523 Miyajimacho, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
Tel: 0829-44-0531
Hours: 6:00-22:00
Closed: Open All Year Round
IG: @m_ilaundry
www : https://m-hakueisha.com/
CASH RECOMMENDED
iLaundry – The Laundromat of Love for All
Even with the best travel prep, unexpected things can happen on your trip. You spill your lunch on your pants. A bus splashes you with curbside water. A bird poops on you in the park. Maybe you have a change of clothes. Maybe your change of clothes is clean, but with limited suitcase space, chances are maybe it’s not. What is a spilled lunch, bus splashed, bird pooped, ripe jeaned traveler to do? Luckily for you, Miyajima has your solution: iLaundry, the island’s only laundromat. And better than that, it is one of a handful of organic and environmentally sustainable laundromats in the whole prefecture.
Nestled on quiet Machiya Street, a block away from the crowds pressing through Omotesando Shopping Street, is iLaundry’s simple wooden facade and humble sign. It’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. The wooden paneling speaks to Japanese traditional architecture’s harmony with the environment and iLaundry’s own commitment to maintaining that harmony through their services. Their environmental focus is on protecting the local ecology. Miyajima is a pristine national treasure covered with untouched primeval forests. It sits in the Seto Inland Sea, an essential waterway and food resource that supports centuries-old industries like oyster farming. And so, to eliminate any harmful ecological impact from chemical-laden laundry runoff, the shop’s owner, Keigo Uotani, chose a detergent that is so environmentally friendly you can drink it! In fact, he has drunk it himself.
The detergent, called Bamboo Clear, is made from only three ingredients: bamboo charcoal, bamboo ash, and spring water. The resulting detergent is 100% organic so it doesn’t leave any chemical residue on your clothes. It imparts no chemical smells that could mask poor washing or irritate chemically sensitive individuals, and it has no adverse effects on water quality when released back into the environment. And since it is made with bamboo, a fast-growing, easily replaceable resource, it is sustainable. Plus, like the wooden store front, the detergent is based on Japanese tradition, which historically used bamboo ash and charcoal for a variety of cleaning purposes including laundry.
To support local economies and further reduce environmental impact, nothing is imported. In fact, everything is produced within 150 kilometers of Miyajima. The bamboo detergent, made by Ethical Bamboo Co., Ltd., comes from neighboring Yamaguchi Prefecture. Bamboo detergent takes extra time to use effectively at home, so the cleaning force needed to efficiently but gently utilize the detergent comes from two spotless, state-of-the-art, washer-dryer machines made by Yamamoto Manufacturing Co. in nearby Onomichi. Aided by the power of softened hot water and microfine bubbles, these machines clean and dry a normal load in one hour. And to make sure the water has the right mineral balance for the process, they employ a water softening filtration system that comes from Miura Kogo Corporation just across the Seto Sea in Ehime Prefecture.
Key to iLaundry’s identity is love, and not just for the environment but also for people and their laundry. It’s in their name. The “i” in iLaundry is a bilingual pun. The “i” refers to the word 愛 in Japanese, which means “love.” It’s normally romanized as “ai” but becomes “i” in the laundromat’s name. In keeping with this love for all, the owner of iLaundry wants to make organic washing easy for anyone visiting the island. So don’t bring your own detergent. The machines automatically use their own. And keep Google Translate in your pocket. The machines have an easy-to-follow digital menu that is available in four languages including English, Korean, and Mandarin. The machines are coin-operated, and there is a change machine if you only have bills. ¥1,300 to ¥1,500 to wash and dry a load of four to eight kilograms of laundry.
