Decent Japanese beer, often called the "Budweiser of Japan." Makes for great sake bombs.

Also, "kirin" is the Japanese word for giraffe.

Furthermore, Kirin is an esper in Final Fantasy 3 (Final Fantasy 6j). Here's his info:

The origin of Kirin : Chinese Mythology. A Kirin is an imaginary creature that is part horse and part dragon. The male is called "Ki", and the female is called "Rin". It is capable of flying and shooting sparks of lightning from its hooves. Kirin are considered good luck.

Effect of Esper Summon : Casts Regen on the party - Cost : 18 MP

Magic :

Cure, (x5), Recovers HP, 5
Cure 2, (x1), Recovers HP, 25
Regen, (x3), Gradually recovers HP, 10
Antdot, (x4), Cures poisoning, 3
Scan, (x5), Displays an enemy's HP/weak point, 3

Location: Zozo, after finding Terra and hearing about her past from Ramuh. (World of Balance)

Kirin the beer is available in four styles, Kirin Lager, Kirin Light, Kirin Ichiban, and draft Kirin Ichiban on tap. Kirin Ichiban in particular is widely available in Asia and has 4.95% alcohol by volume. All Kirin is made with barley, hops, rice, and corn. Kirin's homepage is at www.kirin.com

Kirin doesn't make just beer! The company also makes (and imports) delicious teas. Their tea products (called Gogo no Kocha meaning "Afternoon Tea"):
These all come in 1.5 Liter (51 oz) bottles, about 4-5 dollars in the states, and 11 oz (I think) cans, which are made of incredibly strong metal that you'd need a sledgehammer to dent.

• Kirin milk tea: ingredients are tea, milk, sugar and emulsifier to keep it from separating, this stuff is incredibly delicious. Mixing tea, milk and sugar just isn't the same... The label on the bottle is white, very nice design, and sports the infamous "Sunlight and mist turn a young leaf into tea. Tea can turn you into something new. Tea. A natural gift of love." moniker. A tip on drinking this tea: Take small sips. Strangely enough, it has a wonderful, short-lived aftertaste, which is almost the best part. Heavenly.
• Straight tea: Tea. What else can I say? It's tea. A little boring if you ask me, but it's good tea.
• Tea with lemon: Tea with lemon juice in it. If you like tea with lemon, you'll like this (kicks the snot out of that horrible Lipton bottled tea).

Annoyingly enough the only places I've found this for sale are:
- Porter Exchange in Porter Square, Boston, MA. One of the many Japanese restaurants has cans of this, $2 for the milk, less for the others (I think), to drink with your meal. Across the way is the Kotobukiya Japanese market. They have 1.5L bottles for $5.
- Online: Japanesesnacks.com and Asiafoods.com both have it (cheaper, $3 bucks or so). Although Jsnacks frequently runs out, as its very popular.

Why Kirin doesn't sell the stuff to the general American public? Who knows? I sure don't.

Introduction

The Kirin is a mystical unicorn and is similar to a stag. The legend of the Kirin mainly comes from Japan, but it also came from the most remote forests in China. It is described to have the body of a musk deer and whooshes its tail like an ox. The easiest way to distinguish it from all other unicorns is the spots on its back. It also has a yellowish belly, which is multi-colored consisting of red, yellow, blue, white, and black. Kirins have a tendency to be shy, which is in result of the lack of knowledge they have about themselves. They never fight, unlike the karkadann, which is another type of unicorn.

The kirin looks fearsome and only punishes sinners. It can walk on water and grass, yet one will not see a small splash or the blades crush. Known to be a peaceful creature, its diet does not include meat.

The modern day Japanese word for a giraffe is kirin. The word kirin is also said to be an older spelling of Jilin, a village in China. Kirin has other various spellings, including qilin and quilin.

Types of Kirin

The kirin has different types of appearance. It is seen in China from the cultural distinctions between different dynasties.

For example, in the Ming dynasty of China (1368-1644), the kirin is symbolized as an oxen-hooved animal with a lion-like head. It has a triumphant single horn and typical animal skin, appearing as a representation of a real animal. This Ming kirin is sometimes referred to as the "Chinese unicorn" for its exterior similarities to the Western unicorn.

However, in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the kirin is a much more designed animal. Manchurian portrayals of the kirin show a creature with the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the skin and scales of a fish, the hooves of an ox and the tail of a lion.

In the Chinese culture of mythological animals, the kirin is positioned as the second-most powerful creature after the dragon. However in Japan, the kirin is the most powerful creature. In China, viewing the kirin is an exception, however they often appear to people in magnificent events, such as the birth of Confucius. However in Japan, viewing the kirin is considered a prophecy of extreme good luck, but only to a righteous person.

Sources:

www.pantheon.org/articles/k/kirin.html

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirin

www.encyclopedia.com/html/X/X-K1irin1.asp