So many restaurants in Tokyo are still closed due to Covid-19 coronavirus, and getting food for takeout or delivery is the order of the day. But those closures have left the country with a different problem: a surplus of Japan's fish-shaped sauce containers. Usually used to hold soy sauce in bento boxes, the little fish are getting a new lease on life as portable shots of hand sanitiser.
A brand of hand sanitiser called Cleanse Ex has started distributing its product in the small fish-shaped containers with takeaway and delivery food. Dubbed the #SafeHandFish Project, the goal is to stop the containers from going to waste and make sure everyone has access to sanitiser when they need it most – right before eating.
A number of restaurants have agreed to participate in the #SafeHandFish Project, including Michelin-starred restaurant Sio, catering service Mo:Take, and La Toile in Ikenoue. You’ll receive a fish-shaped container of sanitiser with each order, which you can use to clean your hands before you eat.
The containers are recyclable in Japan – just make sure you rinse them out before putting them in your weekly recycling pile.
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