The phrase goes, “if you can’t stand the heat…” but is there one for being unable to withstand the cold? I am currently experiencing my “first” winter; one with actual snow and frost and ice. On top of that, I’m living through it in Japan, the land full of people who don’t seem to understand the concept of insulation outside of thermoses and soup containers. Currently it is 37°F/3°C outside which means my apartment is probably 1 or 2 Farenheit degrees warmer without the heater.
If you read the blog title, then you may be asking, “But what is a ’samugari’?” No, it’s not some kind of special Samurai class (although that would be mind-blowingly awesome if I were somehow a samurai… hmm); what “samugari” (寒がり) actually means is someone “being sensitive to the cold” and that describes me to a tee! I already knew before I arrived in Japan that I didn’t really enjoy winter, but my my; being here has elevated that sensitivity and disdain to levels nearing intolerance and hate.
Now, I try my best to fend off the cold with a nice combination of long johns, thermals, extra layers, big coats, gloves, scarves, thick socks, multiple layers of socks and hats; and I have 2 heaters, an electric blanket, and a kotatsu at my disposal so if you’re thinking “Just put on a sweater and, boom, problem solved!” then you don’t really understand what I mean.
The problem comes when I begin to peel off the layers and expose myself to the bare elements with no comforting heating machines to stave off the biting cold. It’s as simple as having to use the toilet, both at school and at home. Japanese-style toilets are no problem – you don’t touch anything. Western-style causes yelps of shock when you have to tinkle at 2am. Lucky for me I picked up a furry toilet cover for only 100yen at Daiso (such a lifesaver, I tell you). When it’s time to wash hands, ice-cold water rushes through the faucet and drives your fingers closer to frostbite than you ever want to be, spurring myself and many other ALTs I’ve talked to to second-guess the oh-so-necessary act of handwashing. Another lucky thing is to stash anti-bacterial hand gel in your pocket to avoid the hand-numbing act of washing.
So already it seems like I’ve come up with some workarounds to avoid some of the issues that plague a samugari such as myself, so you might well be thinking “So shut up about it already“… but, no. The ultimate, and yet-to-be-solved problem still remains: the shower.
The thing is, when I turn on my tiny little space-heater, I close the door to the front area of my apartment so that I’m only heating a smaller section and not wasting energy (think green!) but the problem is that the entry to my apartment contains not just that little space where you leave your shoes, but also my washer, sink, toilet room and, you guessed it… shower! This means that while I’m sitting toasty in my tatami room, my shower area is the still the same freezing 3°C.
Let me tell you, the worst part about taking a shower is getting in and getting out. Once I get in, the water is at a nice, cozy 100°F/39°C but even in the shower there is enough cold air to dampen the experience. That’s why as soon as I get home from school, before even turning on my heater, I force myself to get in the shower before the sun sets and the temperature difference between indoors and out increases. And once I park myself in front of my heater, post-shower… man… you’ll be hard-pressed to rip me away from that thing. Like a suckling baby to the bosom.
Needless to say, the weather calendar says it should start warming up around mid-March, thank God. I actually saw a website that said, “Japan is an island country and hence the temperatures never reach the extremes.” and that is truly funny.
