"Madra Dubh" <ccaine@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:MWzQb.9452$6O4.275764@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> "Ryan Ginstrom" <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:buspvu$m39s2$1@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > They are quite warm and cozy. The problem is when you have to go to the
> > bathroom -- the rest of the house is an icebox.
> >
> > One thing that is still quite popular for its rustic charm is the irori,
a
> > kind of open hearth that doubles as stove and heater.
> > -- 
>
> Granted the houses were very cold in the winter but those large quilts
> ("futons: were they not called?) kept you quite warm.

Yes, the futons are warm and the kotatsu is warm. Everything else is an ice
chest.

I remember back in the day, playing rock-paper-scissors with my wife to see
who was going to get out of the futon and turn on the kerosene heater.

That reminds me of an inn up in the mountains of Gifu that still used the
hibachi. But instead of charcoal, they put a little lump of coal in the
kotatsu, then arranged the futon so that your feet were inside the kotatsu.
It was very warm, but when you woke up, the edges of your futon were
encrusted with ice crystals from your breath.

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom