Disposable chopstick ban

Waribashi (disposable wooden chopsticks) have been all over the news the past few days, and I think it's about time.

In November last year Chinese exporters of announced a 50% increase in the price of waribashi sent to Japan. This is a big deal, as the Japanese are positively addicted to waribashi, using 25 billion pairs per year. And 90% of those come from China, with most of the rest coming from other Asian countries, since it is cheaper and far more convenient to pay other countries to cut down their forests than to cut down the forests of Japan.

The price increase precedes a complete ban on Chinese exports of waribashi, which will take effect... well, I'm not sure. I couldn't find out, despite the sudden heavy media coverage that started a few days ago. It's also a bit of a mystery why this is suddenly news, considering the price change and announcement about the export ban seem to have taken place last year. Strangely, all the reports over the past few days, whether in English or Japanese, contain the exact same scanty information. On the evening news tonight, two separate channels had the exact same story as the article I'd read yesterday in the English Mainichi Daily News (as well as its Japanese counterpart). They even featured the same Osaka pub chain called Marche (notable for switching to reusable plastic chopsticks and giving discounts to those who brought their own) and interviewed the same discount supplier (whose 99yen pack of waribashi now contains just 50 pairs instead of the previous 80). This kind of lazy news "sharing" is not uncommon in Japan, but it was depressing to see such an extreme case, especially considering the many other stories that could have been featured. After all, there is a myhashi revolution currently underway in Japan.

True, it's a quiet revolution. But the number of environmental groups, volunteer clubs, shops and individuals promoting the use of of myhashi certainly deserves a little airtime. Not that I'm surprised, with the lack of media attention given to the environment. Take Earth Day for example- I attended the huge celebration in Tokyo last month, and it was crowded enough to feel like half the city's population attended. Yet none of my friends or students had heard of it and I saw nothing about it in the news.

Anyway, back to myhashi. What exactly does it mean? It's a combination of the English word my and the Japanese word for chopsticks, hashi. Together the words mean a pair of portable chopsticks, meant to be carried around and used instead of waribashi. It's a simple idea, and it's not a new one- those who bring a homemade bento (lunch box) to work or school often pack a pair of reusable plastic chopsticks. But there are a few differences between those bento chopsticks and myhashi: bento chopsticks are really only used for bento, and are not very attractive. Made of plastic and often in garish colours, they are cheap-looking, as is the plastic carrying case they usually come with. On the other hand, myhashi are oshare (cool, chic, fashionable). They are made of wood, often very attractive, and come wrapped in a pretty fabric case. They can be brought along to work with a bento, but they can also be tucked into a purse or briefcase and used at any time. And they look so much nicer than the plastic bento chopsticks, so much so that I suspect their growing popularity of myhashi is as much to their good looks as to their environmental friendliness.

My first encounter with them came a few months ago when I started my cross-Japan tour. All of my fellow tour members had a pair, with beautiful wraps made of recycled Japanese-print fabric. The wraps were made by a tour member who brought along a big bag of them, each in a different pattern. Not wanting to be left out, I bought a pair for myself (thus replacing the ugly plastic bento chopsticks I had brought). 500 yen for a handmade fabric wrap and basic pair of bamboo chopsticks, not bad at all.

After eating with them, they can be brought to the washroom to be cleaned, but more often than not they'd just be dipped in whatever water or tea remained in our glasses and dried off with an oshibori (moist hand towel) or tissue. Every few days all of our chopsticks would get a good washing if we were lucky enough to stay at an inn with a kitchen (or with a kind innkeeper who washed them for us). Now that I'm no longer on the road, I try to wash my myhashi and its wrap after every use, which means that the wrap is often still in the laundry pile when I need it. A clean handkerchief (and here in Japan everyone has a good collection of handkerchiefs) can used instead: just fold it into a triangle, put the chopsticks on the folded edge and roll them up, and tie the loose ends in the middle.

These pictures show the case I bought (the chopsticks are different): a pattern of blue and grey waves swimming with orange carp. I think it's extremely cute, and I love using it.

Update: a reader has kindly shared the address of a webpage that gives instructions for making a fabric myhashi wrap. It's in Japanese, but the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. I may make myself a spare or two.

Comments

[carlyn]

Amy;
Interesting that it took a price increase on imported chopsticks to create an interest in reusable chopsticks... Too bad they don't recycle the old wooden chopsticks for some other purpose. ...even toothpicks...ha ha
The myhashi look adorable....I keep a pair in my pocketbook, but they're cheap and plastic....easy to wash and throw back in the purse and I don't have a lovely fabric wrap for them. Leave it to the Japanese to make even chopsticks look pretty.

[kat]

I've heard that the Hanshin Tigers make chopsticks out of their bats that have cracked while playing.

I agree that Japan uses way too many "use and throw" (tsukaisute) chopsticks.

I will start carrying my own pair soon...after I make a cute bag to carry it in :)

[tabehodai]

Hi,
what a coincidence! I just bought myhashi today. Although I had lived in Japan long enough to own myhashi, I seldom eat out and I just couldn't find a pair of hashi I can call mine. I didn't follow all that news about disposable chopsticks issue being brought up again. I'm curious how your myhashi looks like. Please show us your readers what is wrapped in the oshare hashi wrap.

Also, just curious if you ever bought those tubs of "instant" microwavable rice. I'm not sure if they are cheaper but they are certainly much faster to cook!

Have a good weekend!

[McAuliflower]

Hi Amy, this is my first time at your blog... came across it researching blogs based in Japan in anticipation of a summer trip.

Your myhashi case is very inspiring and looks like a great project to approach!

thanks for the inspiration

[Amy]

Carlyn,
I think myhashi started showing up before news of this import ban. Or at least I hope so.
I've actually seen signs in a few restaurants that said they recycle their chopsticks, but I don't know what for. Paper? There really should be more recycling, but even that should be a last resort- why don't more restaurants use real, reusable ones?

Kat,
That's right- they were selling pairs of them at Koshien, the Tigers home stadium. I wanted to buy a pair for my husband (big Tigers fan), but they were pricy!
I hope you share your instructions. I'd like to make a chopstick wrap too, but have no idea how.

Tabehodai,
That's great! I actually don't have a nice pair of myhashi, just a cute wrap. The plain wooden ones in the picture are the onese I'm currently using. I'm keeping my eyes open for a pair that are nice, easy to clean, and rough at the tips (so I can eat slippery noodles).
I've bought those rice blocks before and will often stock up on them when I travel, so my husband will have something to eat. The rice tastes better than expected, but still not as good as "real" rice. Also, I think they're more expensive than cooking rice yourself.
To avoid having to buy them, I always cook extra rice and freeze the leftovers in single servings. Rice freezes surprisingly well!

McAuliflower,
Thanks for reading, and hope you have a great trip!

[Elsi]

Instructions for making your own fabric case can be found at http://www.glocal-kibi.net/web/action/myhashi/hashihukuro.html

[Amy]

Thanks! I'll have to give that a try.