“When it comes to life and getting things done, we like to do things a
little differently in Japan. When I break a glass in the kitchen, I
don’t use my vacuum cleaner to clean it up; I use a slice of bread.
When my socks become dirt-stained from running in a muddy ravine, I
don’t pour bleach on them; I stuff them with marbles. And to save space
and money, I have never bought a document shredder. I just stuff
incriminating documents in a stocking and toss them in the washing
machine.
In
Japan, there’s an organic, non-commercial cure for almost anything.
It’s a tradition that blossomed in the post-WW2 era when people had to
save money and space for economic reasons. Today, this habit of
utilitarian thriftiness paired with a quirky national sensibility has
spawned a phenomenon called urawaza—a collection of offbeat life hacks and unmapped shortcuts. It’s also the subject of my new book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
Keep reading for excerpts on how to silence a crying baby, get rid of
splinters, swim backward, make grass greener, and easily clean up egg
yolk… all using common household objects.”
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