Coming to Japan meant adjusting to many new things, from vending machines that accept the equivalent of $100 bills then bow to you in thanks after you make a purchase to learning that there’s a time and a place to pop that little baby octopus in your mouth without thinking about it. I also had to learn to live in a much colder place than my former home of San Diego, California. Of course, just about every place in the world is colder in the winter than San Diego, with its warming Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert just as the rest of the country drops below freezing, but I found keeping warm in Japan to be a real challenge. First, you need to learn to use a portable kerosene heater, inexplicably called a “stove,”and be at peace with freezing while refilling the kerosene for the heater using a hand pump that’s guaranteed to overflow and spill kerosene all over your shoes. Wall-mounted air conditioning units — called air-con — also have heating modes, although I didn’t figure this out for several months, since Americans don’t expect heat to start flowing out of their air conditioners. Perhaps the best way to keep warm in Japan is to use a kotatsu (koh-TA-tsoo), basically a low wooden table with a blanket over it and a heater inside. Stick your legs under the blanket and you’ll be as toasty as you please. In practice, this little warming table becomes the hub of the entire family, the place where everyone sits to eat and talk and watch TV, and I think they’re great. Incidentally, we got the just-released miniature kotatsu toy from Re-Ment in stock today, which is compatible with all the other Re-Ment toys — imagine the dioramas you can make with Figma and Revoltech toys!
Have you ever sat at a Japanese kotatsu table?
A kotatsu is a very Japanese way to keep warm in the winter.
