Lights in Japan!

Japan is known for all its wonderful, and sometime strange, devices that can become a fad or everyday necessity. Now, I'm sure you have all heard of the toilets that wash you with warm water and if you are lucky will blow dry your down below areas. - if not, more on that another time!

For now, I want to introduce you to the world of Japanese lights!

The most common of lights is the slimline, ceiling mounted light with 2-3 built in fluence tubes.

 

(The most common kind of japanese light)

Sometimes the light will have a cord which will change between 1, 2 or 3 lights on to adjust the brightness...virtually all lights have an extra 'night light' setting, which is a very small, dim, orange glowing bulb.

The light can also be operated via the wall switch - if you flick the switch quickly you can rotate between the light settings.

These kind of lights are messured in "tatami sizes"... basically it will let you know what size rooms the light it suitable for (most japanese rooms follow a tatami mat sizing).

These lights are about 5000en-30000en, depending on size, functions and brand.

(second hand you can get as cheap as 2000en)

You can also of course get the regular 'western' lights - such as strip lighting (usually over the kitchen sink), pendant lights (the ones that dangle) and spot lights... Check out second hand stores the get the best prices.

Now, I know what you're thinking... "Thats not impressive as the toilets!"

Keep reading!!!

 

 

  This is my new light!

 

Yes, it comes with a remote control!!!

If you are planning to stay in Japan for a few years, even if you think you will transfer to other cities, somethings are good to invest in.

This light is actually one of the cheaper versions and cost 18000en (about £150 / $180).

It uses LED lights which are said to last 10 years. It has a series of blue LEDs (for natural light) and yellow LEDs (for mood lighting)... you can alter the setting to move between all blue through to all yellow... you can also adjust the brightness.

Another great feature is the "wake up function" - scientist recommend a slow wake up in the morning, rather than a startling alarm sound waking you up - so, with this light you can set the time you want to wake up and it will come on about 30mins before and get gradually brighter and make a little bleep noise at the time you want to wake up... it also has the reverse "sleep mode"... to help people drift off to sleep you can set the timer to 30 or 60 mins to gradually dim for you to fall asleep.

On top of this you can also set to preference levels of lighting, and it has a security timer function so you can set the light to come on and go off at a certain time to appear someone is at home when you're on holiday...it also includes a night light and finally an eco mode... it uses about 7% of the power as a normal light!

There are of course more impresive lights that allow for a greater range between yellow and blue lights and also a greater range between the brightness level... some also have more colours so you can really change the mood.

Finally

if this light seems expensive and you just want a simple light but want to save money you can buy LED light bulbs at about 3000en

The great thing about these lights is they come in both blue and yellow LEDS, save a lot on bills, and amazingly you can get ones with a build in motion detector which is great to have in the entrance way or hallway.

 

On a side note - you probably found it a bit weird that i said a light can be an investment and you can take it with you... this is because, in Japan, most places do not come with lights (even if you are renting - if you live in a LEOpalace then you will be ok)... lights are very easy to change and install - no wiring required... the ceiling has a light plug socket with a bracket (some dont have the bracket so you can only use drop light)... all you do is make sure the switch is off, plug in and turn and your done - with the big lights i showed you above, the light comes in 3 parts...first, you plug in the centre plug and bracket connector. Second, you put the main part of the light that contacts to the central part. Last, you connect the cover... (with my LED light you just remove the small plastic over in the middle, with the fluence lights the cover is the whole bottom part)

 

Well I hope this give your some idea of Japanese lights!

Next time lets talk about toilets!!!

 

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