Finally, a product that does what it says.
Like any young child, I often played with bubbles in between Sanskrit classes and harvesting nettles, but those gigantic bubbles like the ones on TV always eluded me. Even though many toy-store-bought plastic hoops and rings promised huge bubbles, they always let me down.
I figured it was just because I sucked, but it turns out I wasn’t alone. Our writer Go Hatori, now in his 40s, has also never achieved a really big bubble. So, when he saw a product named “Let’s Make a Giant Soap Bubble” at 100-yen chainstore Daiso, he was naturally skeptical.
But since he was our resident 100-yen store analyst, Go decided to pick one up anyway and see if it delivered or if it made nothing more than giant empty promises like the rest.
Let’s Make a Giant Soap Bubble was an above-standard 200 yen ($1.82), but was only two sticks connected by a loose hoop of thick yarn-like material.
Some assembly was required, but it was nice that it could be put away compactly if needed.
It’s also important to note that the bubble soap and a basin to hold it were sold separately. As luck would have it, Daiso also sold both of these things for 100 yen ($0.91) each.
Setup was quite simple. Just put the soap in the basin and dip the yarn-end of Let’s Make a Giant Soap Bubble into it. After that, you know…go ahead and make a giant soap bubble.
It was a little rocky at first for Go. He was flinging the Let’s Make a Giant Soap Bubble a little too quickly and the bubbles were bursting right away, resulting in a severe lack of whimsy.
But after a few tries, Go started to get into the groove of it and could begin producing large and long bubbles that lingered enough to give his balcony a touch of magic.
Before too long, Go could really get the feel for giant-bubble making and started attempting tricks with it.
▼ It might be hard to see in that GIF, but he pulled off a bubble-within-a-bubble there.
There was an undeniably soothing quality to making giant soap bubbles. It was like doing tai chi, only more fun because there were really big bubbles too.
And thanks to modern phone camera technology and editing software, it’s super easy to create a little social media masterpiece set to new-age music.
In the end, Go was thoroughly satisfied with Let’s Make a Giant Soap Bubble and believes it’s an enjoyable time for anyone young and old. However, since it’s really just a couple sticks and some loosely woven string, you can probably save yourself the 200 yen and just make one.
However you do it, just get out there and let’s make a giant soap bubble already!
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]