Samの英語チャンネル

No more getting caught by surprise in the rain!

Japan’s 100-yen stores are like little treasure troves. Unlike dollar stores in other countries, 100-yen stores here have — in addition to all the normal toiletries and junk food you’d expect — a ton of other awesome little surprises.

We’ve seen 100-yen store sushi makers, smartphone fans, and even straight-up wine before, and while those were certainly fun, they might not have been the most practical.

But recently our resident 100-yen-store aficionado Go Hatori found something at popular 100-yen store Daiso that we’re probably going to always have with us from now on: a super-compact raincoat.

▼ Or as it’s called in the store: a “portable compact rain poncho.”

▼ Just how compact is it, you might ask?

▼ It’s smaller than a smartphone.

▼ Thinner than a packet of tissues.

▼ Way less girthy than a package of Calorie Mate, a popular snack.

▼ It can slide right into your jean pocket.

▼ It’s so small, you can even hide it inside your palm!

▼ Now you see it, now you don’t.

But in all seriousness, the reason we’re so excited about its small size is because having such a compact raincoat is actually super convenient.

There have been so many times we’ve gone out for a walk, or just been out for the day, and suddenly found ourselves caught in a sudden, unexpected downpour with no umbrella or coat. Our only options are to either grumble and buy an upcharged one from a convenience store, or sulk our way through the wetness, regretting everything.

Now though, we can just plop one of these babies in our bag, and we’re set! Whenever we need it, it’s there, taking up the absolute minimum amount of space. Especially now in the summer when rain showers can come out of nowhere, we’ll never be caught unprepared for rain again.

▼ Of course we still had to try it on, so we opened it up and unfolded it…

▼ Then slipped it right on.

▼ It felt great! No longer would we be slaves to unexpected weather changes.

The raincoat itself was made of polyethylene, similar to a garbage bag, and it was 96 centimeters tall (3 feet 2 inches) by 90 centimeters wide (2 feet 11 inches).

As a 172-centimeter (5-foot 8-inch) tall man, Go felt that it fit him well, though it didn’t cover everything completely. His hands and the ends of his arms were still exposed, and if riding a bike, then the bottom part might hike up a bit.

But as long as you’re not riding a bike or wearing clothes with fragile sleeves, you should be good to go!

▼ The full 360-degree view.

The compact raincoat is intended as one-use only, so you can’t fold it back up to be pocket-sized again. However, at only 100-yen a pop, and hopefully only having to use it once or twice a year during emergencies, it’s still a nice peace-of-mind item to have.

We’ll just slip it into our bag right next to our pack of emergency 100-yen underwear too.

Images: SoraNews24 
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Source: SORA NEWS24