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A canned drink made by Japan Tobacco Inc and called "Unagi Nobori," or "Surging Eel," hit Japanese stores at the end of July just ahead of the country's annual eel-eating season.

Japan Tobacco spokesman Kazunori Hayashi said: “It's the hottest season of the year in Japan, and that means it's eel season. So, bottom's up!

"It's mainly for men who are exhausted by the summer's heat," Hayashi said of the beverage, believed to be the first mass-produced eel drink in Japan.

The fizzy, yellow-coloured drink contains extracts from the head andbones of eel and five vitamins — A, B1, B2, D and E — contained in thefish. The distinctive bottle-can packaging evokes a traditional unagivendor.

Many Japanese believe eating eel boosts stamina in hot weather. Unagi is traditionally eaten during the summer to boost stamina against the appetite-destroying heat, particularly on the midsummer days of the Ox - which fall on July 24 and Aug. 5 this year.

Demand for eel is so high that Japan has been hit by scores of eel fraud cases, including a recent high-profile incident in which a government ministry publicly scolded two companies for mislabelling eels imported from China as being domestically grown. * Eel flavoured beer* Meanwhile, beer has long been regarded as “the official drink of the oppressively hot Japanese summer,” and the Miyashita Sake Brewery has created a tie-in with the traditional food of summer, unagi (eel). It has launched a “Suitable for Unagi” black beer which matches the colour and richness of the grilled eel coated in sticky and slightly sweet sauce. Click link below for picture.