winter is here

i turned on my heater yesterday.

sigh. i always try to go as long as possible without using my aircon (used for both cooling and heating, for those not in japan) but i couldn't take it any longer in the recent cold spell.

my room was a cozy 15 degrees celsius, somehow colder than it was outside. gotta love old (practically un-insulated?) apartments in the shade. i was wearing fleece socks, corduroys, a long sleeve shirt, a wool sweater, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf. inside.

yes, it was time.

i had just spent 4 days in Ro's inexplicably hot apartment. every time we came home from being out, we opened the door to a stifling hot apartment. i woke up at night overheated and throwing the covers off. yesterday, after he left for work, i lounged around until noon in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt only to come home to my freezer of an apartment. it was not pleasant. at least he could open his balcony door and let in cool air for free! i on the other hand am already anticipating the electric bill next month. hmph.

my apartment has 3 outside walls (one of those walls is all glass - a sliding door plus window leading to my balcony) and 6 windows on the other two outside walls. it's great in the summer (and spring and fall too, really) because i can open the balcony door and shower room window, which are on the walls on either end of my long and narrow apartment, and the air flows right through.

my building and the neighbors' are so close (i can open any of the 5 side windows and touch my neighbors' apartment) it makes quite an effective wind tunnel. if i open all the side wall windows, that breeze comes into my apartment too. i don't think i used the air conditioner more than a handful of days this summer (i was gone for half of july and august though, so maybe that's not a fair statement?)

but it's absolutely freezing in the winter due to aforementioned 3 outside walls and all those windows. and the fact that it only sees the sun for (MAYBE) all of 2 hours in the early afternoon. any heating options? space heater recommendations? or should i just stock up on fleece socks and hokkairo?

oh, i also pulled down a box of winter clothes yesterday.

i put on my trusty peacoat and favorite scarf as i headed out last night around 6pm. i was slightly saddened that a scarf in addition to my outfit was no longer enough to keep me warm. looks like winter has begun.


p.s. tokyo winters feel colder than any other winter i've experienced - snowy ohio with its depressing gray skies, winter in the rocky mountains in colorado, even minus 17 degrees in canada last february. i'm not looking forward to it.

p.p.s. i guess it does help that the sky in tokyo in the winter is gorgeous. chins up!