Congratulations, you’re in Japan, and if you’ve never experienced winter, then you may be experiencing how extremely cold it is. While the sights, sounds, and smells may be fascinating wherever you are in the country, you will yearn for warmth from a crackling fireplace. Basically anything really, just so you can thaw your near-frozen body.
It can be uncomfortable to go out and explore for long when it’s snowing, but there are ways you can get around it. If you’re not really intimidated by the cold because you basically lived with it your whole life, good for you. For those of you who can’t stand freezing, here are some ways you can warm up your Japanese winter.
Wear Thermal Clothing
Winter means wearing lots of clothing, and this can mean bulky and heavy. There will be a lot of walking in Japan, and this means you need to haul your burdensome clothing around. While it may help you stay warm, it won’t be comfortable. The solution to this is to invest in thermal clothing.
Thankfully, Japan is home to Uniqlo, which is a company that specializes in HeatTech. These are thermal clothes that are light and thin that you can wear under sweaters and outerwear. Its fabrics are made of innovative technology that retains body warmth, which will keep the chill away.
Try a Kotatsu
These are heated tables that are popular in Japan during the wintertime. If you must stay at home and worry about racking up the gas and electric bill, the kotatsu is a perfect solution to stay warm. It is even better with family and friends around. You can add heated floor pads with it if you want to get extra toasty.
Heat Packs
If you have no time to shop for thermal clothing, heat packs, or kairo, are a great alternative. You can easily pick up a couple of or a dozen personal heat packs from various convenience stores in Japan, and you can select them according to your preference.
There are heat packs for your hands, your shoes, and there are ones you can stick to your clothing as well. There are specially medicated kairo you can directly apply to your skin to help with muscle aches. Reusable ones are gaining popularity in Japan because it can be a hassle to repurchase them daily.
Heated Drinks from Vending Machines
If you haven’t already noticed, Japan’s streets are littered with vending machines. There is a variety of things you can buy from them. In winter, beverage vending machines sell hot drinks, and they hold heat really well, so you can even use them as a hand warmer.
There are fruity hot drinks that you can buy if you’re feeling under the weather. Some of the popular ones are citrus drinks, which are good for a sore throat, and ginger to help you wake up during frigid early mornings. The best part is that they’re cheap and thirst-quenching. Of course, there are coffee and tea options as well.
Bonus: Try Your Luck in Gachapon
Since you’re already taking out your coin purse, you may as well get yourself some cute souvenirs. Other vending machines you should try out are the gachapons, or capsule toy machines. They cost a few hundred yen in coins, and you may happen on a machine that features your favorite anime, manga, or even novelty items. They’re a fun way to spend your extra loose change.
Eat Hot Pot
Food is a universal language, and hot pot during winter is something you should try with family and friends. There are several hot pot dishes that you should try in Japan, like nabe, shabu-shabu, oden, sukiyaki, and more. It’s a tasty and filling way to keep warm.
Pack Extra Clothes for Warmth
It can be a pain to go back to your hotel or the place where you’re staying to pick up extra clothes because it’s too cold to be out for long. Be prepared and packed extra scarves, sweaters, and even blankets to prevent this from happening. If you’re not used to winter weather, it helps to be prepared, so pack what you think you will need.
What are your favorite ways to stay warm in the winter? Share them below.
Thus is the first time I have heard of a Kotatsu table, but I would love to be able to visit Japan in the winter . I would try to follow all of these tips.
I had never heard of the heated tables. That sounds like a really good idea! We need those here.
It’s snowing right now here in Colorado. I want to check out HeatTech thermals.
OK, so I had some money in my Paypal account that I had won. So I checked these out and bought a top and bottom to keep me warm. Thanks for telling me about these. The reviews were very good for them.
This was a fun post to read I really enjoyed it. I have never been to Japan but would love to go someday to check it out. I am super curious about kotatsu and will have to check that out more. We are in a super cold spell here it has been snowing almost every day and now we are in the low 20’s so some of these keeping warm tips really gives me some great ideas thanks for sharing and hope you have a nice warm weekend.