Winter? In Japan? Really?

For a country which experiences pretty chilly winters Japan appears to have a fairly lethargic approach to heating, it's as though Winter comes as something of a surprise. Most apartments don't have any form of domestic heating other than a/c units which can be adjusted to a warm setting. Trust me...THIS IS NOT SUFFICIENT!! Even when I lived in a desert country I had amazing underfloor heating despite only really needing it for 2-3 month of the year!

Rather than install central heating in homes, the Japanese approach the problem from a different angle and shops are full of all sorts of contraptions to generate much needed warmth including heated blankets, heated tables (??) and sticky heating pads of different sizes you attach to various parts of your body! So last night I put down my heated rug. It's certainly a big hit with the woofer... he's not moving off this bad boy!

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.
Pietro Aretino