Vladivostok (Russia) Energy Drink Trip

Vladivostok, Just a Little Over 2 Hours Away

It takes just a 2.5-hour flight from Narita to Vladivostok. It’s pretty close, isn’t it? You don’t really get the feeling you’ve traveled abroad.

In June, the sun rises around 4 AM and sets near 9 PM, so you can enjoy long sightseeing during daylight hours. The temperature is below 20°C, so it can feel a bit chilly if you're in a T-shirt. I forgot to bring a jacket, so I spent the day sightseeing in a typical Western style, just in a T-shirt. After evening, no one was wearing short sleeves. Haha!

After arriving at the airport, I checked into the hotel and dropped off my luggage, then went for a walk around the city to hunt for energy drinks ((o(´∀｀)o)).

It was already after 9 PM by this point. In July and August, I think it might stay lighter for a bit longer. June was also very pleasant, but summer is said to be the best season.

Russia’s Energy Drinks Are Surprisingly Varied

The supermarket was a little further away, so I decided to start by checking out a nearby convenience store.

There are quite a few stores called mini-marts, and they offer a wide variety of products, mostly food items, so you can pretty much find anything.

And here’s the energy drink section. I realized after my stay that this type of convenience store had the best selection of energy drinks.

At my first store, I wasn’t sure about the pricing, but I thought they might be expensive, so I decided to buy them all anyway to save time Σ(´∀｀；).

I ended up filling two baskets with energy drinks and went to checkout.

It seems that Russians don’t really think of products as “goods” in the same way we do. The cashier scanned the barcodes with her right hand and then casually tossed the cans into bags with her left hand (ヽ´ω`).
I had carefully picked out the nicest cans from the fridge... but it didn’t really matter. After stuffing three bags full, I headed back to the hotel. When you visit a new country, it’s a good idea to buy everything at once and then pick up anything you might have missed while sightseeing—it saves time.

Throughout the trip, I bought dozens more cans in addition to what I purchased on the first day, so here’s a summary of the energy drinks I encountered in Russia.

Red Bull and Monster Energy

First, Red Bull’s size options were just incredible. They offered both 355ml and 250ml sizes.

Having such a range of sizes and editions available constantly suggests there’s quite a demand for it. In Europe, they usually only offer one size, so this was definitely a surprise! It felt almost like I was in North America. Just with Red Bull, I got a real sense of how unique Russia is.

Monster Energy, due to trademark issues in Russia, is sold as BLACK MONSTER. It’s a nice touch (*´艸｀*).

I bought it when it first came out, but the SKU changed, so I bought it again. I think they offer a reasonable range of flavors, though the products were either local or even lower-tier compared to others.

In some stores, it looked like this. The stock of Monster and Burn was pretty sparse (^_^;).

Other Energy Drinks

My favorite energy drinks are the local brands from different countries and regions. I find it especially interesting when these brands create series and establish themselves with strong identities.

In the middle is Adrenaline Rush, originally launched as a SoBe energy line but now an independent brand sold in Russia. It comes in two sizes and is widely available.

Adrenaline Rush also offers gamer-targeted drinks, and in June, they released limited-edition cans based on different game genres. While energy drinks aimed at gamers usually don’t advertise as such, I decided to buy one since it was my first time in Russia (●´ω｀●).

Then there’s Flash Up Energy. Like Adrenaline Rush, it’s widely available in many stores.

Flash Up offers three flavors, and the original is available in two sizes.

They even have special displays, so I guess it’s somewhat popular. I actually really like the design.

Next, there’s Drive, BULLIT, and SOVA (partially cut off below). Also, Burn, under the Monster umbrella, is one of the must-have energy drink brands in Russia.

Supermarkets had several energy drink sections like this, so I guess that means they sell really well.

I was also surprised to see that the Korean HOT6 was being sold in three versions specifically tailored to Russia.

Most stores had it in stock, which was unexpected. It wasn’t just some rare foreign energy drink—it had really blended into the Russian market.

No Tornado

Tornado Energy Drinks, known for their numerous collaboration cans, were nowhere to be found in Vladivostok.

I only saw one bottle of the PET bottle version at a supermarket and one can in a mini-mart during my sightseeing. Maybe they’re more available in Moscow or central Russia!?

I had really been looking forward to getting several of them before my trip, but there weren’t any, so that was a little disappointing. I ended up skipping them this time.

No Rockstar Either

I completely forgot about Rockstar, but it wasn’t available either.

It began becoming a big name in 2018, but I couldn’t find it anywhere, so searching for Rockstar in Vladivostok might be a waste of time. It might be better to enjoy some delicious food and sightseeing instead. Haha.

Collaboration Cans Gone

In Russia, both Monster Energy and Red Bull had collaboration design cans, but by June, they were all gone.

Since the shelves were stocked from the back, I thought, “Maybe there are still some collaboration cans left at the back!” But after looking, it seemed they were completely sold out. I’m not sure if they sold out due to popularity or if the production numbers were low in the Russian market, but one thing’s for sure: it’s best to visit Russia early if you want to grab them (^_^;)

Is Red Bull the Strongest?

In between sightseeing, I stopped by a 24-hour supermarket (so I could go anytime) to stock up on energy drinks. The register here also has the habit of throwing the products into the bag... (ヽ´ω`)

By the way, energy drink shelves were everywhere in the supermarket.

It seems like the energy drink sections are more scattered around the store compared to American supermarkets (normally, there are just a couple of sections grouped together).

Especially Red Bull, which was displayed in several places throughout the large store.

Even in small minimarts, you could find Red Bull in 3-4 places...

I think Red Bull holds quite a share in Russia. It's one of those things you only really notice when you're there.

Vladivostok: Compact and Comfortable

The safety in Vladivostok is excellent, and as the summer approaches, the daylight hours will get even longer, so now is the peak season for sightseeing in Russia.

Russian cuisine is delicious, and a simple lunch usually costs around 1,000 yen per person, which is quite affordable. The central area has a variety of restaurants, so you can enjoy Russian dishes and local popular spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, even late into the night. That’s how I spent my time.

You can visit sightseeing spots by foot or taxi in just one day. Taxi rides can be ordered via a special app and cost around 150–200 yen per ride, which is ridiculously cheap. It was a lifesaver for me, since I was short on time (*´艸｀*). I used it many times.

Regarding energy drinks, I was really surprised by how they surpassed Japan by quite a bit. Although the winters are said to be very harsh, the sea freezes over, and you can walk on it, so I’d like to visit in the winter sometime as well. I don’t think there’s another energy drink powerhouse as close as Russia, so if you're interested, I definitely recommend going!