Everyday objects: Hot Water

Everyday objects: Hot Water

If there is one thing that a visitor to China will notice, it is the nation’s obsession with hot water. The default at every restaurant or café is to serve water that is piping hot. Either that, or boiled water cooled to room temperature. There is a strong historical...
Everyday objects: Hot Water

Everyday objects: Kabi-Killer

Why does this diminutive spray bottle epitomise the daily ritual of washing here? You will find a Kabi-Killer lurking somewhere in every apartment you enter. Its grip on the market makes it a virtual monopoly: something you also see with Kirei Kirei (clean clean) –...
Everyday objects: Hot Water

Everyday objects: Face Masks

Masks are the product of a fundamental Japanese value: being polite. Spreading one’s germs is not only unhygienic, but also an invasion of personal space. Fear of being a nuisance (or meiwaku) is a resonant concept in Japan, and in crowded places it is vital that one...