nihonhacks.com » Japan Hacks

Homemade Masks

thomas — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:12:36 +0000

In Japan, when people get even a little bit sick they wear a mask. If you ride the train everyday, you’re likely to see at least one person wearing a mask everyday.

If there’s a bug going around, some people will wear masks in an attempt to avoid getting sick.

If there’s a fear of some sort of epidemic, people will go to the drug stores and buy up all the masks.

Recently, Japan has been making a lot of noise about the swine flu. People are getting checked for flu symptoms at the airport. People are being quarantined. Schools are closing across Japan!!! And drug stores are running out of masks.

I happen to live in Hyogo, which is where the schools are closing. We must be out of masks, because I got this hilarious handout on my desk at work today (click to enlarge):

How to make your own mask!

It’s easy to make your own mask using stuff lying around the house. All you need is gauze, tissue and rubber bands.

Step 1 – Prepare 1 piece of gauze, 1 tissue and 2 rubberbands.

Step 2 – Spread out your gauze (should be big enough to cover your face lengthwise [important detail!])

Step 3 – Fold your tissue in half and place it in the middle of the gauze.

Step 4 – Fold the top and bottom edges of the gauze down.

Step 5 – Tie the sides of your gauze up with the rubber bands

Step 6 – Mask complete!

—–

I’ve read that masks have no effect in staving off swine flu. But they may make you feel safer, giving you a psychological edge in your war against sickness.

Homemade Umeshu

Newspaper hacks

thomas — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:00:14 +0000

Kind reader Viljami Nykänen sent me this:

Hi Thomas,

I’m not sure if you can actually put these up on your site as they are from a Japan Times article, but here goes anyway.

Article link: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20090408a1.html

The last 3-4 paragraphs (cut-and-pasted below) contain some interesting hacks..

“For example, you’d be surprised at some of things that can be done with furushimbun (古新聞, old newspaper pages). They can be used as detergent-free window wipes. Newsprint contains glycerine and other oils great for getting rid of dust and grime. It also works wonders in preserving vegetables. Next time you want to save the end of your daikon, wrap it up in a copy of The Japan Times and it will last 10 days or more.

The older generation of Japanese like to fold the morning’s newspaper into small, portable trash containers and distribute them all over the house. These are used to deposit tissues, candy wrappers and fruit peelings ― all the more oshare (お洒落, chic) if the print happens to be in English!

Oh, and how about the water left over from washing the rice? Called togijiru (研ぎ汁), it’s great as a hand salve, and it also works as an eco-friendly fertilizer on household plants. A solution made up of togijiru and baking powder is extremely effective for cleaning metal surfaces and air-conditioner filters. Ieyasu himself liked to heat up togijiru to drink when he wasn’t feeling well, and he frowned upon expensive medication.”

In case you missed the link above, you read the whole Japan Times article here: Japan Times article

Thanks a lot Viljami!

If you have any hacks, send them in!

Banks and other places close for New Years, plus other stuff

thomas — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:51:08 +0000

Just a reminder that banks close for New Years holidays. Don’t get caught without cash. Grab a few extra ichimans today while you still can. Also, various stores will close and others will change their opening/closing times. If you need to, stock up on things like food, diapers, etc.

Also, be on the look out for New Years’ fukubukoro and get a LOT of stuff for CHEAP. Seriously, if you don’t know what these lucky bags are, check the link. Don’t miss it! Even Mister Donut has fukubukuros (thanks Ken Y-N from whatjapanthinks!).

I also spotted Hassakus in the grocery store today. This is my favorite Japanese fruit, so if you haven’t tried them yet, check it out.

Also, a request. I got an email recently that said this:

Hey Thomas,
I’m new to Japan and I’ve really been enjoying your site, though the shoes tip didn’t quite work for me…yet. I’m sure my Japanese isn’t good enough to truly work that one out. Anyways, I’ve been told that the day after New Years (or maybe New Years day) there are some great sales. I read your post on fukubukuro, but it doesn’t really describe the same phenomenon. This was described to be as the “Japanese Black Friday.” Being new here, we could really use some deals, but can’t quite read the websites well enough for info. I would really appreciate a post on this topic, I’m sure you’d have some great input. To give you an idea, we’re looking for small appliances; denki pot, rice cooker, vacuum, plasma TV, etc. ;) Also, we need some clothes, so basically ANY info you can provide will be beneficial. Thanks and have a great New Years!
Matt

[ed: To clarify: Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is the busiest shopping day of the year in America. Everybody has the day off and all the stores have big sales.]

Does anybody know anything about this? I don’t shop much, so I don’t know anything about it. If you do, please leave a comment and help us out!

Two hacks from Indonesia: soothe those burns

thomas — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:16:25 +0000

A blog I subscribe to, David Goldsworthy’s Indonesia Blog, has a cool post about curing two kinds of burns: skin burns and the burns you get from eating spicy food.

To cure skin burns, put toothpaste on them (the white kind) and wait 20 minutes. No blisters.
If you eat something spicy and its too much, cure the burning sensation with boiling (or almost boiling) water.

Here’s the original post with more details: Toothpaste For Burnt Fingers; Boiling Water For a Hot Tongue Please visit the blog. It’s a good one! It has cool posts and pictures like this one about Java Coffee.

Do you have any pain remedies you’d like to share? Post them in the comments.

Pee at the konbini

thomas — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:58:55 +0000

Heidi sends this useful toilet tip:

Hello!

Here is a Nihon Hack that some people may not know (if it hasn’t been posted yet). Living in Japan, one difficulty I have found is finding easy access to western style toliets. Sometimes you can end up in line waiting for a long time, or be unfortunate enough to not find a bathroom at all. the best soultion to this problem is the ever amazing convienience store (conbini)! Usually there is a clean, western style bathroom in most of your major name brand conbini’s like Lawson’s or 7/11. This has been a real life savor in busy places like Osaka!

This is pretty true. They are usually much cleaner than station toilets, and not a far walk from most stations.

And in case you didn’t know:

Also, some other good points about conbini’s is that if you have any bills to pay at all, like gas, electric, phone, or anything else, you can usually pay it at the conbini. This even includes purchases from amazon.co.jp!

Hope that helps!

It does! I often pay bills, especially shipping/handling bills, at the conbini. You should too!

Thanks Heidi!

Do you have any more convenience store tips? Send them in!

Find A Place To Stay In Japan With Gaijin House Japan

thomas — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:29:19 +0000

Travelling in Japan? Want to save money on lodging? Why not try a guesthouse? Gaijin House Japan can hook you up. Jason from Gaijin House Japan sent along this information about their site and I think it will be useful to many readers. Check it out.

GAIJIN HOUSE JAPAN, GUIDING GAIJIN TO THE BEST GUEST HOUSES

Gaijin House Japan is, at its heart, a guide to guest houses – shared houses or apartment buildings where travelers and locals live together, sharing the facilities. Living in a guest house is a great way to start out in Japan as it is a wonderful opportunity for networking.

Renting an apartment in Japan for the first time can cost as much as 6 times the first month’s rent! By comparison, guest houses are a much better deal. With only a small deposit and no extra fees, they provide safe, clean, affordable accommodation while searching for an apartment or on a short term stay. They come equipped with kitchen facilities, Internet access and laundry facilities, and each room is usually furnished with a small fridge, TV and a futon or bed. Since the actual features and overall quality of each guest house can vary enormously, however, a resource like Gaijin House Japan can make the difference between a successful and a miserable stay in Japan.

Gaijin House Japan’s main feature is a continually updated series of articles on every guest house across the length and breadth of Japan. We allow travelers to comment on the guest houses they have stayed in, thus providing an “in person” view of Japanese guest houses – the good, the bad, and the dirty!

What Gaijin House Japan also does is give the smaller guest houses a chance for exposure. It seems when you search for a guest house, you always see the same ones showing up, usually big corporate ones with high advertising budgets. Gaijin House Japan was created to show what is really out there, giving equal time to large corporate guest houses as well as small family-owned “hidden gems”.

Features of Gaijin House Japan include:

Guest House FAQ – All the common questions asked about Guest Houses.
Guest House Articles – Detailed articles on every guest house across Japan, including photos, videos and travelers comments.
Gaijin House Lounge – A friendly forum where members can talk about travel in Japan and share helpful tips.
100% FREE Classifieds – Look for share-mates, roommates, rooms, and even “sayonara sales” for selling your stuff when you leave Japan or buying stuff when you arrive.
Useful Links – Learn even more at other recommended websites about Japan.

For so-called “Gaijin”, Japan can be an intimidating place to visit, let alone live. Cultural norms, rules & regulations, even the common functions of everyday life can be confusing at least to visitors who seek to make a good impression in their jobs, at school and in society. By providing a guide to guest houses across Japan, Gaijin House offers newcomers a way to quickly establish a comfortable home base from which they may learn about Japan from others in similar situations.

ABOUT GAIJIN HOUSE

Established in early 2008 by the creators of JapanLinked.com(http://japanlinked.com), Gaijin House’s mission is to organize the bewildering number and variety of guest houses catering to foreigners in Japan into a single, easy to access website. The site also acts as a “virtual guest house” in itself, providing an invaluable resource for newcomers to Japan who use the site as both a news & information source, vacation travelogue and services directory.

The company’s website is http://gaijinhousejapan.com/

Check them out!

Homemade Tofu Planting Pot

thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:11:52 +0000

Recently married Jason of j2fi sent this hack in a long time ago, and I think its about time I posted it up, since its a great idea. You know those little plastic containers that tofu comes in (the kind you can use to make a badass soap dish)? The ones that look like this:

Well, they have another use. In Jason’s words:

These containers are also great in the early spring to get a head start on gardening. Just dump some dirt in there, plant a seed, and by the time the weather is warm enough to plant, you have a seedling growing healthy and strong :)

I tried it out with some parsley seeds and check it out!

They look like they are ready to transplant! Herbs can be expensive to buy in Japan, so you can save some bucks by planting your own. Growing plants will also give you a good way to put that old rice compost you’ve been making to use. And what’s more, you get to eat some delicious tofu to start off your project!

Thanks (long overdue!) for the tip Jason, and congratulations on your marriage!

Get Cheap Stuff At The Recycle Shop

thomas — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:52:36 +0000

Do you like Japanese stuff? Do you like to get it for cheap? If so, you are in luck! Ryan Coffey of www.movetonanaimo.com writes in with a great tip about how to get used (and not-so-used) stuff for very cheap: Recycle Shops. Here’s the scoop:

I like your site. You is be way kewl.

I’m surprised though that you haven’t put a post up yet of the best hack of all. (That I know of anyway.) And that would be the “recycle shop” or in usual English the 2nd hand stores. I mean, in Japan, no one is really interested in buying stuff that isn’t new. So the whities who know this hack can get their stuff super super cheap if they know where a good 2nd hand shop is there and they have an eye for quality. I used to buy my omiyage there for my friends back home. But that was just the beginning of it. My home was filled with furniture, dishes, kitchen goods, appliances and so on that I got for stupidly cheap at the 2nd hand store, most of which was almost like new or at least worked fine. Even now that I live back in Canada, I still do much of my shopping in those stores and bring the stuff back to Canada. I just had sukiyaki tonight in a nice iron sukiyaki nabe that I bought in January. The thing had never been used and my guess is that if I bought it new at a regular store it would have been at least 6000 en, but I only paid 800 since it had sat in a box for 20 years or so. Not like it matters. It’s great quality and mint condition. I had to peel stickers off of it to use it even.

The caveat is that you can’t sell the stuff back to them in the end though when you leave Japan. They actually charge you to give them the stuff so they can sell it. And as it’s still cheaper than throwing the stuff out/getting it recycled, it remains the best option. This is one of those things you can only understand if you’ve lived in Japan for quite a few years. It’s also something that, if it doesn’t make you really angry, you’ve been there WAY too long and it’s time to go home!

Great tip! You’ve convinced me to seek out second-hand stores where I live (Himeji). For anyone else wanting to do the same, a google search for リサイクルショップ plus your city name would be a good place to start.

Thanks Ryan!

How To Find Shoes That Fit You In Japan

thomas — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:58:40 +0000

My shoe size in Japan is 30 cm. Not many people in Japan have feet that big, so stores tend to not stock my size. I could go to ten different stores and it is possible that not one of them would have a pair of size 30 shoes. Even if they did, the chances that they would have my size in a style I like is slim.

Oh no! What do I do? Am I going to have to import shoes from abroad?

It turns out that this problem isn’t so difficult to get around. Here are the steps you need to take to get shoes your size in Japan:

Go to a big store, like Sports Authority. This trick won’t work with a hole-in-the-wall “Takeshi’s Shoes”.
Find a style of shoe you like and do a quick search to see if they have your size.
Find a clerk and point to the shoe you want and tell them what size you want it in.
Wait for the clerk to search and come up empty handed.
REQUEST THAT THEY ORDER YOUR SIZE FROM ANOTHER STORE.

That’s really all it takes. They will ask you to fill out a little form with your name, shoe size and phone number. Then they will order your shoes for you from another store and call you back a few days later. I do this every time I need new shoes. I usually shop at Sports Authority since there is one near my house, but I also used this trick to get hiking shoes from Mont Bell. Any big retail store that has several locations in Japan should be able to hook you up.

The Japanese word for ordering something from another store is toriyoseru (取り寄せる：　とりよせる). So If you wanted to get size 30cm shoes, you’d bring your shoe to the clerk and say:

３０センチのくつを取り寄せてもらえますか。
sanjuu senchi no kutsu o toriyosete moraemasu ka?

trans: Can you order these shoes in a size 30 for me?

That’s it! A few days later you will have your shoes!

New Year Equals Cheap Stuff: Fukubukuro

thomas — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:23:05 +0000

Happy New Year everybody. It’s the year of the rat! Thank goodness I know how to buy cheese in Japan.

New Years is a special time in Japan. I’m not talking about eating osechi, visiting the shrine for hatsumode or getting a week off from work. I’m talking about fukubukuro!!

Fukubukuro (福袋) means something like “lucky bag”. At the beginning of the year, stores in Japan want to get rid of all the stuff they didn’t sell last year. So what do they do? They put them in bags, seal them tight and sell them for cheap. Go to any store – clothing stores, department stores, grocery stores, it doesn’t matter where – and they are likely to have these bags. And did I mention they are bargains? Last year my wife went to Dear Princess and bought two fukubukuro bags for an ichiman each. Inside each bag were yonman-en (40,000 yen) worth of clothes. That’s a savings of 60,000 yen! If you don’t mind wearing last year’s styles, this is an amazing deal.

The catch is that you can’t look at what you are buying. The fukubukuro bags are sealed tight and you can’t peek in. Don’t fret though. Clothing stores will put like sizes together in bags, so you don’t have to worry about getting clothes that won’t fit you.

Travel agencies also have incredible deals during the New Year, so if you are planning to travel abroad, now is a good time to look into it.

Fukubukuro bags only last as long as a store has back stock, so run to the store as fast as you can. The first week of January is the time to get them.

Btw, Ken Y-N over at whatjapanthinks.com has some fukubukuro bags full of Hello Kitty paraphenalia for sale. If you like Hello Kitty, head on over and get a truckload of it for cheap.