This humidifier is awesome for two reasons.

The first is that it uses no electricity: Instead, water is drawn up through the wood and evaporated into the air. According to the designers — the Japanese firm Okada — this process evaporates water six times faster than if you left in in a glass. At that pace, it’d be quite effective.

The second reason, of course, is how unbelievably gorgeous it is. Okada calls the device the “Mast”; it’s supposed to look like a sailboat. Google’s translation of the Japanese site selling the Mast is pretty mutilated, but it’s poetically mutilated, so I’ll use it:

Like a yacht sail (mast) the wind, the natural moisture to dry air liberality, also allows them to subtle and refreshing fragrance of cypress. Its appearance, we thought a yacht floating in the cool water and soft drinks will also give a visual sense.

How to use: Please put the water on the boat portion of the mast.

Absorbs water and sails made from scrap parts of the Seeds of cypress, cypress and give a faint fragrance of Hodoyoi natural moisture.

I want one! They’re only $70 US, though I bet the cost of shipping would be brutal.

(Thanks to the Design Less Better blog for finding this one! They’re the ones who called it the “zen humidifier”.)