Umbrella Shrug

While we're on the subject of umbrellas ... This is a rather peculiar invention. Designed to prevent umbrella confusion (or swiping) and promote more comfortable umbrella carrying, this is a neoprene cover that slips over the umbrella's hooked handle. On more than one occasion I have mistakenly absconded with someone else's umbrella or mine has mysteriously disappeared from a public receptacle. "Hard to lose", "Happy" and a "Llittle bit stylish," a Shrug could be just the thing.

Umbrella Bag Rant

Today's rant is about disposable umbrella covers, those long, skinny, single use, vinyl bags whose dispensers (pictured above) come trotting out at the slightest drizzle. While I appreciate Japanese fastidiousness when it comes to unwanted water, I can not applaud the overuse of vinyl bags or the accompanying tsukai suteru (use and lose) mentality. Reader, this wasteful and environmentally unfriendly situation warrants attention.

To Japan's credit, the eco-bag trend seems to be taking root. At least at the stores I frequent. And I sense an increase in public bathrooms equipped with those supersonic hand dryers that practically suck the water right off the skin. Surely this is better than paper towels, yes? Best of all are the washrooms that provide no hand drying mechanisms whatsoever. Though it is a bit of a bother to whip out a hankie or pocket towel with wet hands, one gets used to it (or in this case re-use to it since this practice has been around a long time). But when it comes to wet umbrellas and their bags, change is slow.

Let's backtrack for a moment. As I may have mentioned in a previous post, people in Japan love umbrellas. Myself included. I am certain that I carry an umbrella far more frequently here than I do in the US. This is partly because it rains more in Japan (I think). And when it does rain, I simply take an umbrella cover from the discard pile and re-use it, if I need to go inside a store, office or other public facility. Not ideal, but better than the alternatives. I am waiting for someone to design an appealing and reusable umbrella cover. The old lady version already exists but it is not a big seller. Why doesn't someone do for the umbrella bag what was done for the shopping bag?



Given my strong feelings on the subject, you can imagine my elation when a friend and I encountered this umbrella drying device at the entrance to a Ginza eat-and-drink building. It consists of felt panels arranged radially to wipe the umbrella's outer surface and a plastic box to catch the runoff. All it takes is one quick twist of the wrist ... no bags or electricity needed. Please note the conventional umbrella bag dispenser hovering in the background. Was this relative positioning intentional? We stood and watched for a few minutes -- almost no one chose the bag over the dryer.

Sun-Bathing Umbrellas

Sometimes you just see something in a new light. Most of the time we do not get to see umbrellas front on like this. I took these photos in Azabu Juban after the torrential rains ended and the sunshine began. Following days of heavy use, these umbrellas were enjoying a good sun bath. They looked so pretty. And I was so happy that the rain was out of our system.

In part, the appeal of this image is purely visual -- the consistent, round shapes, the different colors and the overall, albeit accidental, composition of three across and one down. This scene also manifests certain aspects of Japanese culture. People here seem to like umbrellas and whip them out at the slightest provocation, be it a soft drizzle or, in the case of those black cloth parasols, scorching rays. Only in Japan would someone take the care to air and dry umbrellas out in the sun before returning them to their appointed place, most likely in a bin next to the front door.