A water filter pitcher for Japanese tap water

Tap water in Japan meets the standard for drinking straight from the tap, but for disinfection the water coming out of the faucet is required to keep a little residual chlorine, and in some areas it has a noticeable bleach taste. A filter pitcher is mainly there to get rid of that taste, and tea, coffee and rice all come out a bit better.

Most of Japan has soft water, so kettles don't build up much thick scale and descaling isn't much of a concern. The most common brand on Amazon is Brita; the cartridge sold in Japan now is the Maxtra Pro (マクストラプロ), and Brita recommends replacing it about every four weeks. Japanese brands Cleansui and Toray's Torayvino (トレビーノ) also make pitchers, using hollow fiber membranes plus activated carbon, which catch a bit more of the fine particles. Cartridges aren't interchangeable between brands, so picking a pitcher effectively decides whose cartridges you'll be buying from then on.

Filtered water has no residual chlorine left, so it goes off faster than tap water; it's best kept in the fridge and finished the same day. Wash the pitcher every few days and replace the cartridge when it's due. Leave it too long and it filters worse and tends to grow bacteria.