Japan is turning the fight against extreme heat into a very personal affair: a refrigerator-sized booth designed to cool one human at a time.

Called the Dohiemon BOX, the unusual cooling unit is being sold by Japanese industrial-equipment supplier TRUSCO NAKAYAMA as a way for workers and members of the public to escape soaring temperatures without having to cool an entire room.

The concept is remarkably simple. 

Step inside, take a seat and let chilled air circulate around your head, neck, shoulders and back. The system can blow air at around 5°C, with three cooling and airflow settings, while an automatic 20-minute shutoff helps prevent prolonged exposure to the cold.

In short, it takes the idea of air conditioning and flips it around: instead of cooling the room, cool the person.

The booth was developed with hot working environments in mind, including construction sites, factories, warehouses and outdoor events. It requires no installation, can be used indoors or outdoors and is mounted on wheels so it can be moved where cooling is needed.

TRUSCO says the unit uses roughly half the electricity of a typical spot air conditioner, with estimated electricity costs of around ¥15.8 (€0.09) per hour. The standard model costs ¥1.5 million (€8,222) before tax, making it more suited to businesses and public facilities than the average living room.

The Dohiemon BOX also has an unexpected inspiration: Japan’s ubiquitous refrigerated vending machines. The developers adapted the same basic principle — maintaining a cool enclosed space — but made it large enough for a person.

The timing is increasingly relevant. Japan has been strengthening measures to protect workers from heat illness as summers become more severe, pushing companies to look for new ways to keep people safe during periods of extreme heat.

Personal cooling is emerging as one possible answer. Cooling vests, wearable devices and portable air-conditioning systems are already being developed for workers exposed to high temperatures. The Dohiemon BOX takes the concept one step further by creating a dedicated cooling room for a single person.

As temperatures rise, cooling an entire building can be expensive and inefficient — particularly when only a handful of people are working in a hot environment.  

10.08.2026.