{"product_id":"vintage-japanese-glass-float","title":"Vintage Japanese Glass Float","description":"\u003ch4\u003eA fishing tool that found its way home\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the late 19th century through most of the 20th, Japanese fishermen used handblown glass spheres to keep their nets buoyant at sea. Made from recycled glass — often old sake bottles — each one was sealed by hand, wrapped in rope, and sent out to work in open water. They were not made to be beautiful. They were made to survive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen plastic floats replaced them from the 1960s onward, thousands of glass floats were cut loose or lost at sea. Ocean currents carried many across the Pacific, where beachcombers began finding them along coastlines from Alaska to Oregon. Each one had been somewhere no one will ever fully know.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eWhat makes each one distinct\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGenuinely vintage\u003c\/b\u003e — Each float is an original, showing the bubbles, ripples, and surface texture of early 20th-century handblown glass and years in the ocean.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNo two are alike\u003c\/b\u003e — Color, rope thickness, and surface character vary naturally from piece to piece. What you receive is one of a kind.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMade from recycled glass\u003c\/b\u003e — Often sourced from sake bottles, the glass carries the color variations and imperfections of its origins.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTwo sizes\u003c\/b\u003e —\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eSmall:\u003c\/i\u003e Diameter 5–6 cm (approx. 2.0–2.4\")\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eMedium:\u003c\/i\u003e Diameter 7–8 cm (approx. 2.8–3.1\")\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHow to display it\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a bowl with other collected objects. Hung near a window where light passes through the glass. On a shelf where the imperfections can be seen up close. The rope netting, where present, is original — part of what the float was.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese come in when we find them. Availability varies. → \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/wabi-sabi-journal\/japanese-glass-floats\"\u003eRead more about their history\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japanese Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Medium","offer_id":43601216798806,"sku":"WS-VJGF-M","price":31.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Small","offer_id":43601216831574,"sku":"WS-VJGF-S","price":23.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2330\/8397\/files\/vintage-japanese-glass-float-coastal-decor-handmade-nautical-ball.jpg?v=1749627826","url":"https:\/\/wabisabi-jp.net\/products\/vintage-japanese-glass-float","provider":"The Wabi Sabi Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}