When you go to bathrooms in Japan, some of the places do not have paper towel or hand drier. If you are in hotels, department stores or shopping malls, they usually have hand drier but especially in older facilities including temples and shrines may not have them. What do we do? We use handkerchief!
Handkerchief in Japan
In Japan, starting from kindergarten, we are told to bring your own handkerchief and tissues. At schools, we had class teacher or students in charge of health care/hygene checking from time to time, if we had hankerchief with us. (I don’t know they still do, but they did when I was young.)
So, most of us still carry handkerchief with us. Maybe you may try it while you are travelling in Japan. You may find it useful, especially in hot weather.
Variety of Handkerchieves
Since almost everyone carry handkerchief with us, you will find handkerchief in many places. For example, if you go to Department stores, you will see many different kinds: for children, women, men, or different materials and sizes.
Nowadays, towel handkerchief is getting popular because it’s easy to care (no ironing required!) Some new ones have one side towel and the other side gauze or one side towel and the other side microfiber to wipe smartphones.
Handkerchief as gifts
We often give handkerchief as gifts because it is practical and affordable. When you receive a small gift and want to return something, or when you receive advice from someone, when you see a friend after a long time, at such times, you want to give little something without burdening the recipient. There are many designs and colors and it’s fun to choose. It is popular gifts for people with little children, too. Maybe in some culture, it may not be appropriate. (Handkerchiefs are associated with tears, so some people consider them a parting gift.) But if you like design and practicality, it might be good for sourvenir from Japan.
New types of Handkerchief that is popular
- Double-face handkechief (gauze & towel)
- Handkerchief that can wipe smartphones and eyeglasses (one side is microfiber)
- Half size hand towel (not as bulky-good for kindergarten)
- Hankerchief that has zipper and can be used as pouch
- Antibacterial and deodorant handkerchief
- Cool handkerchief (It has a contact cooling effect and is good for commuting and walking in hot weather)
Where to find them?
- Department stores usually have variety of handkerchieves. So to see many different variety and designs, Department Store is a good place. Also, they can wrap it beautifully.
- Shops such as Loft, Hands, Muji PLAZA, and Franc Franc
- Tenugui is Japanese towels. It was traditionally used like towels. It is made of cotton, it dries really quickly. Recently, it has become popular again among young people and foreign visitors and now we have cute and modern Japanese designs. You can use them like tea towels, too. They also have handkerchief sizes. So, this might be good as sourvenirs.
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