Winter in Japan

Wow, I did not realize it's been so long since I did my last blog post. A month has gone by pretty quickly. I just sent in my 3 month field report to PiA. It's actually hard to imagine that only 3 months have gone by. It seems like Backstreet Boys and rice picking was forever ago.

One reason for the lack of new posts is because things have slowed down here in Yakage now that winter is descending upon us. Things are pretty routine here now. But all of you should get a sense of what Japan is like in the winter.

Japanese people like to say they have 4 distinct seasons, but if you ask any foreigner, there are only 2. Muggy summers and chilly winters. Summer temperature was extending through October, then for a week or so in late October/early November, there was some perfect cool temps. Then suddenly it all got freezing cold again. Growing up in New England, I liked to think I could handle inclement weather better than the average person as I walked around Dickinson in shorts and a T-shirt. And it certainly is colder in the States from a degree standpoint. But the cold just pierces through your walls and into your room.

Buildings in Japan, at least the schools and houses here in Yakage, seem to focus around letting air flow in and out of rooms. I've heard that houses in Japan are not built with thick walls because they need to be flexible for the frequent earthquakes. This means not a lot of insulation. I get that, what I find surprising is the layout of these schools I go to everyday. To move from one class to another, you have to go outside. Meanwhile, school uniforms require kids to wear skirts and shorts. It's tough to be a student in Japan

So how do Japanese people deal with the cold? Some inventions are pretty amazing (like a toilet seat that heats itself up when you sit down). Others are pretty low tech (kerosene stove). Every classroom has one of those babies parked right in the middle blasting away to keep the room piping hot.

Japanese people love their baths for relaxing. Hot springs can be found all over the country. In Japan, showers are really just a way to rinse off so you can be clean upon entering the tub. Don't want to be sitting in a pool of your own filth after all. Also, bathrooms are separated to keep everything free from contamination. The toilet is in a completely different room, and the shower is located next to the tub for the rinse.

Sadly, despite the chilly weather, it hardly snows here in Yakage. When it does, it's a light dusting. However, during the one Christmas lesson I taught at my school, it began to snow for a few minutes. I'll take that as a good sign of things to come.