Kameoka Diaries #4 — The Cold

For those that missed them:

Part One: Self-Introduction
Part Two: Friends
Part Three: Midwestern Conflict

And here’s Part Four:























The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One, collecting the first eight parts, is available in HD for $1:
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Also available is The Kameoka Diaries: Part Two, collecting parts 9-16:
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[ Click here to buy as a DRM-free PDF ]

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Go on to Part Five>>>

  • Ha! I don’t know about a coat, but I’m definitely sleeping with my socks on now.

    Another trick to keep warm you might try is a “Yutanpo,” or hot water bottle. It’s basically a container that you pour boiling water into. I sleep with one at my feet and use one with a blanket when I’m drawing on especially cold days.

    Love these strips. Can’t wait for the next one.

  • Troll mouse

    Want me to send you one of the homemade, microwaveable things?

  • Becky

    Love it! People in Minnesota don`t understand when I try to explain that my winters in southern Japan (where the temps rarely got below freezing) were so much colder than winters back home……

  • This installment was hilarious. I am not sure if there is anything that can beat the winter in Japan. I have carbon heater which works really for my small apartment. You come up with all sorts of creative ways to stay warm here.

    I am eager for the next installment!

  • Steve M

    Just read an article on staying warm in the winter by putting on more clothes & lowering the thermostat, so I am sitting at my computer wearing snow pants and a sweater, with the thermostat turned down, but my hand are getting cool.
    But here is a treehugger link with another idea:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CqJoXyBuxRw#!

  • tats

    haha! A funny thing about the school girls uniform is they hate wearing it as it should be worn according to their school rules, but wear it the way they like when they they hang out with their friends in downtown on holidays. High school girls enjoy a privileged status, dubbed JK, an acronym for joshi kousei (high school girls).

  • LQ

    Looks like somebody needs
    http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2010/11/guide-to-heaters-in-japan.html
    and maybe
    http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2010/11/8-ways-to-winterize-your-japanese.html
    But ultimately, I long for the day when kids who are forced to wear uniforms everywhere at least get to pick whether they wear long pants/long sleeves/sweaters/etc. At least for the sake of their health … This idea that “gaman” is going to toughen your brain instead of making it harder for you to concentrate is very strange to me. I keep thinking “surely someone could study it and present results showing lower test scores and get things changed.” Ha.

  • David

    I’ve had days where kids make up excuses to come into the staff room because it’s the only heated room! People here often ask me if my home state gets as cold as Japan, and I tell them it gets much much colder, but at least we know how to keep the inside warm.

  • cwk

    I haaaaaaaaated the kerosene heaters. I would leave the shokuinshitsu when they were on. It’s astonishing that they are still widely used: cause headaches, smell awful, asphyxiation hazard, fire hazard, you have to lug the kerosene from the gas station, and you can’t even keep the windows shut.

    Luckily my apartment had been remodeled and had a new a/c unit that generated a lot of heat. And I never had to look at the bills because they were deducted directly from my bank account! I don’t think it was actually that expensive though.

    anyway good job these are great etc

  • Donburi

    The JHS students at my school wear the sailor-outfit uniforms, so it’s like one less layer, but they’re allowed to wear leggings. :D I also refuse to use a kerosene heater for your same reasons…and the kotatsu is a God’s send.