veterinary medicine, such as supporting coexistence between the elderly and animals and animal therapy activities, and has set "creating a society where humans and animals can live happily together" as her lifelong theme.