Japan’s favorite affordable fashion brand also makes bedding, and it just blew our minds.

With the hot and humid weather of Japan’s summer on the way, we’re already thinking of ways to stay cool and comfortable. In the past, we’ve tried such tactics as blasting our junk with cooling spray and strutting around the seashore wearing a loincloth, but this year our reporter Go had something a little less crotch-related in mind.

While Uniqlo has become internationally famous for its high-quality, low-price fashion, the company also makes bedding, and so Go decided to treat himself to a new set of bedsheets from Uniqlo’s Airism line.

Uniqlo’s Airism series started off as a collection of lightweight, extra-breathable innerwear and underwear, but it’s since expanded into bedding. For this test, Go ordered a set of semi-double-size fitted sheets (2,900 yen [US$27]), a semi-double comforter cover (2,990 yen), and a pair of pillowcases (590 yen each). Taking them out of their packages, he rubbed the fabric between his fingers and found the material to be silky smooth and cool to the touch, and outfitting his bed with the brand-new sheets gave his room the atmosphere of a freshly made-up hotel room.

▼ Note: The sheets Go purchased are pure white (the patches of rainbow color are from the crystal he has hanging near his window).

As you might expect for a guy who hangs crystals in his room, Go wanted just a bit more color, though, so he slipped on a decorative bed runner for a swath of pizzazz.

Of course, the true test came later that night, when it was time for bed.

The instant he lay down, Go immediately thought “This is amazing.” The sheets were soft and inviting, as well as breathable and moisture absorbent. This helps keep nighttime sweating to a minimum, and prevents the sensation of clamminess that so often goes with lying in bed when the weather is hot and sticky.

Go says the sensation can be best described as going to sleep wrapped in the mochi-soft dough of a traditional daifuku dumpling…

…or, if a dessert analogy of the Western-style is easier to picture, within the smooth swirls of a creamy premium ice cream cone.


▼ The sheets are also so incredibly light that they almost feel weightless, as Go’s diagram explains.

When morning came, Go felt amazingly rested and rejuvenated. However, his scientific integrity demanded that he repeat the test, but over the course of an entire week, the results stayed the same: a sensation of immense comfort as he crawled into bed, then a deep, restful sleep, and finally that sensation of comfort once again as his eyes opened the next morning.

During the week, Go even figured out a way to make the experience of sleeping in Airism sheets even better. In his first-night photos seen here, he wore a T-shirt and sweatpants to bed, but he later switched to sleeping in the nude, which let him feel the smooth Airism material all over his body. “It was like heaven,” he tells us, though we’re going to take his word for it, and not ask for photographic evidence.

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