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Sure, that big, fluffy down blanket is a must for making it through a Japanese winter, but how are you supposed to clean it when summer comes around?

Generally, living in Japan means hanging your laundry outside, and the residential housing market is designed with this in mind. Even the smallest dwellings will have a balcony or some other exterior space with hooks for hanging drying poles, and architects design both houses and apartment complexes so that these sections are facing south to maximize the amount of sunshine they get.

Because of that, it’s rare for Japanese homes to include a spot to hook up a dedicated clothes dryer next to your washing machine. You can get dual-purpose appliances, where the same drum handles both washing and drying functions, but their drying capabilities aren’t anywhere near those of a dedicated dryer. Again, though, this isn’t really a major issue, since homes are designed to make outdoor drying easy.

A major exception, though, is when it’s time to wash your futon, or duvet, if you want to use the fancy occidental term. Japan gets very cold in the winter, so a big, fluffy down blanket to take shelter under is a must for making it through the coldest months.

▼ My natural habitat for several months of the year.

But with Japanese washing machines not generally up to the challenge presented by such a bulky item, is your only option shelling out for an expensive dry cleaning service?

Nope! With the midsummer heat here and not even a trace of chill left in the nighttime air, Japanese laundromat chain Laundry Press knows it’s time to put your duvet into storage, and before you do that, they’ve got advice for how to wash and dry it at a laundromat. In order to save you the time, hassle, and cost of repeating the process, Laundry Press has prepared a list of advice points for how to smoothly get your futon clean, soft, and fluffy for the next time you need to crawl underneath it.

The first point, and the most important, is to make sure you choose a machine that has more space than you need to fit the duvet inside. Sure, with some forceful shoving, you might be able to squeeze the futon into a smaller machine, but it’s going to swell as it soaks up water, and if it’s too cramped inside the machine, it won’t wash properly, and the initial drying effectiveness of the spin cycle will be compromised as well.

▼ You want to choose a machine where you have the kind of interior space shown in the machine on the right, not on the left.

Speaking of putting your futon into the machine, the second point of advice is to remove the duvet’s cover. You can wash both the cover and the duvet together, in the same machine at the same time, but separating them will help ensure that water and detergent can reach all of their surfaces. This more thorough cleaning will also help restore fluffiness to the duvet, so while it can be a hassle to untie or unzip the cover, it’s something you’ll want to make sure to do.

▼ Duvet and cover washed while still attached to each other on the left, washed separated from each other on the right

The third thing to remember is, if you have the option, to wash your futon in warm water. Even if you only used it when the weather was cold, your body will still sweat and excrete oils as you sleep, and those will have soaked into the futon’s fabric little by little. Selecting a warm-wash option will help cut through the grease and grime, and if your laundromat has an extra-warm setting as a countermeasure against mites, that’s even better.

▼ A laundromat control panel, with warm and anti-mite setting icons on the left

Finally, after your futon has entered the drying stage (either as part of a combo washer/dryer or because you transferred it to a dedicated dryer), when you’ve got about 20 minutes left in the cycle, stop the machine and take the futon out. Because of how big and fluffy it is, the futon will probably have folded over onto itself, which can create damp pockets that the dryer isn’t reaching, so give the futon a manual fluffing, fold it back the opposite way from how it was, and put it back in to finish the cycle.

Laundry Press says that if your futon is especially big or luxuriously thick, you might also want to extend the drying time by an additional 20 to 40 minutes to make sure everything is as dry and fluffy as possible.

▼ Fluffiness levels before (left) and after (right) following these steps outlined above

With heat and humidity hitting Japan after a surprisingly mild June, preparations for cold weather are probably the farthest thing from many people’s minds. But just like how the best time to fix your roof is when the sun is shining the best time to wash your futon is when the frozen treats are hitting convenience stores.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: SoraNews24, PR Times
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Stay cool with a little help from a Ghibli seaside town.

When temperatures rise in Japan, so too does our desire for some cool respite, preferably along the lines of a seaside adventure like the one in Studio Ghibli’s 2008 anime film, Ponyo.

As if reading our minds, the studio has now come to the rescue with a new Ponyo glassware range to keep us cool and hydrated in summer, with beautiful designs to lift our spirits after a draining hot summer’s day. There are two products in the lineup, featuring an “Under the Sea” design inspired by the ocean scenes from the opening of the film.

▼ The first product is the “Under the Sea” Sea Glass (2,310 yen [US$14.21])

This clear glass is adorned in motifs that bring the film’s seaside setting to life, including a smiling Ponyo, fish, Sosuke’s house, and the lighthouse.

▼ At the bottom of the glass is a light blue jellyfish, as a nod to the jellyfish seen in the movie.

The jellyfish base is cleverly designed so that when you pour yourself a clear beverage, like water or soda, the liquid appears to take on a blue tint, making you feel as if you’re staring into the sea.

▼ The glass has a 270-millilitre (9-ounce) capacity, and measures 8.2 x 8.9 centimetres (3.2 × 3.5 inches).

The cool, summery design is perfect for summertime dining, especially when you pair it with the other new product in the lineup.

▼ “Under the Sea” Small Bowl (2,310 yen)

This adorable design depicts Ponyo mid-stroke, creating a sense of movement and a personal connection, as the cute character appears to look at us from the side, maintaining eye contact mid-swim.

▼ It’s almost as if she’s paused momentarily, inviting us to join her in the cool, calm seas.

▼ Or perhaps inviting us to enjoy some ice cream.

▼ Like the glass, this bowl also has a wave-like design, making us feel like we’re peering into the ocean.

Measuring 11 x 5.9 centimetres (2.3-4.3 inches), the bowl is ideally sized for a serving of yoghurt, ice cream, or shaved ice, and it’s also great for cold noodles and side dishes, whenever you need a cool moment to help ease the summertime heat.

If your love of Ponyo runs deep, you’ll be happy to know that Ghibli has just restocked a number of Ponyo items that’ll add even more cool vibes to summer.

▼ Lidded Bowl (5,500 yen)

▼ Jellyfish Ponyo Clock (8,580 yen)

▼ “Got It!” Ham Sandwich Pouch (3,850 yen)

▼ Ponyo Bucket (990 yen).

You can even add some cool Ponyo stylings to your look with a range of jewellery that sweetly depicts the character with her fish siblings.

▼ Ponyo Greeting Bracelet (3,630 yen)

▼ Inside the Jellyfish Ring (2,420 yen)

▼ Earrings (2,970 yen)

▼ This ocean-inspired design is available in pierced and clip-on versions.

The entire collection is awash with cute Ghibli stylings to help us look, and feel, cool this summer. All the Ponyo goods can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online (links below), where you can also pick up some other cute goods to help beat the summer heat.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Featured image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 10)
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Snorlax, Professor Tangrowth, and other characters from the Pokémon city builder given sweet salutes by Cozy Corner.

Pokémon Pokopia’s hook is that it’s a Pokémon game that’s also a city-building simulator. Your Ditto starts out isolated and unsheltered, but through diligent kindness, you create a community.

So it’s kind of ironic that today we’re looking at something for Pokopia fans that starts as a collection of cool and cute stuff, not to be built, but to be consumed. But, come on, what’re you supposed to do, not devour every last crumb of these delicious-looking Pokémon cakes?

Japanese sweets bakery Ginza Cozy Corner is back again with their newest nine-cake-variations-on-a-theme creation, and this time Pokopia is their muse, with a different flavor for every character or creature represented. Naturally Ditto shows up, twice in fact, once as a blueberry cream tart with blueberry jam…

…and again transformed into his best facsimile of Lapras, an apple-citrus (or “soda,” as the flavor is called in Japan) gelatin.

And we can’t have a Pokopia party without inviting the game’s sleeper-hit (in more ways than one) character, the moss-covered Snorlax known as Mosslax, rendered a a matcha roll cake.

As always, Pikachu is here too, in the form of a banana whipped cream and condensed milk roll cake…

…plus as a vanilla cream tart pale Pikachu.

Running through the remaining members of the group, we have Squirtle’s orange whipped cream and “soda” glaze cake…

…Bulbasaur’s pistachio whipped cream and cocoa sponge cake…

…Charmander’s vanilla whipped cream and raspberry glaze cake…

…and, finally, Pokopia’s distinctively scholarly Grass-type, Professor Tangrowth, as a soda-flavor cream tart.

Ah, but maybe you’d rather have a dessert that lets you reminisce about Pokopia’s more solitary early parts? Cozy Corner has you covered on that front too, with a personal-sized Ditto Cake.

This multi-layered treat consists of blueberry sponge cake interspersed with yogurt-flavor cream, pockets of blueberry jam, a top layer of matcha sponge cake, and a dollop of blueberry cream to form Ditto.

And should you be craving just a little something sweet, Cozy Corner also has packs of Pokémon-themed cookies, madeleines, and other pastries, ranging in price from 864 to 1,890 yen (US$5.30-US$11.60). The Ditto-alone cake is priced at 777 yen, and the nine-cake Pokémon Pokopia Collection is 3,564 yen.

The whole lineup goes on sale July 31, with the cakes scheduled to be available until August 26 and the cookie sets until some undefined time in late August. Given the immense popularity of Pokémon, though, especially in Japan, stores will probably be selling out of their daily stocks very quickly, but thankfully the Pokémon Pokopia Collection can be reserved online through the Cozy Corner here. And should you need something to do to kill time until your is ready, Snorlax would probably recommend a nice nap, like the one he’s been taking in Yokohama.

Source: PR Times, Cozy Corner
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Cozy Corner, PR Times
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