Help! Which Bottle is Detergent? Decoding Japanese Laundry Products at Convenience
Don’t Buy Bleach by Mistake!
While most modern coin laundries in Japan add detergent automatically, sometimes you need to buy your own. Perhaps you are hand-washing delicate items in your hotel sink, or using an older machine at a hostel that requires manual detergent.
You run to the nearest 7-Eleven or Lawson, but you are faced with a wall of colorful bottles covered in Kanji. Which one is regular soap? Which one is bleach?
Use this guide to decode the labels and buy the right product.
The 3 Key Kanji Characters to Look For
You don’t need to learn fluent Japanese. Just memorize these three essential words found on product labels:
1. 洗剤 (Sen-zai) = Detergent
This is standard laundry soap. It often comes in blue or green liquid bottles, or boxes for powder. Look for the largest Kanji characters on the front.
2. 柔軟剤 (Juu-nan-zai) = Fabric Softener
Often comes in pink or floral-themed bottles. Do not use this alone to wash clothes; it is an additive to make clothes soft and smell nice.
3. 漂白剤 (Hyo-haku-zai) = Bleach
Be careful! Many Japanese bleaches are color-safe oxygen bleaches, but some are strong chlorine bleaches. If you see this word, avoid it for regular washing unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Convenient Options for Travelers
If you don’t want to buy a big bottle, convenience stores offer great alternatives:
- Travel-Sized Packets: Look near the travel toiletries section for small, single-use packets of liquid detergent (洗剤).
- Gel Balls: These are small, dissolvable pods containing both detergent and softener. They are very convenient as you just toss one into the machine drum with your clothes.
Conclusion
When in doubt, show the shop staff the characters “洗濯洗剤” (Laundry Detergent) on your phone. They will happily point you to the right product!
