Old Japanese houses are made of wood and paper. My in-laws live in one of them and I swear if the big bad wolf ever visits, their house would just topple. Even without calamity, it is a very cold place to spend New Years.
Hiroshi, Rio and Reina and I had a very nice dinner my mother-in-law prepared for us -- in our down jackets. What is even more odd is everything we had was cold, cold noodles dipped in cold sauce, cold sliced pork with broccoli in a wasabi dressing, little fish, fishcakes, marinated veggies. We did not have soup. We drank cold barley tea.
It's like they live in a log cabin. There is no central heating in most of Japan. People use gas or kerosene space heaters. Huge fire hazards and yes people have died of poisonings. I pretended their kerosene heater was a fireplace and curled up next to it for a nap. Hiroshi slides in beside me. A little later, I wake up freezing cold. My father-in-law had moved the heater next to him. I snuggle closer to my husband. At one point, he wants to go to the bathroom and I don't let him go. He is my only source of heat.
We live in a very well-insulated concrete high-rise. On the same day, we didn't even need to turn on the heat and still we stayed warm at home. But as newlyweds, our first home was a ground floor apartment that was also freezing. But at least I kept our main room which was closed off by a wooden shoji door. The problem was I could never venture out of the room. The computer, the tv, the phone and futon were all there. If I had my way, I would install a potty there so I wouldn't have to run to the freezing toilet. After moving into a concrete building, we could never turn back.
My in-laws are lovely, kind, generous people. But next year, I've got to think of something to stay warm, a battery-operated electric poncho would be perfect!
