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Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan (2008)

by Lisa Katayama

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1554175,923 (3.52)None
Japan has a way of thinking that is just...different. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Tokyo-born journalist Lisa Katayama's collection of urawaza (a Japanese word for secret lifestyle tricks and techniques). Want to turbocharge your sled? Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Can't find someone to water your plants while you're away? Place the plant on a water-soaked diaper, so it slowly absorbs water over time. The subject of popular TV shows and numerous books in Japan, these unusually clever solutions to everyday problems have never before been published in English--until now! Urawaza collects more than 100 once-secret tricks, offering step-by-step directions and explanations.… (more)
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Showing 4 of 4
This was a cute gift book, full of random, USEFUL, information. ( )
  MakebaT | Sep 3, 2022 |
This book has a simple layout - problem, solution, and why it works. I'm sure a lot of these solutions work, but the few I've tried fell short. I tried removing a stain and freshing coffee. Those didn't work. Curing constipation with pressure points did seem to help a little though.
This is a good reference book for some of the daily problems you want solutions to. In other words, if you don't want to deal with chemicals, food going bad, or the dangers of the outside world, and you don't mind looking silly, this is a book you should look in to. ( )
  SanoChi | Aug 5, 2010 |
A fun collection of about 100 bizarre tips, from how to become a better bowler (with an iron), to getting rid of cockroaches (with soda). There's a quasi-scientific explanation at the bottom of each page/tip, so you can assess whether the idea is worth trying. ( )
  legallypuzzled | Mar 31, 2010 |
Before we begin the rewview, an urawaza is a "secret" tip or trick to remedy an everyday problem ingeniously, inventively, and resourcefully.

This book is a listing of some of the more popular tricks, like how to cure hiccups (tried and tested by me! It works!)

The art of fixing a lighthearted dilemma is presented in a coolingly refreshing stance. This book won't solve the major problems in life, but it will save you money. This is a book that is needed more than ever at present, what with the growing credit crunch and using a urawaza trick proved somewhat sastifying.

This book is easy to read and charming. The small introduction at the start is a nice tough, and each Urawaza is illustated with a small picture. I also liked the fact that there is a scientific explantion at the bottom (for those who scoff you) to illustrate why a certain Urawaza works.

I liked how the Urawaza are often eco-friendly alternatives. This is the first book tracing the phenomenon and collecting more than 100 useful tips (but there are so many more), in this instance, I actullay wish the book were thicker--there needs to be a dictionary of Urawaza! Fear not though, the internet has plenty if sites dedicated to Urawaza! ( )
  Spottyblanket | Sep 11, 2009 |
Showing 4 of 4
Lisa Katayama's Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan is a perfectly charming, utterly 21st century household hints book that is sure to surprise you at least five times, in a most delightfully useful way.
added by lampbane | editBoing Boing, Cory Doctorow (Apr 21, 2008)
 
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This book is dedicated to my two grandmas, Amy Sung and Itsu Katayama.

Amy was one of the few great female journalists in pre-Communist China. I like to think that I inherited her love of great stories and the written word.

Itsu was the original urawaza master. She once gave me a bamboo pole with a golf ball stuck to the end for knocking the stiffness out of my shoulders, and super-strong sake for my sore throat.
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U-ra-wa-za \ 'oo rah wah zah (noun)

1. a secret trick, 2. an unmapped shortcut
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Japan has a way of thinking that is just...different. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Tokyo-born journalist Lisa Katayama's collection of urawaza (a Japanese word for secret lifestyle tricks and techniques). Want to turbocharge your sled? Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Can't find someone to water your plants while you're away? Place the plant on a water-soaked diaper, so it slowly absorbs water over time. The subject of popular TV shows and numerous books in Japan, these unusually clever solutions to everyday problems have never before been published in English--until now! Urawaza collects more than 100 once-secret tricks, offering step-by-step directions and explanations.

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