wasabi toothpaste

It looks like wasabi, feels like wasabi, and tastes like wasabi, but this small green tube is actually filled with toothpaste. Wasabi flavored toothpaste. Yes, the popular Japanese condiment that accompanies sushi can now be enjoyed while brushing your teeth – as long as you don’t mind a few extra tears in the morning.

Village Vanguard, Japan’s one-stop shop for all things wacky, is the mastermind behind this strange product. Much like the bright blue slime curry we saw last month, wasabi toothpaste was the winning idea from a product development contest open to all Village Vanguard employees.

▼ Can you tell which one is the toothpaste and which one is actual wasabi?Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 5.08.28 PM

Internet reaction, as you might expect, is full of shocked comments, and even Village Vanguard admits wasabi toothpaste is an unusual product, stating, “You certainly can use it to play a trick on someone or use as a punishment for losing a bet, but it was developed to be used as actual toothpaste.” Good to know.

wasabi toothpaste34

As for the taste, the company had this to say: “As soon as you put it in your mouth, the smell and familiar burning sensation you get from eating wasabi spreads throughout.”

So if you’d like to wake up to a fire in your mouth every morning, hurry on over to the Village Vanguard online store to preorder your tube of wasabi toothpaste right now, or wait until the end of October to pick it up in Village Vanguard stores across Japan for the price of 918 yen (US$8.50).
[ Read in Japanese ]