{"id":23136,"date":"2012-01-06T05:36:50","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T09:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=23136"},"modified":"2012-01-06T05:36:50","modified_gmt":"2012-01-06T09:36:50","slug":"24-ways-to-stay-warm-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/06\/24-ways-to-stay-warm-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving in Japan: 24 Ways to Stay Warm This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-2010)<\/strong> of Surviving in Japan: without much Japanese<\/a> and Lifelines columnist for The Japan Times. <\/em><\/p>\n

So you’ve prepared your home in Japan as best you can for winter and you’ve got a heater or two, or a kotatsu, to keep you warm. What else can you do to survive the winter in Japan, especially with the continued emphasis on energy conservation?<\/p>\n

1. Carry “kairo” (\u30ab\u30a4\u30ed).<\/strong> Small body (typically hand) warmers. The disposable kind are the ones you open and shake up and typically last a few hours. Some can be placed in your shoes, around your ankles, around your waist or even around your wrists. Here are a few examples.<\/p>\n

I’ve also noticed a trend of “eco-kairo” (\u30a8\u30b3\u30ab\u30a4\u30ed) this year. The eco-kind vary, but some are filled with gel and you heat them in the microwave. Some are battery-powered (I’m not sure exactly how that is very “eco” though, unless they’re solar-charged, but I suppose it is less wasteful to some degree).<\/p>\n

Some examples of “eco kairo” with cute covers (found at Loft):<\/p>\n

\"eco<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Eco<\/p>\n

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2. Use a lap blanket.<\/strong> Whether at work or home, these smaller blankets are good to have on hand. Look for \u3072\u3056\u304b\u3051 (\u819d\u639b\u3051).<\/p>\n

3. Or a space blanket.<\/strong> They aren’t just the shiny, futuristic looking sheets anymore (though you can get those too). These kind are fabric-covered. Look for \u30b9\u30da\u30fc\u30b9\u30b1\u30c3\u30c8.<\/p>\n

4. Or an electric blanket.<\/strong> Look for \u96fb\u6c17\u6bdb\u5e03 (\u3067\u3093\u304d\u3082\u3046\u3075, denkimoufu).<\/p>\n

5. Use a hot water bottle<\/strong> (\u6e6f\u305f\u3093\u307d, \u3086\u305f\u3093\u307d). Especially good for cold feet.<\/p>\n

6. Eat hot dishes.<\/strong> Like Nabe. Curry. Ramen. Or any other hot meal. What’s your favorite?<\/p>\n

7. Drink lots of hot tea<\/strong>, especially if your workplace provides it for free.<\/p>\n

8. Hot drinks.<\/strong> Remember that many vending machines and conveniences stores have a section for “hot drinks” (usually have a red label underneath and say \u3042\u3063\u305f\u304b\u3044 or “hot drink” while the cold ones have a blue label, and yes, the vending machines that offer them do change over from summer).<\/p>\n

When I first arrived in Japan I had no idea you could buy a hot beverage from a vending machine, and when I chose (cold) tea, thinking I was just choosing regular tea from a vending machine, the person I was with looked at me in complete shock.<\/p>\n

“Don’t you want a hot drink?” she asked.<\/p>\n

“What? There’s hot drinks?”<\/p>\n

“Yes.” She points to the red label, “These are hot.” The look accompanying this was more or less, “how did you miss that…”<\/p>\n

Not sure if it’s just me, but I never really came across a vending machine in the US with hot drinks aside the dispenser types at some schools or hospitals, etc. Who needs a vending machine with a coffee shop on every street corner? I am from Seattle after all.<\/p>\n

9. Heat Tech from Uniqlo.<\/strong> What you would call long underwear. If not from Uniqlo, wool or silk are also great materials (and yes, you can get non-itchy, lightweight wool base layers – merino wool is one of those). If you’re prone to being cold like I am, you’ll be extra thankful for that base layer!<\/p>\n

10. Layer. Outer layer.<\/strong> While you’re shopping for long underwear, do yourself a favor and get a warm winter coat. I recommend anything with down. Uniqlo and Muji have them, but here’s a secret, Sierra Trading Post often has crazy discounts on down jackets. (No, they didn’t pay me to say that – I wish). Be careful if you want anything with fur trim though, as customs might get you when you have it shipped here directly.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE <\/a><\/strong>to read the other 14 ways.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-2010) of Surviving in Japan: without much Japanese and Lifelines columnist for The Japan Times. So you’ve prepared your home in Japan as best you can for winter and you’ve got a heater or two, or a kotatsu, to keep you warm. What else can you do to survive the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[73,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice","category-blogs","category-writers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t