Saturday, December 6, 2008

It snowed.

It snowed today. That's not a big deal except when you remember (or perhaps just learn) that we don't have central heat in this part of Japan. It is -1 Celsius or 29 F outside right now. Think about that for a minute. That means it is about -1 in my apartment! Or rather in part of my apartment. We close the door that divides the bedroom, bathroom and front hall from the kitchen, office and living room. In the living room we turn on the air conditioner-in Japan the air conditioner is also a heater. In my office in my apartment I have a little heater behind my chair.

There is one very good thing about it being cold....

I just drew a bath. Taking a bath in winter in Japan is one of my favorite things. Sure it is "nipply" getting ready for the bath since it is -1!! But I open the window (love a cold breeze) and get in to the very hot water and honestly it is almost like an outside onsen or hotspring. My tub is very deep so I can get in up to my neck. I love it when it is breezy ....feels fab!!! I honestly can't imagine taking a bath in a warm bathroom in an "ankle and elbow" tub (this is how my Canadian friend describes typical North American tubs after trying mine here!).

But in the middle of the night I don't like getting out of bed to pee because it is FREEZING!!!!! Now, many Japanese have little heaters in the toilet room and in the bathroom (the "bath" room and "toilet" rooms are divided). I think that it helps prevent old people from dying of shock in the bathroom in winter....it is sad but true that it happens every winter!

So when my mom tells me it is cold in Canada...I totally agree (of course I agree cause it is damn cold) but then I tell her to stop complaining because she can't see her breath INSIDE her house!!

5 comments:

Kelly Kilmer said...

You need one of those new toilets that warm your tushie ;)

LOL, my 11 year old REALLY wants one. I tell him DREAM ON.

;) Stay warm!!!!!

Jennifer Rose said...

brrr cold!

I couldn't live without heating, but the bath sounds perfect :D

FromJapanWithLove said...

Kelly they have had those toilets here for a long time...all the malls have them!!

Jennifer-the first 3 winters were hard....outside I was fine because compared to Canada it is nothing! But inside....my nose was frozen and it felt like I could never get warm enough but now I'm used to it and actually like it sometimes (bath for example!)

MaliciousGnome said...

Oooo, the bath sounds lovely. I don't usually take baths anymore because our tubs just aren't very comfortable... but I'm jealous of yours! ;-) I love cold weather, but -1 inside the house is insane!

Lisa Falzon said...

Aww hehe I see my breath inside the house here too! I live currently in this very poorly insulated Irish cottage and there's just radiators - no central heating, and it means unless you sit on top of the heater, you need to wear 3 layers of clothing and type in fingerless gloves bleh :/

Makes me almost miss my teeny tiny paris apartment, where i frolicked in underwear all through snowy winters haha.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails