This is my first winter in Japan. "WHAT? You've been in Japan for 13 years, have you not?" Yes, yes I have. But you have to understand that the first 11 were spent in Okinawa, where "winter" consists of wearing a sweater and having to put your hands in your pockets to keep them warm. For a week. At the most. And Hokkaido, well, that is REAL winter, but not REAL Japan.
What I mean is, Japan has a different approach to winter than Okinawa, than Hokkaido, than perhaps the rest of the world. When it gets cold, they do not believe in heating the whole house. They believe in heating the whole body.
So they have all these special "indoor use" sweaters, pants, jackets, slippers, lap blankets, and so on. It has been quite hard for me to adjust to. For thirty-six winters, I have been able to find refuge from the cold in my apartment or home. This is the first time I have walked into a cold home and simply left my jacket on, or kept a pair of mittens nearby.
Yes, they have heaters in their homes, but they tend not to use them as often as we would in the west. And especially in the wake of the earthquake/tsunami disaster up north, people are more conscious of energy consumption. There is something called "setsuden" going on in Japan, both in the summer and winter, which is a conscious effort to cut down on electricity consumption.
A wonderful idea, and very "green" and noble of the Japanese. But does that mean I have to like it? Should I feel guilty for wanting to walk around my apartment without five layers of clothing on? What do you all do to beat the winter colds and blues?
2 comments:
Wow! That sounds rough. I don't think I could handle that! But very interesting and noble.
Christina :-)
I always enjoy your blog posts Trevor, you are so honest.
So you asked what I do to "beat the winter colds and blues?"
Thanks for asking me!
This is what I do:
1. Besides when I'm sleeping, I am wearing 3 long sleeve shirts and my big down jacket, and pants. And I stay indoors 99% of the day.
2. I ask God to remind me to be thankful for the cold when I start to complain.
3. When I start to complain I think of the cold as just one of many types of blessings from our super awesome Father. He lets us experience so many feelings and emotions! So many! SO the cold is an experience to praise God for His power and awesomeness!
4. Sometimes I wonder about the people who lived before all the heating inventions. Or even people today, like in North Korea... our brothers and sisters up there must have some interesting attitudes about God's weather.. probably better than my attitude of course.
5. I also look forward to summer ^.^
6. Most of all, I don't just look forward to this, but I live for the reason of seeing/feeling/experiencing the shining warm and glorious face of our King.
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