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Paolo!! I’d suggest doing a video on Japan’s recycling system, since there’s a lot of people who are concerned about Japan’s packaging using too much plastic. They have a really thorough system!
Yeah except I'm sure they're having similar problems to the US and UK and struggling to actually recycle what's recycled. Also those ziplock style pacakges (soup pouches, the quail eggs, candy etc) won't be recyclable anywhere.
Been living in Japan for almost 20 years. The refills are definitely my favorite. Because of them I’m still using the same soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles for 5-10 years. I’m proudest with my 11 year old fabric softener bottle. 😂 Of course I clean them often. I’ve saved so much money because they’re generally cheaper to purchase. If only other countries especially the US practices this.
lot more waste is generated because you don't get as much as where you would if you buy the bottle. plus now you have two types of things to recycle, the starting bottle and the refill pack. then you also factor in the impact making all of those refill packs has over just making the bottles themselves which hold more. the only reason anything works over there recycling wise is because they are very strict about it. even then not everything can be recycled but that's never talked about. recycling isn't magic, it's not free in any aspect. convenience has a cost, as does everything. transporting all of that extra waste isn't free, even if they can recycle 100% of the packaging. over here in the US it's not pretty, at all. however sugar coating Japan's over production of plastic isn't the best idea. that's not even talking about the REASON people in Japan like packaged stuff that way. they are all over worked, the packaging came out of a need to waste less time and people making profit off of that. the underlining issue driving the packaging convenience is due mostly to being expected to work your entire life away. it's not something to strive towards. companies should be 100% responsible for all waste they generate, that includes packaging. if that was the case you would find that all products would very quickly shift from convenience to whatever makes them the most money. which would certainly be large containers (bulk goods), not individually wrapped food particles.
@@rocksfire4390 The plastic pouch requires MONUMENTALLY less resources to produce than a dispense bottle. I'll bet it's less resource intensive to make even 10 or 20 of those pouches than just 1 dispense bottle.
@@georgebrantley776 doubtful. you are overstating by a monumentally amount. that bag is about 150% the size of the container hes filling and it doesn't even fill it up all the way......so little volume from those refills. also you would be dead wrong, at best it might be 3-1 (refill bag vs bottle). it's also much easier to use injection molds for bottles then it is to create a thin sheet, cut it, shape it, fill them and finally seal them. plus recycling those bags seem like a nightmare. then you gotta think of how those bags are transported. seeing how weak they are they cannot stand up on their own in a transport setting. thus they need extra packaging to keep them from being crushed. plus bottles can be reused if companies where forced to take responsibility for the containers they push out to make their profit. could get easily 50+ refills out of bottles by the time they would even start to show signs of damage.
When I moved back to my home country after living in Japan for a few years, I found myself missing the thoughtful packaging from Japan - simple but thoughtful things like having the opening notches (like the ones for the quail eggs). I would get slightly homesick for Japan every time I struggled to open a package lol
I had a friend growing up who for some reason could never open those properly, no matter how many times she tried, I thought it was so funny. That packaging is pretty awesome though
I spent the entire year I was in Japan eating onigiri every day (alongside other food) because it was so good and the smart packaging was just mind blowing. Also the fact that you can buy boiled and salted eggs in every convenience store. Man I miss eating there.
When I tell people about Japan, I say it's "from the future". Simple little details like this illustrate how Japan is twenty years ahead of everywhere else. Thanks, Paolo!
Love to see "A Day in the life of a recycling worker". All I see in Japan is plastic, plastic, plastic. Sealed containers (cup noodles) in plastic? Banana's in plastic?
Don't you hate it when you have friends or family visiting and you're about to cook them something only to find out you ran out of _cooking liquid_ ? 😩
I could see the vacuum seal for some of the higher quality soy sauces. Meanwhile my family has a half used gallon jug of kikkoman in the pantry that's probably 10 years old. It tastes a tad different, but overall still edible.
I feel like this video came across as more genuine and less corny than it can sometimes be (still enjoy these videos too often) - really enjoyed it! It felt fresh :)
Just recently, the plastic seals have been eliminated to protect the environment Instead of plastic seals, they have designed a cat ear shape on the lid which can be used to holding down the edges.
I love the frustration-free packaging. I bought some Japanese sunscreen, and the front of the package was perforated. All you had to do was peel off the plastic. No scissors needed. Wish Costco would do this with their toothbrush heads. You have to cut into the hard plastic and then there are sharp edges. But I get why we can’t have nice things b/c people steal stuff :( I’ve seen open snack bags often in stores.
These designs are so convenient! I'm always impressed by Japan's thoughtful products and packaging. It's the little details that make life easier. I noticed this when I was in Japan and before the clerk handed me my paper shopping bag, she put tape around the thin, rope handle. Normally, that would dig into your hand or arm, leave a red mark, and it's not very comfortable. That small detail helped, and she didn't have to do it. I've never seen it done anywhere but in Japan.
That’s so cool and helpful! I took a photo of the washi tape they used to seal my Mister Donut bag. It said, “Thank you, beautiful people.” So random but I loved it lol
I lived for a while in Japan, the harshest thing about living there for me was the food portions. Just like the one nugget bento, convenient and very neat, but as a foreigner it takes forever to get used to the "normal" amount of food in a single bento
All of the meticulous details Japanese companies put into their products is usually very ingenious and helpful to their consumers. I remember I was using a protractor cutter for a design class and my blade got dull and thought to myself I had to buy some more. Then I looked at this little corner compartment and opened it and low and behold a stack of blades fell out! Looking good Paolo! I hope I can come back to Japan after the pandemic dies down and bring my new little family with me.
It shows how meticulous Japanese culture and technology is, and I also feel how I wasted many opportunities in my past Japan trips not knowing these details, such as one for pudding and cup noodle tape! Thanks for another great video, have a great weekend~ :D
日本の食や文化をUA-camで発信しているジュンジローと申します。いつも楽しく動画拝見させていただいてます。撮影や編集の仕方とても勉強になります！次回の動画も楽しみにしてます！My name is Junjiro, and I'm a UA-cam fan of Japanese food and culture. I always enjoy watching your videos. I learn so much from the way you shoot and edit! I'm looking forward to your next video!
Loved this vid. I like Japanese ingenuity. Although sometimes it can be a bit unnecessary. Loved Maiko’s “tsukkomi” too. It gave a good balance to the vid and make it more natural.
Except it is for profit. Because if your product has a longer shelf life you can sell it cheaper and therefore shift more of it. Also it means if there's a lull in demand you don't have to keep producing as much at a loss because the stock you have already made is good for a while longer.
Too much plastic packaging used in Japanese packaging. They often wrap every single sweet too. Too much waste and very bad for environment. Innovative eco-friendly packaging is the future, not innovative plastic packaging.
You missed one of my favorites that a lot of people don't know about: The little plastic triangle piece on the lift-up flap of those tiny disposable coffee creamer containers that you get at some restaurants, on airplanes, etc. When you lift up the flap slightly, you can take that little plastic piece off and use it to poke a hole in the top of the container, equalizing the pressure so that when you open it all the way, you don't get any creamer spurting out on your finger. One of those "who even knew this was a problem?" kind of things, but if you ride on airplanes a lot, as I used to do, it makes a lot of sense. I agree that packaging where I'm originally from (the U.S.) is often frustration-inducing. (Like those "Press in to open" labels on boxes--Macaroni and Cheese, anyone?--where you end up just ripping the top off anyway?) Japan, on the other hand, offers some great, innovative packaging but relies on an awful lot of plastic to do it.
where i live, in the uk, we have something very similar to that pudding one. when you get crème caramel from the supermarket, you tip it upside-down on the plate (obviously with the lid off) and then peel a tiny rectangle of foil from the bottom. there's a little hole under the foil so the suction is instantly released and it just slips onto the plate without having to squeeze it or anything (and they always have actual liquid caramel too)
Oh man, I wish chip bags had double notches too. When my family eats out of a family-sized bag of potato chips until it’s almost empty, my dad always cuts it horizontally halfway down the bag with scissors lol
Such interesting solutions to problems most people have, never noticed that tab on the bottom of noodles. Real shame a lot of these plastic wrappers are non-recyclable though, would be good to see more innovation from Japan in that space.
I think these plastic are for air seal to prevent smell or water get into the cup. In reality even if food are packed by paper. The paper itself are also have plastic layer. So it just use more other resource with plastic. And more resource to make that paper. Sometime food in jp extra warped for emergency situation and make it last longer. (Flooding, earthquake etc) There are also a eco version of the cupnoodle package for camping. It don't have the cup.
Fun video! That "pudding" is actually flan and they were already sold with those cups in France at least 40 years ago. I don't know where they originate from, but I just thought I'd mention it.
I love Japan so much. So much thought goes into everything. Paolo, one thing you forgot to highlight is a key feature unique to all Japanese packaging: every package or box opens the first time, every time, in the right place! Here in the USA, I think maybe 5% of packages open correctly, if that many. So frustrating after being in Japan. Thanks for the video!
Please can you possibly do a day in the life of a Japanese convenience store worker it’s really interesting I think. I also work in retail and I want to know the differences between the retail practices in Japan and western countries
When it first showed up in Hawaii, it was called Cup O' Noodle. This was way back in the 70's. I don't know when it changed to Cup Noodles. As for that little tape, I haven't seen it here in California yet. I like to buy the Curry Cup Noodle from Daiso. Handy for when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to eat a lot.
I had never seen a video that was more focused on just you with the products,and I found that I really enjoy your upfront in the camera style and it seems more comedic than the Day in The Life
Great video! Thanks for sharing all the unique things we are so spoiled to have in Japan. With the refillable soap, not sure if you noticed, but in many store, the price for the refills are often more expensive or same as a new bottle price. It's good to be eco friendly, but seems strange that the price is the same or in some cases more expensive. I think most people don't do the math to calculate the price per ml, so they assume refillable are cheaper.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the second notch. I hate sticking my hand in a bag and being able to tear the package in half once you get the treats from the top..... *chef's kiss* would love this for chip bags.
I am fairly new to your channels. I’m not sure how I came across them, but I’m so glad I did! You all are entertaining, informative, and just plain fun! Keep it up!
This is very interesting and it brings packaging into a totally whole different level, so creative, organized and thoughtful for the consumer but tbh its also too much of plastic usage for small amount of food/product and some of it doesn't even seems necessary. E.g. that whole mini plastic tray for 1 nugget. Considering the plastic consumption worldwide has been increasing day by day, it would be great for us to reduce plastic usage as much as we can. Still i really enjoyed the video Paolo!
One Japanese packaging innovation I wish the US would pick up--I saw this on Japanology a while back, so I have no clue if this is still even a thing over there, but drink bottles where instead of removing the cap entirely, they remain attached with a couple of plastic strands, designed for commuters to be able to manage them more easily when their other hand is full.
what about emergency food, it’s the most awesome thing that I have ever seen, you don’t need fire to heat it, just a chemical reaction and you have freshly cooked food wherever you go.
@@eliaarce3077 I like the Japanese ekiben (train bento lunch) the most! They look so nice and have an assortment of foods in them and there’s so many types. They also have the pull string heating bentos at their train stations.
There is a lot of plastic in the packaging in Japan in Euroe we tend to avoid it, that's why maybe we don't ghave many of these prepacked ready stuff, just a thought.
Lots of creme brûlée’s have those notches on the bottom to help open it. In Britain they have a little bit of tin foil you pull of and there’s a hole underneath that then the air comes through. In New Zealand there are two tabs but sometimes when you push on them they just bend instead of breaking, maybe that’s why there’s two of them,
Oh! The bottle refills invention is so good, that it should be standardized worldwide!! Not having to throw away a bottle and just use the same one save so much wastes!
3:40 yo Paolo, Nissan’s actually the car manufacturer… the Cup Noodles manufacturer is called Nissin, just a little vowel typo thought that I let you know
6:03 in Mexico, we also cut our chips at the side of the bag because it has a wider neck for topping like cheese,chamoy, hot sauce, corn, ECT! " Sabritas preparados" best to share or big snack !
That sauce packet- that two in one sauce packet they used to put in Lunchables here in the states back when they first came out. I never liked the herbed sauces they included, but I loved squeezing them out.
We’ve had a single sauce version of that dispenser here in Aus since the early 90’s made by Masterfoods. Popular takeaway food and bakery condiment! You can get tomato sauce (similar to ketchup), mustard, tartare sauce and BBQ sauce.
We love your selection for this video! The bit of extra thought put into each product makes all the difference. It's easy to miss when you're living in Japan so it's great to see this through your fresh perspective!
@@zipit7089 Too much plastic packaging used in Japanese packaging. They often wrap every single sweet too. Too much waste and very bad for environment. Innovative eco-friendly packaging is the future, not innovative plastic packaging.
Yeah, same here in Spain (and I would say for quite a bit more years, hehe). But it does fit well in this collection, it's the same kind of little details that make packages more convenient.
Double notch is my favorite. When I eat chips I hate getting my knuckles all greasy from the bag but I also don't want to pour them into a bowl and have a dish to wash so I trim the bag with scissors or honestly if I don't have scissors around I sometimes make a notch with my teeth and tear a piece off more and more the further into the bag I get. Double notch is genius because it's basically what I do with chips and things so it'd be nice to have that on all bags of snacks.
made me laugh when you wrote Nissan in the explanation for the Nissin cup noodle haha I was like "wait, Nissan are making noodles now??" so confused for a second w love your videos ;)
11:47 The culture dependent on large amounts of plastic for everything in Japan as long as its products look better aesthetically and sell more amazes me every time I see it. While in many countries caring for the planet and reducing plastic is important, in Japan they have plastic packaging inside the packaging so that you can eat just one cookie ... they are addicts of Matrioshka-style plastic.
To be fair unlike north america they actually have recycling centres and the processing facilities to do so, unlike most of north america where we sort the recycling to sell it to other countries to hope they recycle it for real 😂 If this were packaging here in north america I would whole heartedly agree that this is wasteful regardless of how consumer friendly the packaging is
@@jendubay3782 true but here in canada we have recycling faculties that claim to recycle thin plastics like plastic bags 🤷♀️ thankfully a lot of cellophanes and others are very easily biodegradable! So we'll likely keep getting better at recycling these things
The pudding one definitely exists in other places. I had mini flans all the time as a kid and they all had a little aluminium tab at the bottom, that opened a tiny hole in the plastic when pulled. Both branded and off-brand types.
God, I took home that Kikkoman Sauce and I was astounded that it has airpockets at the sides. Also for the ketchup and mustard packets. Japan technology is the best ❤
Knorr is now owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company which own over 400 brands and is universal, so Knorr is world wide. Although actually in Japan it's not distributed by Unilever but by a company called Ajinomoto. In some countries it's not called Knorr, but it's the same products just called something different. Definitely the best instant soup, bouillon and pasta packets!
Another very interesting video! Loved the pudding release valve! But you gotta add the ingenious packaging for convenience store onigiri that keeps the nori crisp!!! 👍😄
In the US there is a rice brand in microwavable pouches where instead of the vent hole on the face, there is an intentional weak spot where the edge is fused together that pops open when the steam pressure builds inside. As a bonus, there are a couple of places on the edge where it is fused farther in that gives you places to grab the pouch without getting burned. We also have ketchup packets that are a rectangular bowl with foil on top. You have the choice of either breaking off a corner to squirt it onto the food or peeling off the foil to dip the food into the bowl.
In Ireland we have the same technology with the pudding. Instead of plastic notch we have a metal strip that you pull off the bottom. We also have some easy to use refill bags for hand wash etc. We have the ready to use bags of vegetables that steam releases from in the microwave. As for the pot/cup noodle we all just put our fork on top to hold the lid down like you do. It means less packaging. I would be concerned about the amount of packaging there is in Japan, but I love the country ❤️
“I’m just so used to growing up, like, with that Costco mindset.”🤣 so, well put. What? Chicken nuggets aren’t supposed to come in industrial sized package to feed your entire little league team?
one package that amazed me when i went to japan on a holiday was an onigiri package: the seaweed and the onigiri itself were packaged in different compartments, so the seaweed remained dry and crunchy, but the pachage was made in a way that you just had to pull on a strip, take away the plastic and the onigiri and the seaweed would just come together in your hands done. Then you could enjoy your 100yen onigiri with hout the seaweed beeing soggy ad chewy.
The pudding notch is sometimes done differently. The outer packaging has a hole and then there's a sticker placed on top of it. Instead of breaking the notch, you pull the sticker.
Paolo in front of the camera with Maiko in the background is making my day so hard! hahahaha Makes the video so much more fun! Love you guys!! And thanks for this episode! Japan is so kawaii and innovative. You can see that these Japanese companies think of the consumer.
In the US some people try to reduce cooking in “plastic” packaging or containers. Do Japanese worry about cooking in all that packaging? It’s pretty neat, but idk if I would do it.
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Some clever packaging, I'll agree, but soooooo much single-use plastic... ☹️
On the cup noodles they announced earlier this year that they were getting rid of the sticker to save plastic waste...
You are right. It was Cup O' Noodles before...
www.thrillist.com/news/nation/cup-noodles-changing-name-back-to-cup-o-noodles
Paolo please create a vlog about cheap and abandoned houses in Japan open for foreigners to buy?
Paolo! congrats on 2.3M subs! when I followed you back early to mid 2019 you were at around 400k subs. keep up the good work!
Paolo!! I’d suggest doing a video on Japan’s recycling system, since there’s a lot of people who are concerned about Japan’s packaging using too much plastic. They have a really thorough system!
yes 👍👍👍👍
Awesome idea!!
This one is tricky because how and what you separate can be different, even within Tokyo.
Reduce
Reuse
⬇️
⬇️
⬇️
Recycle
Yeah except I'm sure they're having similar problems to the US and UK and struggling to actually recycle what's recycled.
Also those ziplock style pacakges (soup pouches, the quail eggs, candy etc) won't be recyclable anywhere.
Been living in Japan for almost 20 years. The refills are definitely my favorite. Because of them I’m still using the same soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles for 5-10 years. I’m proudest with my 11 year old fabric softener bottle. 😂 Of course I clean them often. I’ve saved so much money because they’re generally cheaper to purchase. If only other countries especially the US practices this.
lot more waste is generated because you don't get as much as where you would if you buy the bottle. plus now you have two types of things to recycle, the starting bottle and the refill pack. then you also factor in the impact making all of those refill packs has over just making the bottles themselves which hold more.
the only reason anything works over there recycling wise is because they are very strict about it. even then not everything can be recycled but that's never talked about.
recycling isn't magic, it's not free in any aspect. convenience has a cost, as does everything. transporting all of that extra waste isn't free, even if they can recycle 100% of the packaging.
over here in the US it's not pretty, at all. however sugar coating Japan's over production of plastic isn't the best idea.
that's not even talking about the REASON people in Japan like packaged stuff that way. they are all over worked, the packaging came out of a need to waste less time and people making profit off of that. the underlining issue driving the packaging convenience is due mostly to being expected to work your entire life away. it's not something to strive towards.
companies should be 100% responsible for all waste they generate, that includes packaging. if that was the case you would find that all products would very quickly shift from convenience to whatever makes them the most money. which would certainly be large containers (bulk goods), not individually wrapped food particles.
@@rocksfire4390 The plastic pouch requires MONUMENTALLY less resources to produce than a dispense bottle. I'll bet it's less resource intensive to make even 10 or 20 of those pouches than just 1 dispense bottle.
@@georgebrantley776
doubtful. you are overstating by a monumentally amount.
that bag is about 150% the size of the container hes filling and it doesn't even fill it up all the way......so little volume from those refills.
also you would be dead wrong, at best it might be 3-1 (refill bag vs bottle). it's also much easier to use injection molds for bottles then it is to create a thin sheet, cut it, shape it, fill them and finally seal them.
plus recycling those bags seem like a nightmare. then you gotta think of how those bags are transported. seeing how weak they are they cannot stand up on their own in a transport setting. thus they need extra packaging to keep them from being crushed.
plus bottles can be reused if companies where forced to take responsibility for the containers they push out to make their profit. could get easily 50+ refills out of bottles by the time they would even start to show signs of damage.
There totally are refillable products in the US, you just bring your bottle and refill in store instead of buying a new container.
@@rocksfire4390 yup like yea you have that one big bottle you don’t have to throw away but you throw away so many small ones.
When I moved back to my home country after living in Japan for a few years, I found myself missing the thoughtful packaging from Japan - simple but thoughtful things like having the opening notches (like the ones for the quail eggs). I would get slightly homesick for Japan every time I struggled to open a package lol
I’m surprised you didn’t include onigiri packaging. I think that’s the most mind blowing thing I found in Japan.
Thumbs up if you know what I mean.
I think about the onigiri packaging at least once a day, and I found out about it like three years ago haha
I had a friend growing up who for some reason could never open those properly, no matter how many times she tried, I thought it was so funny. That packaging is pretty awesome though
Came here to say the same
I spent the entire year I was in Japan eating onigiri every day (alongside other food) because it was so good and the smart packaging was just mind blowing. Also the fact that you can buy boiled and salted eggs in every convenience store. Man I miss eating there.
😯
Very helpful. They pack their products in a way that is super easy and convenient for the consumers.
too bad not environment friendly.
@@alr1577 cant have it all buddy
@@alr1577 still better than most countries
@@alr1577 They have a great recycling system. They even have a chart of different kinds of trash and when it can be thrown, etc.
At the expense of the environment.
When I tell people about Japan, I say it's "from the future". Simple little details like this illustrate how Japan is twenty years ahead of everywhere else. Thanks, Paolo!
Not really. Other things are 20 years behind.
@@firefly618 True.
Japan is that one popular kid in the school who does every work perfectly gets appreciated by his friends, teachers and every girl likes him..
who also has depression without anyone knowing
@@wheel6477 and have a really sychopatic mind but nobody know cause he have an innocent face
No.
Except his parent who believes he has so much potential but he's not living up to it
Love to see "A Day in the life of a recycling worker". All I see in Japan is plastic, plastic, plastic. Sealed containers (cup noodles) in plastic? Banana's in plastic?
That was also the first thing I noticed when I was in japan. The flood of packaging.
speaking of recycling, i once walked pass a trash car... it smelled like teriyaki, i was genuinely surprised... no foul smell at all!
Japan has a technology that converts plastics to gasoline if I remember correctly. That was once featured in Discovery Channel quite a years back
Well there must be a reason why Japan is at the second place after USA for using one time plastic packaging.
Japan has a very advanced recycling system. They recycle 85% of their plastic while in the US it’s only 8.7% which is a significant difference
Don't you hate it when you have friends or family visiting and you're about to cook them something only to find out you ran out of _cooking liquid_ ? 😩
🏃🏿♀️💨😭😭💀
I could see the vacuum seal for some of the higher quality soy sauces. Meanwhile my family has a half used gallon jug of kikkoman in the pantry that's probably 10 years old. It tastes a tad different, but overall still edible.
I feel like this video came across as more genuine and less corny than it can sometimes be (still enjoy these videos too often) - really enjoyed it! It felt fresh :)
Just recently, the plastic seals have been eliminated to protect the environment
Instead of plastic seals, they have designed a cat ear shape on the lid which can be used to holding down the edges.
I love the frustration-free packaging. I bought some Japanese sunscreen, and the front of the package was perforated. All you had to do was peel off the plastic. No scissors needed. Wish Costco would do this with their toothbrush heads. You have to cut into the hard plastic and then there are sharp edges. But I get why we can’t have nice things b/c people steal stuff :( I’ve seen open snack bags often in stores.
These designs are so convenient! I'm always impressed by Japan's thoughtful products and packaging. It's the little details that make life easier. I noticed this when I was in Japan and before the clerk handed me my paper shopping bag, she put tape around the thin, rope handle. Normally, that would dig into your hand or arm, leave a red mark, and it's not very comfortable. That small detail helped, and she didn't have to do it. I've never seen it done anywhere but in Japan.
Yes! And one time it was raining and the dept. store had a special upside down bag to fit over the paper shopping bag. I took a photo, lol.
That’s so cool and helpful! I took a photo of the washi tape they used to seal my Mister Donut bag. It said, “Thank you, beautiful people.” So random but I loved it lol
“I thinks lot of Japanese people prefer to eat one nugget at a time”
That was what I thought too😂😂😂 ahhh so it’s for bentos
Hey, Paolo please bring those day-in-the-life videos. They were awesome
Yes
Yeah! Day in a life
I lived for a while in Japan, the harshest thing about living there for me was the food portions. Just like the one nugget bento, convenient and very neat, but as a foreigner it takes forever to get used to the "normal" amount of food in a single bento
If you look at the difference in portions between Mcdonalds of the US compared to Japan, it's a shocker too LOLO
All of the meticulous details Japanese companies put into their products is usually very ingenious and helpful to their consumers. I remember I was using a protractor cutter for a design class and my blade got dull and thought to myself I had to buy some more. Then I looked at this little corner compartment and opened it and low and behold a stack of blades fell out!
Looking good Paolo! I hope I can come back to Japan after the pandemic dies down and bring my new little family with me.
Always enjoy the convenience of their design since it makes my life a little easier. Plus, it's fun.
Me: super into plastic-free packaging
Paolo demonstrates soy sauce bottle.
Me: applauds excitedly
Japanese packaging is literally a hobby of mine at this point 😭 so amazing and makes so much sense
It shows how meticulous Japanese culture and technology is, and I also feel how I wasted many opportunities in my past Japan trips not knowing these details, such as one for pudding and cup noodle tape!
Thanks for another great video, have a great weekend~ :D
日本の食や文化をUA-camで発信しているジュンジローと申します。いつも楽しく動画拝見させていただいてます。撮影や編集の仕方とても勉強になります！次回の動画も楽しみにしてます！My name is Junjiro, and I'm a UA-cam fan of Japanese food and culture. I always enjoy watching your videos. I learn so much from the way you shoot and edit! I'm looking forward to your next video!
Loved this vid. I like Japanese ingenuity. Although sometimes it can be a bit unnecessary.
Loved Maiko’s “tsukkomi” too. It gave a good balance to the vid and make it more natural.
Japan is so thoughtful in their design. Not just for profit.
Not thoughtful of the environment....
Except it is for profit. Because if your product has a longer shelf life you can sell it cheaper and therefore shift more of it. Also it means if there's a lull in demand you don't have to keep producing as much at a loss because the stock you have already made is good for a while longer.
Too much plastic packaging used in Japanese packaging. They often wrap every single sweet too. Too much waste and very bad for environment. Innovative eco-friendly packaging is the future, not innovative plastic packaging.
You missed one of my favorites that a lot of people don't know about: The little plastic triangle piece on the lift-up flap of those tiny disposable coffee creamer containers that you get at some restaurants, on airplanes, etc. When you lift up the flap slightly, you can take that little plastic piece off and use it to poke a hole in the top of the container, equalizing the pressure so that when you open it all the way, you don't get any creamer spurting out on your finger. One of those "who even knew this was a problem?" kind of things, but if you ride on airplanes a lot, as I used to do, it makes a lot of sense.
I agree that packaging where I'm originally from (the U.S.) is often frustration-inducing. (Like those "Press in to open" labels on boxes--Macaroni and Cheese, anyone?--where you end up just ripping the top off anyway?) Japan, on the other hand, offers some great, innovative packaging but relies on an awful lot of plastic to do it.
where i live, in the uk, we have something very similar to that pudding one. when you get crème caramel from the supermarket, you tip it upside-down on the plate (obviously with the lid off) and then peel a tiny rectangle of foil from the bottom. there's a little hole under the foil so the suction is instantly released and it just slips onto the plate without having to squeeze it or anything (and they always have actual liquid caramel too)
More companies need to incorporate that fit-in notch for their refill bottles!
Oh man, I wish chip bags had double notches too. When my family eats out of a family-sized bag of potato chips until it’s almost empty, my dad always cuts it horizontally halfway down the bag with scissors lol
Dear Japan,
Please spread these amazingly sensible inventions to the rest of the globe.
Thanks,
I'm begging you.
Such interesting solutions to problems most people have, never noticed that tab on the bottom of noodles. Real shame a lot of these plastic wrappers are non-recyclable though, would be good to see more innovation from Japan in that space.
True
I think these plastic are for air seal to prevent smell or water get into the cup.
In reality even if food are packed by paper. The paper itself are also have plastic layer.
So it just use more other resource with plastic. And more resource to make that paper.
Sometime food in jp extra warped for emergency situation and make it last longer. (Flooding, earthquake etc)
There are also a eco version of the cupnoodle package for camping. It don't have the cup.
They are actually eliminating the stickers on Cup Noodles to minimise plastic waste and they have designed a two-ears-seal instead.
@Explore People Background my username
I always sit my chopsticks on top to keep the lid down. surprised that's not the norm
Fun video!
That "pudding" is actually flan and they were already sold with those cups in France at least 40 years ago. I don't know where they originate from, but I just thought I'd mention it.
Yes. I'm from Galicia and I just discovered that flan cups are not like this all over the world.
The air/anti-oxidation bottles are the most interesting to me---but I was wondering: are the bottles reusable?
Probably not
Nope but they can be recycled like almost all bottles in Japan
Who care.lol
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@@asten9647 most people do
I love Japan so much. So much thought goes into everything. Paolo, one thing you forgot to highlight is a key feature unique to all Japanese packaging: every package or box opens the first time, every time, in the right place! Here in the USA, I think maybe 5% of packages open correctly, if that many. So frustrating after being in Japan. Thanks for the video!
Fun fact about the sauce:
Some McDonald’s do have butter and syrup duo packets
Really?
It's for pancake.
Please can you possibly do a day in the life of a Japanese convenience store worker it’s really interesting I think. I also work in retail and I want to know the differences between the retail practices in Japan and western countries
When it first showed up in Hawaii, it was called Cup O' Noodle. This was way back in the 70's. I don't know when it changed to Cup Noodles. As for that little tape, I haven't seen it here in California yet. I like to buy the Curry Cup Noodle from Daiso. Handy for when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to eat a lot.
That one might be a Mandela effect. Like the Berenstein bears
I remember buying those sauce squeeze packets for almost all my 23 years here in NZ for the fish and chips haha
and ‘straya. Gotta love the tomato squeeze packets with the meat pie.
Way longer than that for both NZ and Aus! Those sauce dispensers were invented in the early 90’s
we have also had those pudding cup notches for decades as well in aus. Remember it when i was a kid
Pringles: "Haha consumer convenience."
I could watch Paolo's videos all day! It's nice to get a peek at Japanese culture.
Truly agree.
I had never seen a video that was more focused on just you with the products,and I found that I really enjoy your upfront in the camera style and it seems more comedic than the Day in The Life
Great video! Thanks for sharing all the unique things we are so spoiled to have in Japan. With the refillable soap, not sure if you noticed, but in many store, the price for the refills are often more expensive or same as a new bottle price. It's good to be eco friendly, but seems strange that the price is the same or in some cases more expensive. I think most people don't do the math to calculate the price per ml, so they assume refillable are cheaper.
I was waiting for you to show conbini onigiri wrapping. Amazing way to wrap rice and keep it separate from the nori.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the second notch. I hate sticking my hand in a bag and being able to tear the package in half once you get the treats from the top..... *chef's kiss* would love this for chip bags.
I am fairly new to your channels. I’m not sure how I came across them, but I’m so glad I did! You all are entertaining, informative, and just plain fun! Keep it up!
Thank you so much!
This is very interesting and it brings packaging into a totally whole different level, so creative, organized and thoughtful for the consumer but tbh its also too much of plastic usage for small amount of food/product and some of it doesn't even seems necessary.
E.g. that whole mini plastic tray for 1 nugget.
Considering the plastic consumption worldwide has been increasing day by day, it would be great for us to reduce plastic usage as much as we can. Still i really enjoyed the video Paolo!
Totally agree! :)
I had an obsession with pudding for months and was so ashamed of how long it took me to figure out it’s packaging function 😅🥲
One Japanese packaging innovation I wish the US would pick up--I saw this on Japanology a while back, so I have no clue if this is still even a thing over there, but drink bottles where instead of removing the cap entirely, they remain attached with a couple of plastic strands, designed for commuters to be able to manage them more easily when their other hand is full.
Maiko’s comments in the background were hilarious. Throwin shade at Paolo😂You guys are so funny
what about emergency food, it’s the most awesome thing that I have ever seen, you don’t need fire to heat it, just a chemical reaction and you have freshly cooked food wherever you go.
Those have been around for many decades though. That idea came from the army forces and their MRE meals.
@@lmaree200886 I never seen before, thank you for the info. I just saw it on a japanese youtube video for the first time.
@@eliaarce3077 I like the Japanese ekiben (train bento lunch) the most! They look so nice and have an assortment of foods in them and there’s so many types. They also have the pull string heating bentos at their train stations.
There is a lot of plastic in the packaging in Japan in Euroe we tend to avoid it, that's why maybe we don't ghave many of these prepacked ready stuff, just a thought.
Lots of creme brûlée’s have those notches on the bottom to help open it. In Britain they have a little bit of tin foil you pull of and there’s a hole underneath that then the air comes through. In New Zealand there are two tabs but sometimes when you push on them they just bend instead of breaking, maybe that’s why there’s two of them,
Oh! The bottle refills invention is so good, that it should be standardized worldwide!! Not having to throw away a bottle and just use the same one save so much wastes!
3:40 yo Paolo, Nissan’s actually the car manufacturer… the Cup Noodles manufacturer is called Nissin, just a little vowel typo thought that I let you know
6:03 in Mexico, we also cut our chips at the side of the bag because it has a wider neck for topping like cheese,chamoy, hot sauce, corn, ECT! " Sabritas preparados" best to share or big snack !
Lol same here in the Philippines
That sauce packet- that two in one sauce packet they used to put in Lunchables here in the states back when they first came out. I never liked the herbed sauces they included, but I loved squeezing them out.
We’ve had a single sauce version of that dispenser here in Aus since the early 90’s made by Masterfoods. Popular takeaway food and bakery condiment! You can get tomato sauce (similar to ketchup), mustard, tartare sauce and BBQ sauce.
Yet more proof that Japan is a whole other planet.
I looove Japanese puddings. Just the right amount of sweetness and fluffiness. 🥰
We love your selection for this video! The bit of extra thought put into each product makes all the difference. It's easy to miss when you're living in Japan so it's great to see this through your fresh perspective!
OH MY GHAD MY MIND IS BLOWN BY THE CUP NOODLE STICKER! i always thought it should be a kay to remove the plastic cover but nooo! Thank you!!!
Japan, bro. They got it when it comes to practicality and efficiency. So cool.
always amazed with how creative Japanese products are!!
Creativity at the expense of the environment.
@@silveriver9 ok weaboo
@@zipit7089 Too much plastic packaging used in Japanese packaging. They often wrap every single sweet too. Too much waste and very bad for environment. Innovative eco-friendly packaging is the future, not innovative plastic packaging.
The pudding trick exist here in France for as long as I can remember eating "Flamby" (the brand of pudding in France) so nearly 25 years now xD
Yeah, same here in Spain (and I would say for quite a bit more years, hehe).
But it does fit well in this collection, it's the same kind of little details that make packages more convenient.
Yeah same in portugal
I know that pudding package all my life and I’m over 40 years old 😅😅
Same in the UK!
Double notch is my favorite. When I eat chips I hate getting my knuckles all greasy from the bag but I also don't want to pour them into a bowl and have a dish to wash so I trim the bag with scissors or honestly if I don't have scissors around I sometimes make a notch with my teeth and tear a piece off more and more the further into the bag I get. Double notch is genius because it's basically what I do with chips and things so it'd be nice to have that on all bags of snacks.
made me laugh when you wrote Nissan in the explanation for the Nissin cup noodle haha I was like "wait, Nissan are making noodles now??" so confused for a second w
love your videos ;)
Always loved the attention to detail and user experience for many Japanese products! Blows my mind each time :)
11:47 The culture dependent on large amounts of plastic for everything in Japan as long as its products look better aesthetically and sell more amazes me every time I see it. While in many countries caring for the planet and reducing plastic is important, in Japan they have plastic packaging inside the packaging so that you can eat just one cookie ... they are addicts of Matrioshka-style plastic.
To be fair unlike north america they actually have recycling centres and the processing facilities to do so, unlike most of north america where we sort the recycling to sell it to other countries to hope they recycle it for real 😂
If this were packaging here in north america I would whole heartedly agree that this is wasteful regardless of how consumer friendly the packaging is
@@geckosocks it still takes energy to process plastic, and almost all that thin packaging plastic isn’t recyclable.
@@jendubay3782 true but here in canada we have recycling faculties that claim to recycle thin plastics like plastic bags 🤷♀️ thankfully a lot of cellophanes and others are very easily biodegradable! So we'll likely keep getting better at recycling these things
The pudding one definitely exists in other places. I had mini flans all the time as a kid and they all had a little aluminium tab at the bottom, that opened a tiny hole in the plastic when pulled. Both branded and off-brand types.
God, I took home that Kikkoman Sauce and I was astounded that it has airpockets at the sides. Also for the ketchup and mustard packets. Japan technology is the best ❤
I was surprised as I saw the Knorr name on the food bag :D It's a German Brand. Greetings from Germany here^^
Knorr ist überall ^^
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Knorr is now owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company which own over 400 brands and is universal, so Knorr is world wide. Although actually in Japan it's not distributed by Unilever but by a company called Ajinomoto. In some countries it's not called Knorr, but it's the same products just called something different. Definitely the best instant soup, bouillon and pasta packets!
The flan packaging design is super common all throughout Europe since years lol
The pudding thing is common in Spain from way back.
Cup noodles have a plastic lid to hold down the foil, that also acts as a strainer
Another very interesting video! Loved the pudding release valve! But you gotta add the ingenious packaging for convenience store onigiri that keeps the nori crisp!!! 👍😄
i didnt know anything about that pudding packing so cool. my friend also opens up potato chips in circular pattern from the center haha
They're getting rid of the stickers on cup noodles to reduce plastic waste
Since it only latches a tiny part of the lip you might as well use a fork or spoon anyways. Same result, less waste.
i just use chopsticks that im going to eat with anyway
Yea lets save the earth
"how do we stop global warming"
we'll just remove the small plastic stickers from cup ramen 🤣
Agreed, none of the cup noodles we’ve bought recently had the tape. We just plunk a plate or saucer on top whilst they’re cooking.
In the US there is a rice brand in microwavable pouches where instead of the vent hole on the face, there is an intentional weak spot where the edge is fused together that pops open when the steam pressure builds inside. As a bonus, there are a couple of places on the edge where it is fused farther in that gives you places to grab the pouch without getting burned.
We also have ketchup packets that are a rectangular bowl with foil on top. You have the choice of either breaking off a corner to squirt it onto the food or peeling off the foil to dip the food into the bowl.
In Ireland we have the same technology with the pudding. Instead of plastic notch we have a metal strip that you pull off the bottom. We also have some easy to use refill bags for hand wash etc. We have the ready to use bags of vegetables that steam releases from in the microwave. As for the pot/cup noodle we all just put our fork on top to hold the lid down like you do. It means less packaging. I would be concerned about the amount of packaging there is in Japan, but I love the country ❤️
“I’m just so used to growing up, like, with that Costco mindset.”🤣 so, well put. What? Chicken nuggets aren’t supposed to come in industrial sized package to feed your entire little league team?
It saves money and plastic on packaging.
For the cup noodles, I just get a small bowl to fit over it and that way it seals and all the steam stays inside.
I use a small side plate, myself. Covering the whole top def makes for plumper noodles.
Usually curving the tip around the edge of the cup works well enough
one package that amazed me when i went to japan on a holiday was an onigiri package:
the seaweed and the onigiri itself were packaged in different compartments, so the seaweed remained dry and crunchy, but the pachage was made in a way that you just had to pull on a strip, take away the plastic and the onigiri and the seaweed would just come together in your hands done.
Then you could enjoy your 100yen onigiri with hout the seaweed beeing soggy ad chewy.
The pudding notch is sometimes done differently. The outer packaging has a hole and then there's a sticker placed on top of it. Instead of breaking the notch, you pull the sticker.
I love it when Maiko starts giggling, especially when you described Mirin as a “cooking liquid”. 🤣🤣🤣
Cup noodles re-sealing sticker?! Didn't know that existed...
Welcome to Japan 😊
You take such an amazingly long time to explain something so simple.
I think my favorites still are the rice paper candy wrappers, you pop the whole thing in your mouth and there's less waste
omg the 2 in 1 packet yessss! i was at a hotel in japan and they had that packet with butter and honey!
It was invented in Australia 🇦🇺, you can find it everywhere with diffrent flavours
We have the pudding notch in Spain too!
Paolo in front of the camera with Maiko in the background is making my day so hard! hahahaha Makes the video so much more fun! Love you guys!! And thanks for this episode! Japan is so kawaii and innovative. You can see that these Japanese companies think of the consumer.
his interaction with her is sooo kiuuuttt. feel more relatable.
Just checked my stock of Cup Noodles, nope, we don't have the sticker at the bottom here in the US
Or in the UK.
Wow!!!! The world needs to keep up with Japan
the pudding notch has been in Australia for at least 25 years, I remember saucing my supermarket brand creme caramel that way
Try for about 30 years, same as the sauce packets but ours aren’t duo sauces just singular. The ones by Masterfoods that are used for hot pies!
The pudding thing also exist in France since 1967 (under the brand Flanby)
In the US some people try to reduce cooking in “plastic” packaging or containers. Do Japanese worry about cooking in all that packaging? It’s pretty neat, but idk if I would do it.
“Japanese like eating 1 chicken nugget” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ♥️
Your content gets better and better and break away from typical travel/ restaurants reviews. I like it!
Paolo, that smile of yours is infectious!
I’m really in love with with your channel