This Is Japan
Explore everyday life in Japan
There is something about winter in Japan that makes it feel particularly cold.
Maybe it has to do with the high moisture levels of the air. Maybe it has something to do with the way buildings are constructed here. Maybe it has to do with the way houses, schools, and buildings throughout much of the country often use single space heaters, sometimes electric and sometimes gas, to heat individual rooms (hallways and rooms that are not in use are often as cold as, if not colder than the air outside). Maybe it has something to do with the belief in keeping windows slightly ajar and periodically airing buildings out in order to freshen the air in them and to help reduce the transmission of colds and viruses.
Whatever the reason, winter in Japan is generally cold, and a smell that you will probably encounter as you walk through smaller residential streets and visit small restaurants is that of kerosene. Though, perhaps, this is changing little by little, kerosene is still a very commonly used heating oil in Japan. The smell of which is something that I just can't seem to get accustomed to.
I imagine that anyone who has ever spent a winter in Japan has struggled with the cold here. I also imagine that anyone who has spent a winter here has fallen in love with a special piece of furniture that probably most houses and apartments in Japan have, something called a kotatsu.
A kotatsu is a low table, much like a coffee table, that has an electric heater and a fan mounted to the framing that fills the center of it. During spring, summer, and fall, these tables appear as regular coffee tables do, but in winter, their tabletops are removed and a thick comforter is placed over their frames. Their tabletops are then returned, their plugs are plugged into a nearby outlet, and their heaters are turned on. After which, they become heavenly heating stations for your lower body that, once entered, tend to hold you firmly in place.
If you’re the type of person who finds it hard to get out of bed on cold mornings, you might just be doomed if you ever put your legs under the comforter of a kotatsu. Leaving their pocket of warmth for the cold that awaits you outside and in other rooms is not very appealing.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
the boy is so adorable!!
Thanks. He was really into "The Little Engine That Could" movie at that time and was impervious to cold. Now he's much more interested in laying down with only his head sticking out from the kotatsu and watching TV that way:)
Cool. Didn't know this video. Will try to let my kid watch it as he is really into Thomas the little engine train. :) Thanks for info!
Here's a link for the movie: http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1764666/
I have a Chihuahua.
She is 7 years old.
She stays all time in KOTATSU during winter.
Welcome to Steemit. Your dog knows where the best place to be is:)
I need that thing :D
You won't be disappointed. The electrical current in Japan is not much different from the U.S., so if you live in the U.S., you can buy one through Rakuten and have it shipped to you. I don't think the amperage used in Japan works well in other countries. I'm not sure about that, though.
Hmmm, here in Germany we use 230 V, that might be a problem. But I like the idea, I need to do some research.
My wife wants a kotatsu so bad. Hmm... her birthday is coming up.
I shipped a pretty large one to my brother once. It cost less than a hundred dollars to ship, but I had to send it by ship so it took about six weeks, maybe longer to get to him. If you want to try reverse engineering one, I can take some pictures of the heating unit for you.
I started to look into the history of 'Girls and Boys Day' and it looks like the origins reach back about a thousand years. I've only skimmed some articles, and I can't understand some of the kanji being used, but it appears that this day has been celebrated on March 3 since about six hundred years ago, and dolls of one kind or another have been a part of this celebration since the very start. When I know the details better, I'll let you know.