Japanese Cooling Body Sheets: Biore vs. Gatsby, Tested in the Summer Heat (From a Japanese Mom)

There’s a moment many summer visitors to Japan quickly discover: you step out of the shower feeling human again — and thirty seconds on the street undoes all of it. Japan’s answer costs about ¥400 and lives in your bag: cooling body sheets that wipe the sweat away and leave your skin feeling surprisingly cool.

I tested five of them in the middle of the Japanese summer — two kinds of Biore and three kinds of Gatsby — and compared how cold they feel, how long the chill lasts, and how they smell. By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly which pack to grab on your first trip to a Japanese drugstore or convenience store.

Why Japanese Cooling Body Sheets Are Worth Trying

If you’ve spent even one afternoon outside in a Japanese summer, you know the heat here is different. It’s not just hot — it’s heavy. The humidity wraps around you like a warm, wet towel, and five minutes after you leave your air-conditioned hotel, your shirt is already sticking to your back.

Here’s the good news: Japan has an answer for that sticky feeling, and it costs only a few hundred yen. Cooling body sheets — large wipes infused with menthol-based formulas — fill the shelves of convenience stores and drugstores all summer long. One quick wipe, and your skin feels clean, dry, and surprisingly cold.

The hard part is choosing. The summer aisle is a wall of icy blue packaging, and the labels are all in Japanese. Which brand actually cools you down, and which one just feels nice for thirty seconds?

I’m a mom living in Japan, and this summer I tested five of them myself — two from Biore and three from Gatsby, two widely available brands you’ll often see in Japanese stores. In this guide, I’ll tell you honestly how cold each one feels, how long it lasts, and which one is right for you — so you don’t have to guess.

How I Tested These Sheets

Nothing in this guide comes from a press release. I bought every pack myself — the slim 12-sheet Gatsby packs from the convenience store down the street, since this particular size is sold as a convenience-store exclusive — and used them in my ordinary summer life: at the park with my kids and during school pick-ups and drop-offs. That matters, because a sheet that feels great indoors can give up quickly under the full afternoon sun.

To keep the comparison fair, I judged every sheet on the same four points: how cold it feels, how long the coolness lasts, how easy the sheet is to use — thickness, size, and whether it tears — and how it smells. You’ll see these same four points again in the comparison table later in this article.

One honest note before we start: I’m not sponsored by either brand. Some of these sheets impressed me, and some have small drawbacks I’ll tell you about — including which pack is a little too bulky for a small bag.

Biore Cooling Body Sheets

What It Is & How to Use

Biore’s Hiya Sheet (冷シート — literally “cold sheet”) is a cooling body wipe from Kao, one of Japan’s biggest personal care companies. Each pack holds 20 thick, oversized sheets soaked in what Kao calls “cooling water” — a cooling formula containing menthol and hyaluronic acid. According to Kao, skin surface temperature drops by 3°C immediately after wiping the same area twice.

Using it couldn’t be simpler. Pull out a sheet, wipe wherever the sweat is bothering you — neck, arms, back — and let the menthol do the rest. It comes in three versions: unscented, Refreshing Floral, and Peach Soap. I tested the first two, and I’ll tell you exactly how they compare in a moment. Expect to pay just under ¥400 — I paid ¥382 (about $2.50) for each pack at my local drugstore.

My Honest Experience

Let me start with where these sheets earned their place in my bag: the park, on a blazing afternoon, while my kids played. One sheet was enough to wipe my arms, neck, and back, and the fresh feeling afterward is real — not a ten-second tingle, but a chill that kept me comfortable for a good twenty minutes.

The chill works in a fun way, too — and Gatsby’s sheets do the same: the moment you wipe, you just feel clean and refreshed. Then, a few seconds later, the menthol wakes up, and that cool, tingling wave rolls in.

What surprised me most was the sheet itself. It’s genuinely thick, closer to a small wet towel than a regular wet wipe, and it never tore on me — not even once.

So what about the two scents? Refreshing Floral has a soft mix of menthol and floral notes that never felt overpowering to me. It’s gentle — but if perfume-like scents aren’t your thing, go with the unscented version and you won’t miss anything.

One honest drawback: the pack is a little bulky. In my case it doesn’t matter much — with two small kids I’m carrying a big backpack everywhere anyway, so the sheets just live in there with everything else. But if you’re the type who explores with only a small bag, you’ll notice the extra bulk. If that sounds like you, the next product might be exactly what you need — Gatsby packs 12 large sheets into a much slimmer pouch.

Gatsby Ice-Cold Body Wipes (Hyorei)

What It Is & How to Use

Gatsby is a men’s grooming brand from Mandom, and its body wipes are a summer staple for Japanese men. The line I picked up is called Hyorei (氷冷 — “ice-cold”), and it’s a medicated body paper: on top of the menthol chill, it contains an antibacterial active ingredient designed to help control odor-causing bacteria. The sheets are 100% natural pulp, and each slim pack holds 12 large sheets.

Here’s a fun detail for travelers: these 12-sheet packs are convenience-store exclusives — it says so right on the package. I grabbed all three scents at FamilyMart for ¥385 (about $2.50) each: Freeze Peach, Ice Lemon Mint, and Ice Citrus. Drugstores carry Gatsby body paper too, but in bigger 30-sheet packs; the slim fruity ones live at the conbini.

Using them is the same story as Biore: pull out a sheet and wipe. Two small notes, though. These are for your body — Gatsby makes a separate facial paper, so save these for neck-down. And yes, it’s marketed to men, but there’s no rule against the rest of us using it. Whether a men’s wipe is too intense for a mom — I’ll tell you honestly in a moment.

My Honest Experience

First, the honest answer to my own question: no, a men’s wipe is not too intense for a mom. In fact, if pure cold is what you’re after, Biore actually hits harder — Gatsby cools you down nicely, but it’s the gentler chill of the two, and it fades sooner too (Biore kept me cool for around twenty minutes; Gatsby was clearly shorter). The sheet is large but thinner than Biore’s — which is exactly why the pack slips into a small bag so easily. The trade-off in one sentence: Biore for power, Gatsby for portability.

Now, the scents — this is where Gatsby gets fun. My favorite was Freeze Peach: sweet, but in a clean way that disappears politely instead of following you around. Second place goes to Ice Citrus, simply fresh and easy to like. Ice Lemon Mint came third for me — it has a sharper menthol note that I found more noticeable, though if you like your menthol assertive, that might be your first pick.

And here’s the rabbit hole I fell into: these three scents are just the beginning. Gatsby makes exclusive scents for different store chains, so the lineup changes depending on where you shop. Lawson has a Fig version — fancy enough that their official site brags about it. Wander through different drugstore chains and you might run into Frozen Pear, Salty Lychee, Berry Berry Frozen, Frozen Cider, Lemon Squash, or a double-peach version called W Peach. The lineup also rotates, so what you find this summer may be gone the next. If you’re the type who collects limited-edition KitKat flavors, congratulations: body sheets are now a collectible, too.

Biore vs. Gatsby: Which Should You Buy?

Here’s everything I found, side by side:

Here’s how I’d decide. If you want the strongest, longest-lasting chill for your yen, get Biore — it’s also noticeably better value at about ¥19 per sheet, compared with roughly ¥32 for Gatsby, and the unscented version keeps everyone in the family happy. If you’re traveling light with a small day bag, or you just love a good scent, get Gatsby — the slim pack earns its spot, and hunting down store-exclusive scents is half the fun.

And honestly? At around ¥400 a pack, this isn’t a decision that needs an agonizing pros-and-cons list. Grab one of each on your first conbini-and-drugstore run and see which one your skin votes for.

As for my personal winner? On paper, Biore takes the crown — colder, longer-lasting, cheaper per sheet. And yet the pack my hand reaches for is Gatsby: that clean peach scent, plus a slim pouch that disappears into any bag. Sometimes the heart ignores the spreadsheet.

Where to Buy Cooling Body Sheets in Japan

The good news: in summer, you won’t have to hunt. From around June to September, cooling products appear in dedicated summer displays at many drugstores across Japan — just look for the wall of icy-blue packaging. That’s where you’ll find both Biore varieties (¥382 at my local store) along with the big 30-sheet Gatsby packs. Supermarkets and Don Quijote usually have a cooling corner too.

For the fruity Gatsby Hyorei packs I reviewed here, head to a convenience store instead — the 12-sheet size is made exclusively for conbini. Mine came from FamilyMart at ¥385 a pack. This is great news for travelers: there’s a convenience store on practically every corner in Japan, so you can land, drop your bags, and be wiping the flight off your arms ten minutes later. (First time in a Japanese conbini? I wrote about its little unwritten rules here.)

And keep an eye out wherever you shop — many chains carry their own exclusive Gatsby scents, so the selection changes from store to store.

Reading this from outside Japan? Some of these sheets do show up on international shopping sites, usually at a markup.

FAQ

Can I take cooling body sheets on the plane?

Yes. The TSA allows wet wipes in both carry-on and checked bags, and they generally do not count toward the liquids limit. Rules can vary by country and airport, so check the guidance for your departure airport if you’re carrying a large quantity. Cooling sprays are a different story — those are aerosols with restrictions — so sheets win here, too.

In fact, don’t just pack them — use them. Ten hours into a long-haul flight, a quick wipe of your neck and arms feels like a mini shower. One etiquette note from a Japanese mom: menthol and alcohol have a noticeable scent in a sealed cabin, so freshen up in the lavatory rather than at your seat.

Can my kids use them?

Not for infants or toddlers — Kao says Biore Cooling Body Sheets should not be used on little ones. I follow the same cautious line at home: my older child uses the sheets without a problem, but I stick to a plain wet towel for my younger child, who has more delicate skin. For older kids, my own rule is to test a small patch of skin first and stop at any sign of redness or itching. One more note: that guidance is Kao’s — check the label separately before using the Gatsby wipes on a child.

What if I have sensitive skin?

Be careful with these. The products I tested all contain menthol and alcohol, and the makers themselves say to avoid them if you’re sensitive to either. Note that “unscented” only means no fragrance — the menthol and alcohol are still in there. If you’re unsure, test one on a small patch of your arm before wiping down.

Will these protect me from heatstroke?

No — and I want to be honest about this. Cooling sheets change how you feel; they don’t cool your body’s core. In Japan’s summer, keep drinking water, take breaks in air-conditioned shops, and stay out of the afternoon sun. Think of the sheets as a comfort tool that makes surviving summer more pleasant — not as protection.

Final Thoughts: Survive Summer the Japanese Way

If I could slip one thing into every traveler’s bag this summer, it would be a pack of these sheets. They’re cheap, they’re sold on practically every corner, and they turn the sweatiest moment of your day into a fresh start — at the park, off a long flight, or on a day when a bath just isn’t happening. And on the days when a bath is happening — ideally at a hot spring — my Japanese Onsen Guide for First-Timers shows you how to enjoy it like a local.

My advice in one line: Biore for serious cooling, Gatsby for the scents and the slim pack — and at these prices, don’t overthink it. Grab both on your first convenience-store and drugstore run. And while you’re in that drugstore aisle anyway, Japanese sunscreen deserves a spot in your basket too; I wrote a full guide about my favorites here.

One last thought: a few packs of these make a light, airport-friendly souvenir that no one else brings home. Fair warning, though — once you’ve lived a Japanese summer with cooling sheets, you’ll miss them the moment you’re back home.

How do you survive the summer heat where you live? Any local tricks I should know about? Tell me in the comments below — I read every single one!

I hope this guide has answered one of your questions and helped you feel a little closer to Japan. May your Japan journey be filled with wonderful discoveries and memories you’ll treasure for years to come.

See you in the next guide.