preparing for winter

炬燵

こたつ

kotatsu

small table with an electric heating element on the underside

It's been a long, long time since I've had the full autumn experience—mourning the waning daylight, feeling the brisk chill in the air, and most of all, watching the color-shifting landscape. The cold has been rapidly approaching since the end of October, and with it, a rapid change in the temperature in my apartment. I suppose the nostalgia of the autumn seasons of my youth are keeping me afloat at the moment, but there's no doubt that the thought of winter, when the temperature isn't likely to climb much above freezing, has me a bit worried. Fortunately, I'm no longer living on a Peace Corps salary and I can actually afford to make my life a bit more comfortable. In this entry, I'm going to introduce some of the things that will hopefully get me through the harsh winter of Japan.

new life

畳

たたみ

tatami

straw floor covering

Last night was my first night in my new house. I have basically no furniture yet—only the standard fittings in the kitchen so far, plus a washing machine and a bed. And by bed, I mean a futon mattress. In case you don't know what a futon is (if you're American, you probably don't), it isn't a couch that folds down into a bed. No, a futon has no frame whatsoever. It is simply a pad that you lay on the floor and sleep on. It sounds very uncomfortable, but there's another piece of the equation that the average American (i.e. me 6 days ago) isn't aware of.