How to stay warm in winter…Japanese style

The day before yesterday, it was snowing in many parts of Japan…including Tokyo.

(That day (February 11th) was also a holiday in Japan, so we didn’t have to go to work or school in the snow.)

Does it snow in the winter where you live?

It normally snows one or two days each winter in Tokyo. And not a lot of snow. The snow that fell here Friday melted later in the day.
(It does snow much heavier in northern Japan, though.)

How do you stay warm in the winter where you live?
Do you heat your entire house with electric central heating? It’s a waste to heat the whole house all day…especially parts of the house that are unoccupied.

In Japan we stay warm in winter a bit differently.

First of all, rather than heating unused rooms of the house with central heating, homes here use either an electric wall-unit air-conditioner / heater or a gas heater and warm only rooms with people in them.

Japanese wall-unit A-C / heater is high-tech with a timer and remote-control.

The same gas room heater that we have.

The heater isn’t on all day and night. Once the room is warm enough, it’s turned off. Saves money.

But this isn’t the only technique used here.
We also use:

Heated carpet

炬燵　(A "kotatsu") traditional Japanese table with a heater under it to keep you warm in winter and a blanket to keep it's heat in.

"Hanten" winter room coat

湯たんぽ (Hot-water bottle)

Also, bathtubs in Japan are separate from the shower and they have a thermostat that keeps the water warm…so, unlike bathtubs in America, Japanese baths are used daily—especially in the winter.

Outside the house, during the cold months in Japan you can buy hot canned coffee, tea and other drinks from vending machines.

And many people carry　「ホカロン」 (charcoal hand-warmers).

Charcoal hand-warmers

Does your country have any useful techniques like these to stay warm during the winter?

Coldest spring in 41 years

Yesterday was cold and rainy in Tokyo again. In the evening the temperature went down to 2°C (about 36°F).

It’s sunny and warmer today…but still cool. The high temperature today is 11°C (about 52°F).

If you’re visiting Japan for the first time right now you’re probably surprised how cold it is for late April.
But this isn’t normal. It’s unusually cold for this time of year.

It actually snowed a bit in Tokyo last night.

On TV I heard that this was the first time that it snowed this late in the year in Tokyo since 1969!

But the weather forecast for Tokyo says that everyday next week will have a high temperature of around 18°C (about 64°F) and a low of around 11°C (52°F).
So hopefully the cold spell is over.

(But it’s forecast to rain next Wednesday to Friday in Tokyo. 😦 )

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My blog averages over 1,500 hits per day.
But yesterday my blog received the most visits in a single day so far…1,986 hits.

Before yesterday, my blog’s busiest day was 2010 February 14. It received about 1,850 hits that day.

Yesterday was my site’s busiest day…but I didn’t get a single comment yesterday. 😦

I appreciate all the visits to my blog. But I especially enjoy reading visitors’ comments…I guess most bloggers feel that way.

So, by all means, leave comments often.

Thanks.

寒い

The weather here in Tokyo is getting cold! It was a nice, blue sky today…but chilly!

Winter’s coming!

Stores and shopping streets having their Christmas decorations up, and many parts of the city have started their Xmas illuminations (taking a date to see xmas illuminations is popular in Japan).

How’s the weather now where you live?

In Japan, when the weather gets cold, it’s popular to say 「寒くなるので体に気をつけて」 (“It’s getting cold so take care (not to get sick)”).