A few colleagues and I are staying put for the weekend. So we had a beer at the Sheraton – to celebrate the end of the work week, of course! I actually had a German Erdinger Weissbier. The Kirin beer can pictures are from my flight in back on Tue night. Kirin beer is named after a qílín – a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical* creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, said to bring good luck. *composed of the parts of different animals. The Japanese braille (yes, just a little different from standard Braille!) on the can says ‘Kirin beer’ and has been on their cans for a few years now. Could it say ‘open’? I thought when I saw it, then realized that cannot be, since it’s so easy for exploring fingers to find the pull tab. But in the dark or if you cannot see, it will distinguish this can from ones with soda pop or something else! Finally, a really close look reveals that the Kanji characters キリンfor Kirin are hidden in the creature’s mane and tail.
This last picture is from a post from a blog called ‘Tokyo Five’, showing the hidden characters キリンin the picture.
