Portable handheld microwave shoots to the top of our cooking gadget wish list - Japan Today

A microwave is a must-have for any kitchen, whether you like hot meals made with minimum effort or like eating leftovers of more complex recipes. Of course, those culinary desires don’t disappear when you step out of the house, so now Japanese power tool maker Makita has created a portable microwave.

Makita makes a wide variety of cordless power tools, and they’ve applied their expertise in that field to the Battery-Powered Microwave (Judenshiki Denshi Renji in Japanese), also known by its model number, the MW001GZ. Instead of plugging the microwave into a wall socket, you insert a pair of Makita’s rechargeable 40Vmax lithium ion batteries into the device, after which you’re set to start cooking or heating food and drinks.

The designers sized the portable microwave to be able to fit even large bento boxed lunches, and fully charged batteries should give it enough juice to warm up 11 bento. Alternatively, that full charge could heat up about 20 200-mililiter drinks, a highly likely scenario in a country that drinks as much tea and coffee as Japan does.

The microwave is equipped with a fold-down carrying handle, and there’s also an optional shoulder strap that’s sold separately for 1,000 yen.

Since Makita is, first and foremost, a power tool maker, the initial aim for the Battery-Powered Microwave was to give construction crews a way to enjoy hot meals and drinks while at job sites where there’s no electrical grid for them to plug in to. As the design progressed, though, they realized that the machine can also be useful for outdoor types and disaster relief shelters, as demonstrated in the video below.

The Battery-Powered Microwave is priced at 110,000 yen. The 40Vmax batteries aren’t included, since they’re also used by many of Makita’s other tools and there’s a chance that interested buyers already have a spare pair.

Source: Makita via With News via Livedoor News via Otakomu

Insert images: Makita