This is my kotatsu! ie the only thing keeping me alive in the winter time here! For those of you not aware, it’s only the best invention the Japanese have come up with (forget those crazy videogames, robots, v*******s). There’s a bunch of makes and models but basically a kotatsu is a low table with a blanket attached to the top, and underneath the top is a small space heater. Turn on the heat, keep your body toasty underneath the blanket, sit and watch tv/play on your computer/eat mikan oranges, and you have the best way to get yourself through a nasty winter. 

Okay, it’s not actually unlivable up in the GREAT WHITE NORTH (of japan). I will admit it is cold here in Iwate, but the way everyone was going on about it, I thought I’d be waking up with my eyebrows frozen over and having to keep my toothpaste in the refridgerator because it would warmer. The big problem is that there is no central heating, terrible insulation, and it’s inconvenient/deadly to use heaters while you’re sleeping. Temperature-wise, it’s not that much colder than New Jersey. I’d say it’s easier for me to deal with going out into the cold because my apartment is not some golden wonderful cocoon and does not envelop me with the toasty comfort of wasted money. It’s nice to know that you can just heat the one room that you spend time in and still live a reasonable, first-world experience, people!

But I think I’ll always hate waking up and being so cold I can see my breath. The other morning it was 40 F! I was using just space heaters to keep me warm in the mornings but even that wasn’t cutting it anymore, so Bryan helped me lug out my big kerosene heater and showed me how to use it without blowing myself up. I was scared! For the longest time, I was just like, flammable kerosene? Right by my paper walls? Is that okay? Turns out it’s not such a big deal (like every other thing I freak out about!). I just can’t keep it on at night, or I will die. Fun!

And now, I love the little guy! I now can’t live without it. I don’t need it for very long, just long enough to warm up my room to a luxurious 68 F. It’s funny, because heating was always just something I complained about at home (”MAWMM, TURN UP THE HEAT”), yet having to actively think about keeping such a small space warm, and making sure to buy kerosene, and how not to waste said kerosene, has made it a lot easier for me to be comfortable at lower temperatures. I was always the “perpetually cold whiner” so this can only be a good thing!