ukihashi 6One of the things Japan is known for is good design. You’ll see it in electronics, cars, home appliances, and home furnishings. There is a simple elegance to Japanese products that makes you break out into a little smile when you use them.

Looking at a pair of chopsticks, it doesn’t seem like there are any changes that need to made. They might be a little tricky to get the hang of, but they are mostly just two finger-held poles. That’s where this brilliant innovation comes in, though.

When you want to put your chopsticks down, you need to put them down on a rest so that you don’t get anything dirty. But what if they designed a chopstick that doesn’t need a rest?

These new sleek-looking chopsticks are called Uki Hashi (hashi being the Japanese word for “chopsticks”), and just by looking at them you can instantly understand their brilliance. Because of the way the chopstick is shaped, when you put it down on the table, the ends that touch your food are floating in the air. Amazing!

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Not only do these utensils possess such a handy feature, the design of the rest of the chopstick hasn’t been forgotten. The standard-size Uki Hashi measure a handy 22 centimeters (8.6 inches) with a “feel-good” weight of 21 grams (0.7 ounces). If you don’t think the weight of your chopsticks is important then you probably haven’t handled a perfect set before. The makers of Uki Hashi claim that the weight and length makes it easy for women or people with smaller hands to use them, and with a handy indented circle at the ends, you will always know which side to place facing up.

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Uki Hashi is thinking of all the people who might want to use these modern and sleek chopsticks as they have a children’s size as well as a travel set to take with your boxed lunch to work or school. The packaging for the on-the-go set are meant to keep the chopsticks snug so that they don’t rattle around in your bag.

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These lovely chopsticks come in five different colors, yellow, red, sakura, green, and brown, and their balanced pastel shades are subtle enough to fit in at any dinner table. You’ll be able to purchase a set of chopsticks for 800 yen (US $6.66) on Rakuten, but you might as well get one of every color for your home. Maybe you have a favorite color, or perhaps one of the colors matches your mood for the day, but when you lay down these modern and stylish chopsticks on your table, you know dinner is going to be a well-designed affair.

Source: Grapee
Images: Rakuten

Now watch:

How to use chopsticks – a quick guide to using hashi properly