Japanese home appliances, explained by an engineer.
I’m Andrew Kokleong Lee, a mechanical and product development engineer based in Japan. I spent more than 10 years at Dyson on airflow, separation and testing. More about me.
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Heating a Japanese apartment in winter: aircon, kotatsu, oil heater or electric blanket? An engineer runs the numbers
Heating a Japanese apartment in winter? I ran the aircon, kotatsu, electric blanket, oil heater and fan heater through ¥31/kWh to see what each really costs.
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Rice cookers in Japan: what mai-con, IH, and pressure IH actually mean (and which one is worth your money)
Mai-con, IH, and pressure IH rice cookers in Japan explained by an engineer, with 5 real models across every price tier, current prices, and Amazon links.
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Robot vacuums in Japan: which ones actually deal with a small apartment
Robot vacuums in Japan have to deal with tatami mats, narrow genkan steps and small floor plans. Here’s what actually works, with real prices and models.
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How to control a Japanese aircon from your phone (and why there’s no thermostat on the wall)
No thermostat in your Japanese apartment? Here’s why, and how a smart IR remote like Nature Remo or SwitchBot Hub 2 gives you app control for under ¥10,000.
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Portable Air Conditioners in Japan: Do They Actually Cool a Room?
Portable air conditioners in Japan: real specs and August 2026 prices for Corona and Iris Ohyama, what they cool, running costs, and when a split AC wins.
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What size fridge actually fits a Japanese apartment? 1K to 2LDK, broken down
Japanese apartment listings say 1K, 1LDK, or 2LDK, but never what fridge size actually fits. A room-by-room liter breakdown, with real models and prices.
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How to choose a washing machine in Japan: size, installation, and running costs
Choose a washing machine in Japan by capacity, installation space, drying method, and disposal cost, with practical checks for small Japanese apartments.
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Why Japanese air conditioners look different from the rest of the world
Every air conditioner in Japan is a wall-mounted mini-split, and there’s a real engineering reason why. Here’s the postwar history, and what to actually buy.
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Higashi-Osaka: the city that makes everything
There’s a nut on the Shinkansen that hasn’t come loose in 40 years of 250 km/h operation. It’s called the Hardlock nut. Wakabayashi Katsuhiko invented it, and his…
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The companies you’ve never heard of that make your Japanese air purifier actually work
This article contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Amazonのアソシエイトとして、nihonshouhin.comは適格販売により収入を得ています。 When I was writing…
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Air Purifiers in Japan: An Engineer’s Tokyo Buying Guide
A mechanical engineer living in Japan breaks down which air purifier to buy — real 2026 prices from Kakaku.com, honest takes on Plasmacluster vs Nanoe vs Streamer, and…
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Guide to getting air-conditioner for new life in Japan
Update: 2024.Mar.24 By: Andrew Photo by Max Vakhtbovych, Pexels The winter is especially cold this year, so the thought of getting an air-conditioner pops up for that living…