Kotatsu

I had mentioned in an earlier blog post that most Japanese homes do not have central air or heating. So how do they keep warm in the winter?

Well, it doesn't really get all that cold in Japan (at least not the Tokyo area). I would have to say that all of winter in Tokyo is like late-November/early-December weather in New Jersey, but it still can get a little chilly. So, again, how do you keep warm in the winter?

Answer: buy a kotatsu. A what? A kotatsu is simply a table about the height of a coffee table covered with a comforter and a table top placed over it. Oh yeah, and there is a heater attached to the bottom of the table. The result - you sit on a cushion and stick your legs under the comforter and enjoy the blessed warmth. Kotatsu are generally placed in the living room and, in the winter, it doubles as the kitchen table. Sometimes , when it gets really cold, you never want to leave it.

No, that is not me and my wife in that picture. It's a shot from my favorite Japanese TV show, Nodame Cantabile. This show really cracks me up, it is very funny and in this picture it shows just how versatile the kotatsu can be. Nodame and Chiaki are shown not only eating dinner on the kotatsu, but cooking it as well. Behind Nodame you can see a couch and behind Chiaki you can see a chair; illustrating the fact that the kotastu is also used as a coffee table.

"The root of all evil is the kotatsu." - Chiaki Shinichi