Smell and the City: Osaka Bottled

Move aside, fruits of the forest, and make way for the scent of a middle-aged woman. A Japanese firm has used her perfume, along with other evocative fragrances, in a range of air fresheners that reproduce familiar smells of the city in the smallest room in the house.

Senoya, a souvenir sales firm in Osaka, says the air fresheners are designed to conjure fond feelings towards the city's landmarks and people after years of economic decline and bad publicity.

They include Tenpozan Omoide no Kaori, which is meant to rekindle memories of a first kiss on the Ferris wheel at Tenpozan harbour, and Kita Shinchi Unaji no Kaori, supposedly reminiscent of the smell of the neck of a hostess at an Osaka drinking club. About 1,500 of the air fresheners, which cost 580 yen (£2.75) each, have been sold since September.