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Examples

  • 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.

    Five Secret Japanese Tricks to Make Life Better | Lifehacker Australia 2008

  • Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor with a slice of bread, or placing houseplants on a water-soaked diaper to keep them watered during a vacation trip.

    Low-Tech Fixes High-Tech Problems « 2009

  • Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor with a slice of bread, or placing house plants on a water-soaked nappy to keep them watered during a holiday trip.

    unknown title 2009

  • Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor with a slice of bread, or placing house plants on a water-soaked nappy to keep them watered during a holiday trip.

    unknown title 2009

  • Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor with a slice of bread, or placing house plants on a water-soaked nappy to keep them watered during a holiday trip.

    unknown title 2009

  • Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor with a slice of bread, or placing houseplants on a water-soaked diaper to keep them watered during a vacation trip.

    Kansas City Star: Front Page 2009

Comments

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  • “In postwar Japan, the economy wasn’t doing so great, so you couldn’t get everyday-use items like household cleaners,” says Lisa Katayama, author of “Urawaza,” a book named after the Japanese term for clever lifestyle tips and tricks. “So people looked for ways to do with what they had.”

    The New York Times, Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems, by Paul Boutin, February 18, 2009

    February 20, 2009

  • I was just going to send you a link to that page. :-)

    September 24, 2009

  • Got a crying baby? Here’s an urawaza – a quirky, everyday tip from Japan – on how to stop a baby from crying instantly: make a slurpy sound with a mouthful of water!

    As seen here

    January 2, 2010

  • How do you fit the baby in your mouth?

    January 2, 2010

  • bilby: Har! Love that video. I used to make a "sh, sh, sh" sound that was pretty effective as well. I was told it was similar to a sound the baby heard in the womb. I'm guessing this works for the same reason.

    January 2, 2010