Japan’s (lack of) Insulation Innovation

Experiencing my first Japanese winter has not been fun.

It is cold.

Sure it’s cold back in the UK, but at least there is central heating and open fires.
What do we have here? Each other to huddle against.

I’m not joking. Our apartment is quite a large one and whilst there is an aircon with a heating function in our kitchen, there isn’t one in the bedroom on the other side of the building. We could get one installed but as we should only be in this city for about another year and a half the cost of doing such a thing would be nasty.

We’ve opted for a cheaper option; a fleecy mattress topper, two fluffy blankets that go under our quilt(s), a double quilt, a single quilt and bubble wrap….yep bubble wrap, that’s right.

The bubble wrap is what we use to insulate our windows, because although Japan may be ahead in technology and transport, what they lack is the ability to insulate their homes. It is hot in summer and freezing in winter, and there isn’t much you can do about it.

So for the rest of this winter, our windows have been concealed, we cannot see neither inside or out.
As long as we stay warm, then I couldn’t be more indifferent.

I dread the lurking heatwave of summer.

~ Connie ~