Does the Blue Mt Fuji Curry taste as terrifying as it looks?

We go on a trek to conquer this mountain of curry, and end up learning something in the process.

Mt Fuji, or “Fujisan” as it’s known in Japanese, is Japan’s most famous peak. Due to its global popularity, you can find a whole heap of products that feature Mt Fuji as a motif…but for our reporter Udonko, there’s one product that’s unrivalled in its visual impact.

Fujisan Blue Curry is enough to stop anyone in their tracks as soon as they lay eyes on it, and Udonko happened across it while browsing the retort curries on the Yodobashi e-commerce site. Although the curry was originally offered as a menu item at the Mt Fuji Lavacafe, located inside the Mt Fuji World Heritage Center in Yamanashi Prefecture, it became so popular that it was commercialised and now it’s sold at a wide variety of retailers.

Udonko purchased hers from Yodobashi for 715 yen (US$4.79), and when it arrived, she checked the ingredients list and was surprised to find that peach puree was on the list, along with more savoury ingredients like sautéed onions and ground chicken.

The peaches were sourced from Yamanashi Prefecture, where the retort curry is produced, which was a nice way to support local farmers in the area. However, though she’d heard of apples in curry before, this was her first time seeing a curry with peaches in it, and she couldn’t help but wonder how a product containing peaches could end up looking so blue.

▼ As she looked at the instructions for making the curry, she began to feel a flutter of nerves.

The first step would be to pop the retort curry pouch into a pot of boiling water and while it was cooking, scoop out a serving of rice onto a plate. That was easy enough, but it was the next step that made her nervous, as the rice needed to be moulded into the shape of the famous mountain.

▼ Putting her nerves aside, she began by shaping it into a round mound.

With the base looking sturdy, Udonko piled another mound of rice on top and that’s when things started to look a little wonky.

She used the scoop in an attempt to bring the grains together, and when that failed, she resorted to using her hand, popping a glove on to stop the rice from sticking to her skin.

She spent a fair amount of time fighting to complete the mountain, but no matter how hard she tried, her mountain-making skills fell short and she failed to replicate the perfect sample on the front of the package.

While moulding the mountain proved to be difficult, pouring the curry onto the rice was much easier.

Pouring carefully to avoid sullying the top of the mountain, Udonko let the blue roux slide down the sides of her rice mountain, forming a wondrous pool around it.

The mountain was a little wonky, and grains of rice were poking out in all the wrong directions, but in the end, with the roux poured around the sides, Udonko’s little mountain did resemble Mt Fuji!

▼ As long as you keep the peak white, and use a little imagination.

Now the only thing left to do was taste the curry, which looked more like a terrifying blue-green slime than an actual curry. Though her brain was begging her to run away from the fearsome-looking spoonful she was lifting to her mouth, Udonko mustered up all her courage and took that final step into the unknown.

Almost holding her breath in fear, Udonko suddenly relaxed as she realised the roux was absolutely delicious!

Despite its bold appearance, the curry had a surprisingly mellow and creamy flavour. The spiciness was a little more intense than a sweet curry but less than a medium spicy curry, and while it was sweet at first, the spiciness slowly made its presence known.

The only hurdle to a meal like this is getting past the first frightening bite, but once Udonko had accomplished that, she couldn’t stop eating the Mt Fuji curry, shovelling spoonfuls into her mouth like a ravenous mountaineer.

It’d been a long while since Udonko had eaten a curry this good, and it seemed even more delicious because of the sense of adventure involved. So if you like playing with your food, or know someone who does, the Fujisan Blue Curry makes for a perfect souvenir. It’s the next best thing to seeing the mountain from the Fujisan View Express train!

Related: Fujisan Blue Curry, Yodobashi
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How to eat well at a cheap Japanese house in the countryside with no electricity【SoraHouse】

No convenience store food allowed during this sleepover!

Back in 2021, we dropped a cool 1 million yen on a house in the Japanese countryside, which, going by exchange rates at the time, was equivalent to US$9,100. As you might guess from the super low price, this old house was a doer-upper, and we’ve spent the past two years slowly but surely making improvements, while having a lot of fun in the process.

We’re still a long ways from actually being able to live in the SoraHouse — it’s not even hooked up to electricity yet — but that hasn’t stopped us from dreaming of the day when it’s inhabitable and we can comfortably spend the night there.

Our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma is not as patient as the rest of us, and he recently decided to beat us all to it by becoming the first person to stay there overnight. He wanted to know what it would feel like to spend an entire day living in an old ramshackle house in the countryside, so he packed up a sleeping bag and some meals and headed out there for a last hurrah during summer.

Masanuki was keen to eat well without resorting to buying convenience store food during his stay so he’d done some research beforehand, hooking up with a meal subscription company to try their meals. Before he got down to eating and relaxing, though, there was work to be done, so he took up a shovel and began clearing away old remnants of wood from a past demolition project.

Though this was a fairly unremarkable task, every little bit helps when it comes to improving the look of the SoraHouse, and it was a nice change of pace from working at his desk all day. Before he knew it, he had become engrossed in the job, and he was now beginning to sweat.

Fortunately for Masanuki, we have a river on the property, so he headed over there to cool down and freshen up. As he splashed water on his face and enjoyed the gentle spray from the mini waterfall, he realised how vital rivers like this must’ve been back in the day, before there was air conditioning.

There was no air conditioning at the SoraHouse, so Masanuki felt as if he’d slipped back in time. Taking a moment to enjoy the birdsong and the rustling of the leaves, he felt calm and relaxed by this slow way of living.

When it came time to return to the task at hand, however, Masanuki felt his playful, childlike side begin to stir within him. Away from the big city, he now felt like throwing the big rocks that needed to be cleared instead of carefully moving them.

▼ So that’s what he did.

He felt like running with big sticks instead of weeding.

▼ So that’s what he did.

And he felt like playing with the spooky fireworks he’d brought with him, which resemble hitodama (balls of fire that are said to be the souls of the dead).

▼ So that’s what he did.

All that play made him work up an appetite, and luckily, he had his three meals with him. Created by meal subscription company Nosh, these products use environmentally friendly paper packaging and are said to be convenient for eating outdoors so he was looking forward to trying them out.

The only inconvenient thing about eating heated meals in an old house with no electricity is the fact that a portable battery is required to operate the microwave oven we have in the kitchen. Masanuki had brought the battery with him, though, so he was able to heat up his lunch, which was Chicken Teriyaki.

Masanuki had once heard a saying that goes, “Eating outside makes food three times more delicious”. As he sat on a rock with his lunch and looked out at the surrounding scenery, he heartily agreed with this sentiment.

▼ Chicken teriyaki never tasted so good.

The meal was light, but it gave him enough energy to get back to work and stop messing around. After clearing away more debris and taking a few breaks to enjoy the countryside views, the light began to dip behind the mountains, and that meant it was time for another meal.

▼ Dinner came in the form of a Hamburg steak with chilli sauce and vegetables on the side — healthy and delicious.

This time, Masanuki ate dinner inside, with nothing but the light of his phone to brighten the top floor area.

He could’ve spent a few more hours watching videos on his smartphone or reading a manga he’d brought with him, but he was so exhausted at this point that he decided to just curl up on his sleeping bag and drift off to sleep.

After sleeping like a log through the night, Masanuki woke to the sound of birds at sunrise. He immediately strolled down to the river to freshen up, and then it was time to start the day…

▼ …with breakfast!

▼ Fried fish with tartar sauce and vegetables.

▼ Masanuki enjoyed his meal with a view out the window.

While it would’ve been nice to have rice on the side to help beef up these meals, we’re yet to bring a rice cooker to our humble estate, so Masanuki had to make do with the main and sides on their own.

Still, even without the rice they were good, and he felt proud of himself for not resorting to convenience store food like he usually does during visits to the SoraHouse. These healthier meals helped to make him feel more like he was relaxing at a home away from home, or even on a spa break at a health retreat, albeit without any of the luxurious pampering sessions.

So in the end, Masanuki put us all to shame by not only staying the night at our rundown house, but eating well while he did it. He’s braver than all of us combined, especially when you consider the fact that the house is known to have midnight visitors.

Related: Nosh
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder insulated cups coming to 7-Eleven Japan

Too bad there’s no Bowser one or I would have copped a Koopa cup of that.

The Super Mario franchise has been around so long that the main characters have appeared in countless video games, movies, and ice cream. So it’s probably safe to say that we’ve all crossed paths with the pudgy plumbers in one way or another, and I’m sure we’ve all had the same thought when looking at their curvy physiques: “You know, if I tore off his head and limbs, he’d make a pretty swell tumbler.”

Well, now this psychopathic dream will become a reality with the release of the Super Mario Tumbler Book on 12 October. The reason it’s called a “book” is that it comes with some kind of pamphlet that allows it to be classified as a book and thus displayed on the magazine racks of a convenience store which in this case is 7-Elevens nationwide.

They come in the torsos of either Mario or Luigi for 2,959 yen (US$20) each and the designs are deceptively simple yet detailed, right down to the subtly different shades of blue used in each brother’s overalls.

Each cup is made of steel and can hold about 320 milliliters (11 ounces). The design is vacuum insulated to keep your beverage at an optimal temperature and also keep condensation from forming on cold drinks, making them great for workspaces.

▼ That Compaq Presario is safe and sound!

These limited-edition cups are being sold to commemorate the launch of Super Mario Wonder for Nintendo Switch on 20 October. The titular “book” that comes with each cup will offer a look at the upcoming game and other details.

So, be sure to pick up a cup from one of the many 7-Elevens that carry it or order it directly from the website of its distributor Takarajimasha. Hopefully, next time, the company will answer the question on everyone’s mind — whether or not tearing off Sonic the Hedgehog‘s head would make for a decent toothbrush holder.

Source: Takrajimasha, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season

Filled with tiny details to delight fans of Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle too.

Japan has a love/hate relationship with humidity. Hot and muggy is pretty much the forecast for every single day of the summer months, but once we’re out of summer and the weather cools off, you can expect people to be grumbling in short order about how dry the weather is, making their skin uncomfortably itchy.

To cope with the dryness at home, many people plug in a room humidifier. But while Japanese electronics and houseware stores stock a wide variety of the little gadgets, last year people who wanted their living spa both humidified and adorable flooded Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku, which was selling compact humidifiers featuring characters from My Neighbor Totoro and other works by the Hayao Miyazaki-founded anime studio.

Unfortunately, the high quality and loving attention to detail of Donguri Kyowakoku’s creations means that their items often sell out in a flash, especially for essentially seasonal products like the desktop humidifiers. Fortunately, with dry days on the way once again, the Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back in stock, with all four versions available as of this writing.

Naturally, you can’t ignore Totoro when putting together a line of Ghibli merch. The cuddly character stands on a tree trunk while blowing steam out of his ocarina on this humidifier topper, and there’s even a small Totoro for a double dose of cuteness.

Black cat Jiji is the representative for the Kiki’s Delivery Service model, here perched on Kiki’s breakfast table next to the coffee mug she purchases (at Jiji’s urging) upon arriving in her new town, plus a stack of thick pancakes. In a clever touch, the humidifier’s steam rises from the coffee cup, making it look like it’s actually filled with a fresh cup of java.

▼ See what we meant about Donguri Kyowakoku being detail-oriented?

There’s more culinary cleverness with the Howl’s Moving Castle humidifier, where fire spirit (and sometimes toy car) Calcifer is grilling up a full frying pan of bacon and eggs…

…and for Spirited Away, there’s steam rising from a tub at bathhouse of the gods, which is currently occupied by a trio of birds, with one more waiting to hop in.

▼ This sometimes happens at real-world bathhouses in Japan too (the having to wait to get into a crowded tub part, not the giant birds).

Though the shape of the bottle is the same for all four humidifiers, each has its own subtle logo, with No Face showing up on the Spirited Away one.

Power is supplied by a USB cable, and the devices’ compact size means they can easily share desk space with your laptop.

The humidifiers are identically priced at 5,280 yen (US$35.70) each, and can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
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This ice cream cake has been sold in Japan for 40 years, but it’s almost unknown here

Our reporter didn’t know about it either!

Japan has a lot of delicious ice cream brands, but apparently there are even some our Japanese-language reporters have never heard of before. Take Viennetta, for example, which is a British multi-layered ice cream cake sold around the world. In Japan, it’s sold by popular sweets, dairy, and drink brand Morinaga Milk. Imagine our Japanese-language reporter Daiki Nishimoto’s surprise when he learned that, as of October this year, it’s been around for forty years, and this is the first time he’s ever heard of it!

As it turns out, he isn’t the only one. Earlier this year, Morinaga Milk did a survey of 10,000 people aged 15 to 69 across Japan and learned that only 12.7 percent of respondents had ever heard of the product. This was totally bizarre to Daiki. How does a major company like Morinaga Milk have a product that’s 40 years old that no one has ever heard about? And it’s a popular brand in many other countries. He decided he had to try it and see if there was a reason.

The first time he learned about Viennetta was actually from Morinaga Milk’s official Twitter account. Viennetta appeared to “borrow” the account from Morinaga Milk and posted a series of photos relaying facts from the survey like, “Only 4 percent of Generation Z know about Viennetta.”

現実を突きつけられた調査結果でした。 pic.twitter.com/1OCVHZPu7B

— 森永乳業＠もーりー (@morinaga_milk_) September 1, 2023

“People think I’m a type of scrubbing sponge,” the photos lamented. “Don’t call me nostalgic anymore. I’m right here.” (“Here” is spelled with Viennetta boxes.)

When Daiki thought about it, even these photos didn’t kindle any memories of seeing Viennetta in person before. He didn’t even know where to get one. He ended up ordering it online, but that made it more expensive than usual.

The suggested retail price is 630 yen (US$4.21), which means it’s originally a pretty pricey–and thereby luxury?–product. This might be a clue as to why it isn’t very well-known, since there are plenty of really tasty ice creams and sweets out there at much cheaper prices. Still, Daiki wanted to take a deep dive into the mystery, so he opened the package.

What waited inside was a fairly large ice cream cake. It was probably about 13.5 centimeters (5.3 inches) long, 7 centimeters (2.7 inches) wide, and maybe 5 or 6 centimeters (2 or 2.3 inches) tall. The ripple layout is probably what makes it look like a sponge. It was made up of three layers of piped ice cream covered in chocolate.

It was a resplendent, elegant ice cream cake, and calling it a “scrubbing sponge” doesn’t do it justice. The many rippling layers looked more like expensive velvet drapes. While words like “scrubbing sponge” and “drapes” probably aren’t the best ways to describe an ice cream cake, it does describe the unique impression it makes when you first look at it. Undoubtedly this is something you could never forget about once you’ve seen it.

Its highly simple flavor was actually a contrast to its elegant appearance. Though it’s called a cake, there’s no actual cake sponge inside. Instead, it’s a rich, thick vanilla ice cream with chocolate layers periodically woven in. The sweetness of each continually fights for dominance.

It was really good! Daiki couldn’t get over the way the smooth creaminess and crispy texture of the chocolate resonated with each other. The fact that it was so simple and that it slowly oozed out of shape was irrelevant. The feeling of sheer joy he experienced was both straightforward and exciting, making his palate sing.

Though the price might put some people off, it isn’t actually so bad when you actually look at the product offered. Daiki would say you get more than enough for what you’re paying. And he didn’t get tired of eating it, so it’s not like it would go to waste. Considering how much food you get and how good it is, it’s well worth the price.

Honestly, it surpassed his expectations. He’d prepared for some kind of bomb to be hidden inside, but this was really delicious. A luxury product expected of Morinaga Milk.

But if it’s this good, why does no one know about it? As Daiki was eating his, he came up with several reasons. The first is, admittedly, the price. While Viennetta has excellent cost performance, it is quite expensive compared to other ice cream products on the shelf.

And again, while the cost performance is excellent, you do get a lot of food. It’s not really the kind of ice cream dessert you can eat on your own. If he were to buy this again–especially with the price–it would only be if he had a strong craving for it, or if he was having a party or something.

The last issue he found is that it’s not the kind of sweet you can just eat on a whim. It requires care, since it’ll melt quickly, and if you’re serving it to others, you’ll need a lot of utensils. It isn’t the most convenient dessert out there.

Competition in the Japanese sweets industry is getting intense these days, with really high-quality ice creams, dessert drinks, and pastries available at highly accessible prices in convenient locations like convenience stores and supermarkets. With that in mind, it’s not really surprising that Viennetta, which has none of those qualities, gets buried by the competition.

Well, if Daiki had to sum up his feelings about Viennetta after trying it, he’d say, “I’m glad I found it.” He highly doubts that anyone could resist it after trying it even once, which is why he’d love to see it appreciated by more people.

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New Super Mario lifestyle line wants to help you save money with coin-sound Warp Pipe bank

Nintendo Ichibankuji brings a little randomized Super Mario adventure into our homes.

October sees the release of Super Mario Wonder, the first all-new side-scrolling Super Mario game in over a decade. That’s not the only thing for fans of Nintendo’s flagship franchise to get excited about, though, as October will also be bringing us the Super Mario Home Adventure Life lifestyle goods line.

The collection applies Super Mario visual design to useful household items, with one of the coolest touches being a Warp Pipe coin bank. Every time you make a deposit, it plays either the Super Mario sound effect for picking up a coin or entering a pipe, either of which will instantly reward fans’ fiscal responsibility with a hit of audio-triggered dopamine.

Super Mario Home Adventure Life is the latest iteration of toymaker Bandai Spirits Ichibankuji randomized prize system. Think of it like a premium capsule toy kind of thing, but instead of putting your money in a machine and turning a crank, you pay a cashier and grab a piece of paper out of a box, with the prize you get written on the paper.

The Warp Pipe coin bank is Super Mario Home Adventure Life’s B-Rank, or second-rarest, prize per Ichibankuji location. Above it, in the A Rank, is a wall/desk clock that plays different Super Mario sounds on the hour.

▼ At 12 o’clock it plays the level clear sound, like it’s celebrating you finishing your morning work/study load and going on lunch break.

Heading the other way on the rarity list, the C prize is a ceramic Blooper…

…with a little spout on its back, because it’s actually a soy sauce dispenser.

▼ Don’t worry about the Blooper dish – we’ll get to that in a minute.

The D prize is an acrylic calendar with a double-width frame, so that you can slide the insert to whatever day/date combination matches the current month and keep using it regardless of the year.

While your prize rank is completely random, you do get some degree of choice with the following E, F, and G prizes. Each has a total of six items that you can choose from, provided the exact one you want is still in stock at that Ichibankuji location.

▼ E prize: Ceramic tea cups, soy sauce plates (most commonly used for dipping sashimi or sushi in, so the Blooper and Cheep Cheep motifs make sense), and plumber hat chopstick rests

▼ F prize: Towel pouches and hand towels

▼ G prize: Connectable power-up and block coasters, Piranha Plant hairclip, and Boo-chasing-Mario cable tie, all made of rubber

As mentioned above, different prize tiers in Ichibankuji have different rarities, with each shop that sells the tickets having its own stock. Because of that, there’s a chance that all the higher-ranking prizes might be gone by the time you’re drawing for yours. That’s why the system also has a “Last One” prize, awarded as an additional prize for whoever purchases the very last ticket in the box. For the Super Mario Home Adventure Life lineup, the Last One prize is a special Warp Pipe key bank with alternate artwork showing a powered-up Mario battling Bowser.

Ichibankuji tickets are sold at various toy and hobby shops, and Super Mario Home Adventure Life tickets will also be offered at the Nintendo Tokyo and Nintendo Osaka specialty stores, as well as branches of 7-Eleven, starting October 13. Pricing is 700 yen (US$4.70) per play, which is honestly about the lowest price you’d find video game merch along the lines of even the E, F, and G prizes for, so there’s really not a bad prize in the bunch, and the random aspect does seem kind of appropriate for a series filled with Question Mark blocks.

Source, images: @Press
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Edible culture shock: Our Japanese reporter tries American barbecue for first time【Taste test】

P.K. broadens his palate while filling his stomach.

“So, ‘American food’ is basically hamburgers and pizza, right?”

That’s the image our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun had of the United States’ culinary cultural contributions, with the “pizza” part presumably pointed at the topping-and-cheese-heavy versions popularized by American pizzerias. And to clarify, he’s not complaining. On his trips to the U.S., P.K. has been more than happy to eat a hamburger every single day for an entire week.

▼ A lot of P.K.’s vacation photos look like this

But last month, while visiting New York for the first time, P.K. wondered if there was a way to broaden his appreciation for American food, so he asked his friend who lives in the city for a recommendation. “What should I eat if I want something that screams ‘You’re in America!’?”, he asked, and his friend quickly replied “Barbeque.”

And with that, they were off to Virgil’s, a barbeque restaurant not far from Times Square. As they stepped into the place and down into the dining area, though, P.K. felt like he’d been transported from the Empire State to deep in the heart of Texas, or somewhere else in the American south, thanks to the woody interior and at-home atmosphere.

▼ Note: P.K. has never been to Texas or the South, but Virgil’s interior is what he imagines they’re like.

Since this was P.K.’s first experience with American barbeque, he left the ordering up to his friend. After about a 10-minute wait, the server brought his food, and P.K. was shocked, in the best way possible, by the massive platter of meat placed before him.

▼ All this, just for P.K.!

Pork spareribs, grilled beef, pulled pork…it was a feast for the eyes, and it was going to be a feast for his stomach too. This was also, by the way, P.K.’s first time to see cornbread muffins, but of course he started with the meat.

P.K. dug in, and his first impression was…

“This reminds me of the flavor of the barbeque sauce they give you with Chicken McNuggets.”

We should clarify that P.K. means this in the best possible way, and that he also quickly realized that the flavor and texture of the meat itself was clearly a cut above fast-food quality. In terms of the sauce’s flavor, though, the mix of sweet and smoky notes reminded him of McDonald’s McNugget sauce…and he loved it, especially chasing bites of saucy meat with sips of a nice cold beer.

Barbeque aficionados may scoff at the notion of likening a proper sauce to the stuff you’ll find in McDonald’s packets, but it’s worth noting that barbecue sauce itself isn’t very common in Japan. McDonald’s is one of the few places in Japan where you’ll consistently find barbeque sauce, and so it’s not surprising that P.K.’s first taste of American barbecue had him thinking of the Golden Arches, since that’s its closest relative in his personal taste-testing resume.

And again, P.K. was overwhelmed by how tasty it was. This hearty, heavily flavored meal was exactly the sort of “AMERICAN!” chow he’d been hoping for.

The sides all hit their marks too. Collard greens were another first for P.K., and with coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and baked beans too, P.K. was left very happy and very full.

At US$45, this wasn’t a cheap meal, but this was New York, where P.K. has heard you can spend 40 bucks even on a bowl of ramen if you load up the toppings, so he felt like it was a fair price. Compared to Japanese barbecue parties, where the main fare is thin strips of flat-grilled meat, this was a decadent, dynamic-looking dinner, and something that P.K. recommends every Japanese traveler try at least once if they get a chance in the U.S., as it’s a very enjoyable bit of culture shock.

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Tokyo Metropolitan Police shows us how to make garbage bags out of newspaper

To protect and lifehack.

I’m not really sure when this happened, but somewhere along the way, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has become a leading source of lifehacks in Japan.

These interesting and handy tips have all been disseminated by the department’s Disaster Management Division as ways to make do with ordinary household items if trapped at home, but you’ll find a lot of them work perfectly well in daily life too. They’ve been regularly posted on the division’s official Twitter account (@MPD_bousai) for years and it seems there’s no end to their ingenuity.

Now, they’re bringing us a trick that went over quite well with social media users and it involves making a garbage bag out of newspaper. And this isn’t an origami garbage box like we showed you before, nor is it simply lining a garbage bin with newspaper. This is a super easy way to make a functional garbage bag from a square sheet of newspaper that can be explained in a 20-second video.

自他共に認める不器用な私。新聞紙でゴミ袋を折るのは難しくて覚えられませんでしたが、私でも簡単にできる方法がありましたので紹介します。新聞紙には湿気を吸収し、臭いを消す効果があります。覚えておくと避難所生活で便利ですよ。捨てるのも簡単なのでぜひお試しを。 pic.twitter.com/f0EvKqmyif

— 警視庁警備部災害対策課 (@MPD_bousai) September 21, 2023

Not only is it a good backup for conventional garbage bags when in a pinch, but according to the above post, it also does a pretty good job of absorbing moisture and odors. I’m not sure where this falls on the environmentalism scale since you’re tossing the newspaper rather than recycling it, but in doing so you’re also reducing plastic, so at least it seems like a net good thing… Maybe if we had some hemp newspapers?

Either way, comments from those who watched the video and gave it upwards of 10,000 likes were very impressed.

“That’s really convenient! Looks good for everyday use too.”
“Even a lazy person like me can do it!”
“I’m pretty clumsy, but I think I can do that.”
“But I don’t have newspapers or round garbage cans.”
“My teacher in elementary school used to do this!”
“Now I don’t have to use shopping bags.”
“Ever since they started charging for plastic bags I’ve been doing this.”

As that last comment mentioned, since July 2020 supermarkets, convenience stores, and other businesses across Japan have been required by law to charge for plastic bags instead of giving them out for free with purchases. Since those bags were often reused as garbage bags, this change left a lot of people with nowhere to put their trash.

While this is a good alternative, other comments also pointed out that a newspaper subscription isn’t as common a thing as it used to be. Still, it couldn’t hurt to go out, pick up an issue, and be set with garbage bags for a while while also supporting local journalism if it still exists in your area.

Source: Twitter/@MPD_bousai via Netlab
Top image: Twitter/@MPD_bousai
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