Hot Towel Origami

Things I love about Japan: buying a hot can of coffee and drinking it on the cold train platform in winter. The way the water-filled rice paddies reflect the sky like sheets of silver glass during rice-planting season. Connecting to the Internet via a high-speed wireless network as the old man selling stone-baked sweet potatoes drives by in his truck. I also love the steaming hot towels (called oshibori) which are given to customers when they sit down in most restaurants. They’re especially nice when it’s cold out, and you can warm yourself with the hot towel before taking it out of its wrapper and cleaning your hands. It’s kind of bad manners, especially for young guys who don’t want to look like ojisan (middle-aged men) in front of their friends, but a hot towel also feels great on the face. The Japanese are among the most creative people I’ve ever encountered, and many are adept at making oshibori art, sculptures made out of folded hot towels similar to origami. It’s a time-honored practice when trying to nampa (pick up) a girl in a bar to start a conversation by showing off the objects you can make out of your hot towel, including some rather suggestive ones…

Creative things you can do with a hot towel.