Photo: Hario

17 best Japanese products and gadgets you need in your life

These cool Japanese inventions will make your life better – from erasable pens to gorgeous coffee and tea drippers

Wednesday 21 December 2022

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Written by Kaila Imada & Kasey Furutani

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Japan is chock-full of inimitable and wacky products ranging from the fun but not-so-practical novelty trinkets to the inventive and useful solutions for everyday living. If you're on the hunt for life-changing kitchen appliances and beautiful yet functional homeware, you've come to the right place. Corny keychains and snow globes these are not – here are some products that make great Japanese souvenirs.

RECOMMENDED: 10 things you didn't know were invented in Japan

Kitchen and dining

Daiso Standard Products Japanese kitchen knives

Photo: Daiso

A proper Japanese kitchen knife is always a popular item to buy in Japan, but it doesn’t come cheap. Daiso’s new lifestyle store Standard Products offers high-quality basics at affordable prices, including three stainless steel knives that are made in Gifu prefecture. There’s a bread knife, a kitchen knife and a petty knife. These affordable slicers are produced in Seki, a city known for its knives and blades industry, while the handles are fashioned out of Japanese wood. Unfortunately, Standard Products has no online shop, so you’ll have to pick this up at the store.

From ¥1,100, at Daiso Standard Products (in-store only).

Kinome ceramic coffee filter

Photo: Ash Concept

This reusable coffee filter makes it look as if you’re watering a tiny plant when it’s filled with coffee grounds. The little sprout in the filter functions as a guide for the appropriate amount of coffee grounds to put in and water to pour. No additional paper filter is needed to brew your coffee, and you can easily clean the filter by running it under water. When not used for brewing, the pot makes a nice decoration on the kitchen shelf.

¥5,500, from Koncent.

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Hario Cha Cha Dripper

Photo: Hario

Forget flimsy tea bags. The new way to brew your tea is with this beautiful dripper from Hario. Similar to making a pour over coffee, this brewing method uses a paper filter, which sits inside the cone-shaped dripper. Simply sprinkle your desired amount of tea leaves into the cone and pour in hot water until your tea is filtered into the heat-resistant glass below.

¥3,300, from Hario.

Nonbee Yokocho electric sake heater

Photo: Mitani Electric Co., Ltd.

Enjoy an izakaya night at home with this convenient electric sake heater that warms up your sake at the table. While microwaving sake can ruin its taste, this smart device allows you to heat up your sake directly in a decanter or glass using a warm water bath. The portable size also means you can easily keep the heater at the table so the sake stays consistently warm. The settings on the device allow you to choose the temperature between 35 and 59 degrees Celsius.

¥6,980, from Rakuten.

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Kamenoko Tawashi scrubbers

Photo: Kamenoko Tawashi

Kamenoko Tawashi scrubbers are a staple in any Japanese household. Made from palm fibres, tawashi are gently abrasive, making them great for cleaning everything from root vegetables to pots and pans without leaving scratches. In addition to the standard tawashi, you’ll also find several variations ranging from heavy duty brushes with coarse bristles to soft hemp fibres for your delicate items.

From ¥825, at Kamenoko Tawashi.

Vita Craft Temp Pan

Photo: Vita Craft

This unique frying pan comes with a built-in temperature sensor to help you cook with precision. The pan is available in two sizes, either 22cm or 26cm in diameter, and also comes with a glass lid. Conveniently, it works with both gas and induction stovetops. The temperature of the pan is displayed on the handle and it just needs two triple A batteries to function.

From ¥13,200, at Vita Craft.

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Thanko bento rice cooker

Photo: Thanko

Nothing beats the comfort of freshly cooked rice and with this bento box rice cooker, you’ll never have to reheat rice again. The size of a small lunch box, this rice cooker is designed to cook a single serving of rice as quickly as possible. It’s highly portable and can be plugged in anywhere, including at your desk. The bento rice cooker is a creation of Thanko, an electronics company known for out-there appliances like the underarm air-con, but we say any rice cooker that can double as a lunchbox is genius – now we just need a mini frying pan with a lid.

¥6,980, available online from Thanko.

Household goods and toys

Ghibli Mini Humidifier

Photo: Benelic

When the air gets a bit dry, the quickest fix is to use a humidifier. This adorable mini humidifier features some of Ghibli's most iconic characters such as Totoro, Calcifer from ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and Jiji the cat from ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’. The humidifier is ideal for your desk or bedside table and comes with a USB cable, so it can easily be plugged into any USB port or even your computer.

¥5,280, from Donguri Sora and selected Donguri Republic stores.

King Salmon Dismantling Puzzle

Photo: Mega House

Want to learn the anatomy of a fish? This puzzle lets you do just that. The three-dimensional puzzle allows you to take apart the fish piece by piece just like a fishmonger. You can even learn the names of every part as each piece is labelled. There are cute mini sushi pieces and a mini knife to complete the set.

¥1,780, from Yodobashi.

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POJ Studio Kintsugi Kit

Photo: POJ Studio

Embrace the Japanese ethos of wabi sabi with this DIY Kintsugi Kit from Pieces of Japan. Kitsugi is the art of mending broken pottery by filling in cracks, chips or broken areas with lacquer and gold. You can try it out for yourself, guided by the easy-to-follow instructions on POJ’s YouTube masterclass. The kit is created in collaboration with a master restorer and follows the traditional Japanese method, which will help your items last longer. Best of all, POJ ships internationally, so you can experience a bit of Japan from wherever you are.

¥14,000, from POJ Studio.

Michi-Kusa Vase

Photo: Koncent

This petite flower vase is perfect for small living spaces and adds an instant pop of nature to any room. Unlike a regular vase, this one functions similar to an ikebana holder where you place flowers between the small spikes for easy arrangement. You don’t need to go all out with fancy flowers, either. The vase is inspired by michikusa, or roadside flowers, meaning you can simply pluck a cute bloom or leaf from the street on your way home.

¥2,420, from Koncent.

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Hibi incense

Photo: Hibi

Incense isn’t just reserved for temples and shrines. Hibi, meaning ‘everyday’ in Japanese, are matchstick-style incense sticks that burn for ten minutes. Scratch the stick against the box, place it on the applicable mat and enjoy natural scents like lemongrass, sandalwood, lavender and more. Highly portable and compact, everything you need is within the box so you can light incense anywhere, anytime.

Starting from ¥770, available online or at retailers in Japan.

Frixion erasable pens

Photo: Frixon

From trusty pen brand Pilot, these erasable ballpoint pens and highlighters mean you’ll never have to cross-out your work again. Using a special ink that turns invisible when heated, Frixion pens look like magic the first time you erase a line. They’re available in a rainbow of colours, and even better, you can purchase ink refills so you can use the same pen forever. Since the ink disappears at high temperatures, though, you might want to stick to a traditional ballpoint when signing a document.

From ¥189. Available at most convenience and stationery stores.

Beauty and bath

Soil diatomaceous bath mat

Photo: Dinos

Produced in Akita and Ishikawa prefectures, this quick-drying bath mat is essentially a large, flat stone made from natural diatomaceous soil that has deodorising and quick-drying properties. Thanks to its porous nature, the mat wicks away moisture instantly and dries fast, too. The mats don’t need to be washed, but for general upkeep, gently polish it with sandpaper. It’s especially useful when the weather’s humid.

¥6,050, from Bruno.

Yojiya aburatorigami

Photo: fb.com/yojiya1904

Oil blotting paper can be found throughout the world, but Yojiya’s aburatorigami is the vintage wine of blotting sheets. Originally used by geisha, kabuki and film actors, Yojiya’s oil blotting paper was released in 1920 and soon became popular with Kyoto locals for its gentle texture, perfect for sensitive skin. The paper is now sold in a compact-style notebook that’s discreet enough to use in public.

From ¥550. Available online and at Yojiya stores in Kyoto and Haneda and Narita airports.

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Onsen bath powder

Photo: Kisa Toyoshima

While initially shocking, first-time visitors to Japan are bewitched by the warm waters of onsen, or hot springs. You can't bring home the onsen water – however, onsen enthusiasts can turn their own humble bathroom into a hot spring with special boxes of bath salts sold in drugstores. One of the most popular brands is Tabi no Yado, which offers two types of powder, clear and milky, to recreate the warm waters of famous onsen including Kusatsu, Hakone and Beppu.

From ¥590. Available at most drugstores.

Kao MegRhythm heated eye mask

Photo: Kisa Toyoshima

When a normal eye mask just won’t cut it, try putting a heated pad on your face. Kao MegRhythm is a heated eye mask that feels like a warm spa towel. Perfect for long plane rides, the mask heats up and soothes your eyes and forehead to prevent puffiness and fatigue when you wake up. The masks come in a variety of scents: lavender is supposed to ease you into sleep, while yuzu apparently energises your body and appearance. For something to wake you up after a quick nap at work, there’s the menthol eye mask.

From ¥980. Available at most drugstores.