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Paraphrasing, "To restore a wool sweater shrunk in the dryer, soak in a sink of water and hair conditioner, then block etc." My Prince had washed in hot water AND dried my favorite garment ever.a $300 merino wool/possum fur cardigan sweater from New Zealand. I'm 66 and have had about enough of household hints, but it was a slow day and I read to the end. My gosh, what else is in this book. So after a dip in the sink with about half a bottle of hair conditioner, a short soak, a quick rinse, a towel blot, a block and my sweater is nearly perfect. When the Dallas Morning News reviewed this book, I almost passed. No kidding,from an XXL it might have fit a 10 year old child. Can't wait to find out. I hadn't discarded the sweater, thinking I might someday make potholders or something from it.
This a fun book with a lot of simple and very helpful tricks that you can use in your daily life. I would definitely recommend it. It is very entertaining and I love sharing the secrets. I found myself using the tips and tricks in this book from the first day I started reading it.
It's improved my quality of life in so many areas -- in the margins, but it's these little things that make it so fun. Now we have "Very useful Japanese tricks." I really like how Lisa tells us why the tricks work as well. No problem. My wife dropped an egg on the floor, and it was so easy to clean up the mess.
I don't need to worry about garlic breath after lunch. I've recommended this so many of my friends, who immediately rush to go get their own copy after I've recited some of the great tricks.Definitely one for every household. In the office, warmed-over coffee never tasted so good. It's certainly about time we had something from Japan that goes beyond the famous "101 Useless Japanese Inventions" (funny, though). I've had this book for several months now, and it only gets more and more useful and fun. The other day I spilled wine on some white clothing. And my plant is thanking Urawaza for saving its life, since it stayed home without me but didn't dry out.I just wish I could hold more of the urawaza in my head so I'd be prepared for all sorts of contingencies on the road too.
This also makes a great gift. And the vignettes for how the situations might arise are so funny. I impressed my grandmother and family to no end by cleaning up their coffee and tea-stained cups and coffee-maker with orange peel and salt. (I'm set for this Christmas season - I always have trouble finding something that's fun and useful) In our household, "what does it say in the Urawaza book." is now the standard first response to many situations.
This book is so neat. Very interesting, and also gave us a laugh on a few of them :) We've tried a lot of the little tricks already.
There are a few little asides at the start of each chapter talking about the author's personal history or a few cultural notes, but that is about it. There was a good opportunity to include some Japanese vocabulary for each entry, just a few words here and there relating to the subject, and make this a language-learner along with its helpful and fun tips. Its main use is with videogames, referring to cheat codes left in by programmers who never intended them to become public knowledge. For example, magically clearing up a stuffy nose by shoving the white root section of a scallion in your nostrils, or rubbing a little egg white on your glasses to prevent them from fogging. Want to know how to keep your bathwater from going cold using only orange peels, or how to make your dull hair glossy. Everyone knows how to cure the hic-ups, or to get wine stains out of white clothing right.
The Japanese term for these is "urawaza", a word with a sly feel to it meaning a little secret that only you know about, something you discovered about a product that the producers didn't intend for you to know. This book is full of urawaza's, little "cheat codes" for common household objects like potatoes and old sales receipts, things that would normally never be used for more than their intended purposes. "Urawaza" has what you need.The only disappointment with this book is the lack of any real Japanese connection, aside from the title. You might feel a bit strange at first rubbing a cut potato across your bathroom mirrors to make them fog-free, but you can't argue with the results. There are all sorts of little household tricks and tips handed down via word of mouth, or from a helpful friend or parent in a time of need. Each tip is accompanied by a short explanation of why the process works, showing the molecules and process involved that accompany the magic.The strange thing is, the tips actually work.
Unfortunately they didn't go that route, but if you aren't studying Japanese and just want a cool and useful little book, then that isn't really an issue. I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I have given a shot work just as advertised.
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