Photo/Illutration Udon Helmets, seen here in Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture, on Sept. 10, are available in a rich variety of colors. (Takahiro Kinomura)

KANONJI, Kagawa Prefecture—It looks like a helmet when laid face down, but flip it over and it becomes a bowl for “udon” noodles.

The Udon Helmet was developed by Kawasaki Kako KK, a manufacturer of plastic products based in Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture, which used its plastic processing technologies and playful sensibilities when designing the fanciful udon bowl.

The bowl is large enough to hold three raw noodle balls’ worth of udon, and the helmet’s brim is designed with partitioned sections for condiments.

The product is available in 10 colors, each priced at 3,850 yen ($27), including tax.

Although the helmet is not designed to serve as protective headgear, it can still be worn. The designers insisted that the Udon Helmet wouldn’t be fun unless it was made large enough to fit on an adult’s head.

The product is being touted as environmentally friendly, as it is made of biomass-based plastic, which is derived from plants and other renewable organic resources.

Development of the product began five years ago, when Isao Kawasaki, president of Kawasaki Kako, was concerned that plastic products were coming under increased scrutiny due to a global rise in environmental awareness. That is because plastic is made from petroleum, a limited resource, and can pollute the environment.

Kawasaki, 50, said he was alarmed that his company could soon start losing business, even though wet tissue cases, Kawasaki Kako’s main product, had been a stable business.

The company turned its attention to biomass-based plastics, which do not rely on petroleum.

Kawasaki Kako developed a wet tissue case product made of biomass-based plastic in 2022. However, its high price tag dashed any hopes for dependable demand.

FUN TO WEAR

As the company sought new applications for biomass-based plastics, it came upon the idea of making bowls for udon—a local specialty of Kagawa Prefecture.

Kagawa famously calls itself an “udon prefecture” as part of its publicity efforts.

And while Kawasaki, the company president, was discussing the matter with officials of a Tokyo-based design firm, it occurred to him that it would be fun if the udon bowls could be worn like hats. Development of the Udon Helmet originated from that idea.

Rice Resin, a biomass-based plastic variety made from rice that could not be eaten by humans or domestic animals and was therefore designated for disposal, accounts for at least 50 percent of the helmet’s raw materials.

Unevenness in the raw materials of Rice Resin presented a number of challenges, such as a tendency for color irregularities and difficulty in adjusting pressures for molding.

However, the developers overcame those problems through trial and error by drawing on the plastic processing techniques they had cultivated.

STRONG SALES, USE AS INTENDED

The Udon Helmet has been on sale since July at seven outlets in Kagawa Prefecture, including at least one pop-up shop, and on a retailing website for merchandise related to the Hanshin Tigers professional baseball team.

The brick-and-mortar outlets include an expressway service area and a government-designated roadside rest area.

Sales have been so robust that more than 1,000 Udon Helmets have sold in just over a month, including versions of the product made with conventional plastic rather than biomass-based plastic, priced at 3,300 yen, including tax.

The product is being used precisely as intended, as a bowl for serving udon, at the Toyohama Service Area along the eastbound lane of the Takamatsu Expressway.

“We are not interested in making money on the Udon Helmet,” Kawasaki said.

“As a plastic products maker, however, we cannot afford to sidestep the plastic-free trend and environmental issues. We hope to face those problems squarely while also making funny things so people will know how we are addressing those questions,” he explained.

He said his company is thinking of developing Udon Helmets of different sizes and new products made of biomass-based plastic in the months and years to come.

Related News