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Japanese makers behind 100-yen goods you see everywhere
Many 100-yen storage/kitchen items come from a handful of domestic manufacturers. Knowing the maker helps you find matching pieces across chains (Daiso, Seria, Can★Do, Watts).
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At 7‑Eleven, only the old-fashioned donut tastes good
Convenience stores jumped into donuts. After eating across chains and revisiting Mister Donut, 7‑Eleven’s old-fashioned is the only keeper (and it’s smaller than Misdo’s).
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Hunting for good spice jars for salt and seasonings
After bingeing cleaning/organizing books, I wanted tidy spice storage. Seria’s popular Inomata bottles tempted me; I compared them to what I had at home, Amazon options, and IKEA jars—and realized I should prune my spices first.
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IKEA glass jar gaskets: 5 for ¥199 (fit MUJI, Le Parfait, WECK too)
The rubber seal on my MUJI soda-glass jar cracked. MUJI sells spares via customer service, but IKEA’s KORKEN gasket set (5 for ¥199) fit perfectly—cheapest fix, likely for Le Parfait/WECK sizes too.
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Swapping kickboard wheels to fix loud pavement noise
A cheap Kaiser kickboard was roaring like a skateboard on asphalt. Replacing the hard plastic wheels with 4-inch JD RAZOR wheels made it smooth and quiet.
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How many languages is Robocar Poli on YouTube in?
Robocar Poli (Korean CG kids’ show about traffic safety) is dubbed in 80+ languages. I poked around YouTube, found the pirate uploads, the official channels, and noted which languages actually show up.
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The cute Kuroneko Yamato point-reward trucks
Scanning Kuroneko Yamato barcodes earns points; redeeming them gets die-cast Yamato trucks. Kids love them, and points come faster than expected.
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Refillable Hakkin hand warmer: hotter than disposables for winter playground duty
I switched from disposable warmers to a Hakkin catalytic hand warmer for cold park days with my kids—here’s fuel, heat level, burn time, safety tips, and a quick-start video.
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When a window seat opens on a train, do you move?
A job-test asked “Do you move to the end seat when it opens?” I unpacked why the question is flawed—personal space, narrow long seats, temperature, crowding, and that awkward moment when pairs want to sit together.
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I read a stack of cleaning books to make our home comfortable
I tried to keep possessions down and ended up with a bare, slightly inconvenient home. I binge-read cleaning/organizing books—minimalist, “German style,” label-happy, pro tactics—and took notes on what might actually help.