I’m considering getting a soda stream since my husband is obsessed with soda water and I’m tired of dealing with the recycling.
I’m wondering if anyone here uses one and specifically uses Amazon for the gas refills? I know I’ll have to exchange bottles with the driver, but can they be left for pickup if I’m not home? Is process to get refills on the gas bottles a pain or is it easier to go to a store?
Thanks and any advice is appreciated.
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Commenting because my boyfriend is also a fizzy water junkie and I’m looking into getting a soda stream or equivalent for him too!
I’m Interested in this as well, but everything about the process seems more complicated and expensive than just buying seltzer at the store.
I have one and it has been great, I bought it directly from the SodaStream website as they had a good promotion at the time.
I definitely suggest having 2 gas canisters so you can swap it right away when it runs out.
I get my replacement refills at Bic Camera, they have just been the most convenient and easy to deal with. You need to fill out a form and sign when you get a refill, so you would need to be home to receive it from a delivery person.
I have 3 canisters at a time and they last a couple months. I probably make one to two bottles a day. I have 2 [“metal” bottles](https://www.sodastream.jp/products/detail/81) and they’ve lasted for over 5 years now. I read on [this subreddit that the non-metal ones tend to warp](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/xvqjvn/biweekly_boss_premium_edition_questions_thread_05/ir3z0s2/?context=2), but I’ve never used them so never had that issue. I once calculated the price per litre, and I forget exactly what it was, but it was much cheaper than buying PET bottles.
Online is a bit of a pain in my opinion as you have to wait for delivery. Luckily, my local Bic Camera and Kakuyasu have exchange programs.
> can they be left for pickup if I’m not home?
Not that I’m aware of. You need to fill out a “dangerous materials” form every time you get the new canisters. Plus you need to give them your old ones.
Lots of drugstores are now carrying the refills, so if you have a coupon from Rakuten points (くすりの福太郎 has 10% off coupons pretty frequently) then you can get a few hundred yen off.
I don’t have one but you can usually find refills at Tsuruha (ツルハドラッグ)
I’ve had a SodaStream for about 18 months now. As others have suggested, be sure to get at least 2 cylinders, so you’ve got one to immediately swap out when one runs dry.
Dozens of different stores can deal with refills. Kakuyasu, Tokyu Hands, Bic Camera (and probably some of the other big-box chains) and even some drug stores have them.
You have to fill out a very small slip of paper (I’m lazy and write mine in English) with your name, address and phone number. Apparently this is to ensure they can get in contact with you if there’s some sort of recall or issue with certain batches of gas cylinders. Guess it’s good to be safe.
You can [use this search page](https://www.sodastream.jp/stores/) on the SodaStream website which will show you places in your area that handle the exchanges. Just search your town/city/whatever.
At the shop, just show the cylinder at the counter and say “ガス・シリンダー交換お願いします” (Gas cylinder koukan onegaishimasu). They’ll do the rest. Costs about 2300yen or so. Done in like 2 minutes.
Amazon fresh, OniGo and soda stream themselves will deliver new canisters and pick up the old ones for the same price as stores. Some stores will also make you fill out a form by hand each time which can be avoided by using online delivery
Edit for clarity: I order 2 bottles / month from Amazon or Oni Go and have done for approx 2 years
I have a sodastream – I looked into exchanging canisters online but the conclusion I came to was that I would have to pack and mail the empty canisters (at my own expense) to whoever I was buying the replacements from (and they’d ship the new canisters on receipt of the old ones).
I think it’s possible to exchange them with the delivery driver at the door with Amazon, but that requires you to be home when they deliver, which doesn’t work if you have a job where you can’t work from home…
In the end by far the easiest and cheapest method I have found is to just put the empty canisters in a rucksack and head down to Bic Camera or Tokyu Hands with them. If you tell a staff member you want to exchange canisters, they’ll take your current ones off your hands and give you new ones right there, then charge you just the value of the new canisters, avoiding any delivery costs.
It’s a bit of a pain having to lug canisters around, but they last a couple of months each so realistically if you change two canisters at a time you’ll only have to exchange them 2 or 3 times per year.
I would buy ‘em at Yamada or Bic. Returning canisters is a royal pain and much easier at the store level.
They list what spots you can do exchange online. Usually it’s the liquor store with the pinkish store sign.
Ew don’t get a Sodastream, they’re a problematic company.
Get a Drinkmate. Does the same thing, but better because the nozzle doesn’t goop up if you do something other than water. Same refill bottles as well. It’s a better device by far.
Anybody know where to get gas canisters that aren’t soda stream branded? I’m not happy paying premium for pressurized CO2 just because the bottle says “soda stream”.
I like my soda stream, but never did Amazon for the gas refils; I just went to the nearest store that sold them, usually getting in and out in a few minutes.
I usually just order refills on sodastream’s website. Just keep three canisters as other said, as soon as you get to the third then place an order to replace the other two. Need to pay cash on delivery and be there when the postman comes. Pretty quick, about 2 days in Tokyo.
All of my exchanges have been online directly with Sodastream. Not sure why my experience seems to be different from others, but I find it rather convenient.
I order the 2 bottle 5x exchange. After you order the exchange, your “my page” has a section where you can schedule one of the 5 exchanges you have (each exchange is two bottles). Note that if you schedule, the earliest you can choose is about one week later. If you need it earlier, you can opt not to schedule for a particular date and it usually comes in a day or so, you just don’t know when exactly.
When the exchange arrives, it comes in a box with a prefilled shipping label for your old bottles. I don’t have to pay anything extra or write down anything. The box is designed to be reused for the old bottles. So I take out the new ones, and put the used ones in the box. The box has a second set of tabs that you slide in to close up box, no tools nor packaging tape necessary. You can send it out just like this. The prefilled shipping label is adhesive, so just peel off the protection, put it on the box, and hand it to the same delivery guy who just gave the new bottles. This all takes about a minute or two if you have your old bottles ready.
Recently, I made this a little more efficient. I decided to forgo exchanging the old bottles one time so that I end up with two boxing packages. This allows me to take my time to put the old bottles in one packaging, have it prepared with the shipping label affixed so it’s all ready for the next exchange. I just hand it to the delivery guy as he gives me the new set.
All of this required no filling out of a label (it’s prefilled) nor any additional payment.
Assuming you don’t have a too new of a model just buy a larger tank and refill/swap it at a place that will do it.
You can buy an adapter for their models and you can go months without refills. It’s a larger investment up front but it pays for itself quick if you use it a lot.
I pick mine up at Life.
I do mine at SAKODA since they have a stamp card for one free canister for every 20 exchanges
I go to the local Kojima for gas refills.