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Spray-can cooling foams keep Japan comfortably chilled in this summer heat

by popsci.com

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It seems like the Japanese always have the coolest technology--in this case quite literally. The hip new way to stay cool in an increasingly energy-conscious Japan: cooling foam or gel spray-cans that go right on the skin and provide an instant cool down. These cooling sprays apparently aren't brand new, but a thing isn't a "thing" until it goes mainstream in Japan, and this summer that's what's happening. City-dwellers are using the products to cool down on the subways or on the streets. Particularly cool: the foam-like spray that hardens quickly out of the can, so users can make cooling wristbands or neckbands to help keep their core temps under control. (popsci.com)

Quake-hit 'cat island' launches fund drive

by Japan Times

A small island in the northeast known as "cat island" is making use of its name to seek support for its reconstruction from the March natural disaster. Tashiro Island, a part of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, has launched a drive to raise at least ¥100 million in donations to launch an oyster farm. The island is home to fewer than 100 mostly elderly residents and about 100 cats. It became famous after the media played it up as "cat island" in 2006. Some 12,000 tourists in 2010 took the nearly hour-long boat trip to Tashiro from Ishinomaki on the mainland. (Japan Times)