Heaters

It's that lovely time of year when all people on the island of Shikoku (and the rest of Japan) freeze their behinds off. Why? Well, the outside isn't actually super cold but the houses and their lack of insulation make it feel like the arctic. You can actually see your breath when inside. Isn't there something inherently wrong with that?

So, to battle the frigidness, we have heaters. They come in all shapes and sizes. The first is the air conditioner/heater which is usually perched above the doorway. It was great as an air conditioner but as a heater you have to sit in a certain area of the room to get any benefit from it. Then there is what I call a heat lamp. It looks like a fan but doesn't blow and gets hot. Good for short distances but useless for a big room. Then there is also the "kotatsu" which is a table that is heated underneath. You throw a blanket under the lid, stick your legs under and enjoy the ensuing warmth.

I recently found out that the toilet in my house has a heated seat. And while it sounds weird, it's great! The bathroom is as cold as the rest of the house and it's not fun to have to answer nature's call in the middle of a very cold night.

This brings me to the kerosene powered heater. This bad boy has a tank which can be filled with kerosene that can be bought from your local gas station. It's warm but it can smell. There is one in my workplace which gives me a headache if I have it on for more than an hour. Possibly fainting or poisoning myself with toxic fumes is not my idea of an ending so I regulate it's usage by obsessively opening windows and gulping in fresh air or turning it off completely. Unfortunately this polluting machine is the only heater that actually warms up a room.

That said and done, Shikoku hasn't yet reached it's coldest temperatures of the year. So an icicle will write to you in those months.