Cultural Tips-Uchimizu (Sprinkling Water)

This month, we would like to talk about another traditional way to cool down the Japanese summer heat. It's called "uchimizu."

Uchimizu refers to the simple action of sprinkling water onto the doorways or streets in front of a house or shop to ease the summer heat and keep down the dust. It is verified that uchimizu can lower the temperature by 2 to 2.5 degrees Celsius as the water evaporates, cooling the surrounding air.

You fill a bucket with water and splash it onto the ground with your hand or a ladle. From an environmentally-conscious perspective, many people use recycled water such as water from the bathtub or rainwater to do this.

It is even more effective if you splash water onto the ground in the shade, and in the morning or evening, rather than doing so in the sun and in the daytime.

If you live in a condominium, sprinkling water onto the veranda is recommended.

Would you like to try uchimizu as a precaution against the sizzling Japanese summer heat? Be sure not to splash water on your neighbors or passersby, or the steam that comes off them might be in anger!