Daily life
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Axolotls Are Huge in Mexico
 Axolotls are apparently popular in Mexico. They’...
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Love Sori Yanagi. Except That Soup Spoon.
 We own a bunch of Sori Yanagi pieces: flatware se...
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Polyester fleece pants that turn playground slides into rockets
 このお母さんがめちゃくちゃ心配して注意喚起で口コミかいてくれたのはすごい分かるんだけど、面白すぎて爆笑してしまった ...
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Flossing stopped bleeding gums—then I upgraded to Fluorfloss
 I avoided floss for years because it hurt and made my gu...
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Aren’t Bath Bombs Getting Expensive Lately?
 550 yen for one? That feels steep. The cheaper bath bomb...
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Quickle Wiper genuine dry sheets beat dollar-store refills
 I live in Japan and thought cheap refills were...
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Stopping cold drafts from aluminum window frames under the curtain
 Our aluminum sash wi...
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Aging a Seria wooden box with Turner antique wax
 Seria sells small un...
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Earplugs that stay in all night
 I wake up to small noises. Foam earplugs help...
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Assembling the Iris Plaza tension pole rack
 I wanted a slim, inexpensive shelf....
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Why Yamazaki Makes the Best Minimalist Home Goods
 Most apartments have a drain pan under the washer...
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How to Throw Out Plastic Storage Drawers: Don’t Saw Three, Pay the Fee
 During Golden Week I swapped mismatched storag...
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The bathroom wall is magnetic--instant floating storage
 Bath storage was a pain. Bottles on the fl...
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Bath slippers that are not freezing in winter
 I used 100-yen bath slippers for years--chea...
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Quieting a 10-year-old washing machine with anti-vibration rubber
 We have a 10-y...
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I love the Marna fish sponge
I’m not a househusband, but I cook and wash dishes a lot. After trying countless sponges, for the pa...
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Running A/C all day cost about ¥30—tested cool vs dehumidify
Kanto’s rainy season ended and real heat arrived. Forecasts keep warning “Use your A/C to avoid heat...
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Thoughts on “The Courage to Be Disliked” and “The Courage to Be Happy”
These were trending around me, so I read them. The core claim: **“All human problems come from inter...
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New life season notes: advice I’d give past-me
It’s April. You can spot students and new grads starting fresh—the awkward air gives it away. Seeing...
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Waterproof rainwear, umbrellas, and windbreakers with Nikwax
Early spring rain had my old shells wetting out. I threw rainwear, a UNIQLO windbreaker, and umbrell...
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Faster post-shower drying with a super-absorbent PVA chamois towel
I’ve been jogging more for health. Two showers a day leave my bath towel half-damp. A cheap microfib...
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Japanese makers behind 100-yen goods you see everywhere
100-yen shops have been around since 1985 (Daiso: 1991; then Can★Do, Seria, Watts/Silk). Each chain ...
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Hunting for good spice jars for salt and seasonings
After reading cleaning/organizing books, I got the itch to sort out the kitchen and fridge. I want t...
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IKEA glass jar gaskets: 5 for ¥199 (fit MUJI, Le Parfait, WECK too)
 I had a MUJI “soda-glass airtight jar” (1L, ma...
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The cute Kuroneko Yamato point-reward trucks
 We use Amazon a lot; Yamato (Kuroneko) de...
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Beating cold park days with a Hakkin hand warmer
 With kids, if the weather is clear you’re drag...
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When a window seat opens on a train, do you move?
Picking a cost-effective waterproof spray and using it right
My rain-day routine: spray shoes/bags. Staring at this can, I realized it looks very Showa-era—when ...
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Bananas kept falling off the banana stand
 banana (keepon i) | Flickr ...
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Replacing the ink sponge in a hanko case (and a way to “Shachihata-ize” it)
 We keep a nicer hanko in a case for forms; the ...
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How many days can you reheat bathwater?
 When I lived with a tub that couldn’t reheat, I’d use ...
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Learning cooking, storage, and interiors via Japanese Instagram hashtags
Instagram launched as a square-photo app in 2010, got bought by Facebook, and lost Twitter previews....
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Low-Pressure Headaches: Why Rain Gives Me Pain and What Helps
For years I thought “low pressure gives me headaches” was superstition. Friends said “my head hurts,...
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A sturdy range guard that doesn’t crumple like foil
 Our countertop gas stove sits ag...
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Taming outlet clutter with a cable box—options beyond Bluelounge
 Behind the TV: two wall outlets,...
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Papier d’Arménie: vanilla-scented paper incense (and a name I kept misreading)
Papier d’Arménie is a booklet of perfumed paper strips. You tear off a strip, accordion-fold it, set...
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Do "space disinfectant" gadgets really stop flu? (Spoiler: no)
I'm a Japanese writer talking to non-Japanese readers: every winter, Japanese drugstores stack “spac...
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Red-berried dogwoods and the mystery street trees
 [Dogwood — Wikipedia](https://...
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Washing bath towels daily feels impossible? Go smaller.
View image {" "} |{" "} gettyimages.com **TL;DR:** Mildew stink comes f...
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I tried buffing scratches out of my glasses and learned a lot about lenses
My vision is lousy in both eyes, so I live in glasses. The pair I wear now is about two years old an...
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Hunting for a bread knife that stays sharp and slices clean
We’ve been using a freebie bread knife that came with a magazine years ago. The handle says “ORANGE ...
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Why does toilet dust pile up so fast?
 The toilet isn’t a high-traffic r...