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Here’s one of the first things you should do if you just moved into a new apartment in Japan

Casey Baseel Apr 14, 2023
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Sharp idea for spring could be a lifesaver come summer.

In Japan, spring is known as the “new lifestyle” season. Since both the business and academic year begin in spring, a lot of incoming college freshmen are moving to a new town to start school, and the same goes for recent college graduates starting their first adult jobs.

Having your own apartment for the first time in your life is an exciting milestone, but before you indulge in such newly acquired freedoms as calling your friends over for a housewarming party or staying up all night playing video games, there’s something else you should do. This advice comes courtesy of the Twitter account of Japanese electronics and appliance maker Sharp, who says that right now is the time to turn on your air conditioner.

That might seem like strange advice if you’re ever spent April in Japan. Weather-wise, this is one of the most pleasant times of year in the county, being equidistant from the chill of winter and the heat and humidity of summer. Unless you’re particularly picky about your home’s temperature, you can probably comfortably make it through all of April without turning on your AC even a single time.

But yet, that’s exactly what Sharp recommends, advising everyone who’s moved into a new place to set the temperature to a brisk 18 degrees Celcius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) and run the AC for 10 minutes. Not to cool off, though, but to check to see if your air conditioner works properly.

ひとり暮らしをはじめた新社会人や新入生に私が贈る言葉は「先輩の自慢話は話半分で聞け、そんなことより部屋のエアコンの試運転をしろ、夏になったら詰むぞ」です。冷房18℃で10分。冷えなかったら大家さんか管理会社へ連絡。数多の悲劇を救ってきたエアコンメーカー先輩からのアドバイスだぞ

— SHARP シャープ株式会社 (@SHARP_JP) April 10, 2023

Why now? Well, you know how they say the time to fix any holes in your roof is when the sun is shining? The time to fix your AC is when the merciless summer sun isn’t shining. Air conditioning units don’t last forever, and when Japan’s heat and humidity start showing up in June, a lot of people are going to find that their unit has conked out and needs to be repaired or replaced. That sudden discovery results in an annual flood of calls to repair and service centers in early summer, and the ensuing backlog means that you might get stuck with a non-working air conditioner through the most sweltering part of the year.

If you’re moving into a new-to-you apartment in spring, there’s a chance that the AC made it through last year’s summer but was on its last legs. Finding that out now will give you time to get your repair/replacement request in before the summer rush jams up the pipelines for such relief. If after running the AC at 18 degrees for 10 minutes your room doesn’t get properly cooler, Sharp says it’s time to contact your landlord about getting the problem taken care of.

Sharp’s advice has been meet with grateful reactions such as:

“I used to work in an appliance store, and every year between the second half of June and the first half of July so many people’s air conditioners died on them…[sometimes] we couldn’t take care of a request until August.”
“My daughter is moving into her first apartment this spring, so I’m passing this advice on to her.”
“Sharp thinking!”
“Just tried this, and sure enough, my AC is busted. Gonna call the landlord about it. Thanks!”

And lest you think this is just Sharp throwing some cooling shade on competitors’ products, when one commenter asked if they could skip this step if they owned a Sharp-brand AC unit, the company responded with “This advice is for all brands of air conditioner.”

Ostensibly, it’d be a good idea to test your unit’s heater function too (the AC and heater are usually a combined unit in Japan), but the ideal time for that would likely be a half-year from now, in October, so you can be sure of having a working heater before winter starts. For now, though, it’s time for an AC test run, or else you might end up having to eat rice-flavor popsicles by the boxful to try to keep cool this summer.

Source: Twitter/@SHARP_JP via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso
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