Poor tanuki: they must be freezing their balls off.
Now that Halloween is all over and done with, it’s time to look ahead at the upcoming cold months. To quote Game of Thrones, winter is coming.
And winter in Japan, especially in the northern parts of Japan, can be unforgiving. Not only are winters cold and snowy, but in lots of buildings Japan there’s very little insulation to protect you from the ravages of winter. Fortunately, there are lots of awesome, uniquely Japanese ways to stay warm and toasty in the frigid winter months!
Japanese homes don’t usually have central heating or cooling, they have little insulation, and double-paned windows that keep the cold out and the heat in are regrettably rare. This is because lots of places in Japan have traditionally been designed to be breezy in the summer, and central heating and cooling is pretty expensive.
There are other theories why Japanese homes are so poorly insulated – that they’re built cheaply to prepare for the inevitable destruction of earthquakes, that they’re poorly built to save big construction companies money – but those are kind of fringe theories.
But regardless of why some Japanese homes are so cold, people have found ways around it. Let’s take a look at the coolest ways to say warm in the Japanese winter:
Kotatsu
No post about winter in Japan is complete without talking about kotatsu. The idea behind kotatsu is both simple and brilliant: it’s a low table with a blanket around the edges and a heater strapped beneath it.The blanket keeps all the heat trapped underneath the table to warm up cold legs.
It’s the greatest idea since eating Cheetos with chopsticks.
Looks cozy!
Kotatsu are a great way to keep warm, and forcibly gather the family together in one place. Nothing says “family time” like huddling together for warmth. People even take naps under them, and kotatsu become pretty much become permanent spots for household pets, as exhibited by YouTube superstar Maru:
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQR9BQXj-I8']
Kotatsu are less popular in the northern regions of Japan, where it’s important to keep the entire room, apartment, or house warmed up so that water pipes don’t freeze and burst. But on the main island of Honshu, kotatsu are plentiful.
Space Heaters EVERYWHERE
Since many Japanese households don’t have central heating because of the cost, lots of people rely on smaller space heaters to heat rooms individually. Some households practically have a space heater for every room in the house, but most have at least one for the main living area.
A space heater with its primary benefactor.
There are lots of different kinds of heaters that people in Japan use; everything from kerosene and oil to regular ol’ electric heaters.
And, once again, your cat or dog will probably use your heater more than you will. How do the animals get all the breaks?
Haramaki
Haramaki originally referred to the armor a samurai would wear around his waist, but that’s so 16th century. Nowadays, haramaki refers to something a little bit different.
Today, a haramaki is a knit cloth garment that you wrap around your stomach to keep your core warm.
Put a bird on it!
Usually Japanese people associate haramakis with children and old people, but haramaki makers have been trying to make it seem a lot more trendy and fashionable. They’ve also been trying to show – scientifically – that haramaki make you a lot warmer, too.
Science!
People who sell haramakis also say that they “promote wellness” as well, doing things like keeping a baby warm during pregnancy, accelerating the processing of alcohol by the liver, and relieving menstrual cramps.
The Japanese love to talk about how important a warm stomach is to staying well.
Whether or not these claims have any basis in science is a little questionable, but that doesn’t stop a haramaki from keeping you toasty.
Hot Water Bottles
Hot water bottles: also available in mini sizes.
Back in the day, obaasan and ojiisan used to have to cultivate trees, cut them down, turn them into charcoal, heat water, pour it into a giant metal hot water bottle, and scald their feet while they slept in order to keep warm. Okay, not really, but hot water bottles have been around for a while, and they used to be a bit more of a hassle.
Nowadays though, hot water bottles are a great way to keep toasty while you sleep. They’re much smaller, cuter, and more manageable than the clunky metal hot water bottles from back in the day. People even accessorize their hot water bottles with covers and the like.
Pff. Kids these days.
Don’t Die
No, seriously; don’t die. While all of these ways of keeping toasty in wintertime look awesome, they can be deadly too.
According to Japan Probe, something like 20 people die every year in Japan from space heaters when they throw things (clothes, blankets) on top of them and forget about it. Not only that but with kerosene-powered heaters you have to keep a can of kerosene around to refill the heater, which can spill and catch fire and burn your whole house down.
And of course, kotatsu are basically designed to be the biggest fire hazard ever. Who thought “Hey let’s design a heater that’s completely covered at all times?” Dangerous enough to warrant a government warning? You decide.
Don’t even get me started on hot water bottles. All I can say is that most of my family is gone from this world because of it.
Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit about the dangers of these things. But you should probably nonetheless be careful when using them.
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How do you keep warm in the wintertime? Do you use one of these ways, or do you prefer something else? Let me know in the comments!
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