Summer in Japan can be brutally hot, but thankfully, Thanko is here to help.

We’ve still got some time until the full force of the summer heat hits, but with the weather in Japan expected to get so hot that the government had to start deciding on new words to officially describe it, it’s already time to start thinking about countermeasures. And sure, those Studio Ghibli uchiwa paper fans are beautiful, but for those looking for heavier-duty heat relief, Japanese gadget maker Thanko has, as it so often does, an unusual offering ready for the task.

Thanko calls it the Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan, and it’s meant to provide you with a more effective blast of cold air than you’d get with a regular electric fan, but without the side-effect waste heat, costly installation, or high running costs of a conventional air conditioning unit.

The unit draws in air from near its base, sucks it up, and then blows it out the tube at the top. In between, it passes through an ice pack, cooling the air and then compressing it into the exit hose, so that it blows out with extra force, focusing the breeze exactly where you want it to, most likely directly on yourself.

The reusable ice pack comes pre-filled with a powdered freezing agent. Add water and freeze it, and it’ll last you for four hours of fan use.

It’s extremely rare for homes and apartments in Japan to have centralized heating/air conditioning systems, and instead you have to install a separate unit for each and every room you want coverage in. This often means that hallways, bathrooms, and spaces towards the center of the home end up with no air conditioning, and the Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan looks like a handy way to cool off those places where putting in a full AC unit would be impractical and/or expensive.

As for the USB part of the name, the device gets its power though a USB C port, and can be used either plugged into an AC adaptor or a mobile battery. The fan has three speed settings (high, medium, and low), and Thanko says that even though its efficient design means it uses only about one-fifth the electricity of a normal electric fan, it’ll still have you feeling three degrees Celsius (5.4 degree Fahrenheit) cooler.

The Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan is available through Thanko’s online store here, where it’s priced at 7,980 yen (US$51). And if you’re wondering if Thanko has weird and wonderful ways to keep you warm in the winter too, they sure do.

Source, images: PR Times
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