A brilliant Japanese invention

It's freezing in our apartment! I don't think that the Japanese have cottoned on to the idea of insulation yet, as it doesn't really mesh with traditional Japanese design, but at any rate our apartments are too old to have it. There's a crack in the glass on one door, and it's just plain cold (and this is spring).

Below is a picture of a kotatsu.

As you may be able to tell from the picture, it has a blanket on it. Basically, the top lifts off, and then you can drape a blanket over the frame. We have a spare doona under the visible blanket. Then, under the table is a heating element. Because it only needs to heat a small space that is quite well surrounded, it gets very cosy very quickly. It has become our dining table, and I'm starting to think that it's better than trying to buy a second hand dining table for the dining room, at least until the weather warms up. Last time I was in Japan, with one of my host families, pretty much all our time was spent at a (slightly larger) kotatsu.

In summer, you can remove the blanket, and end up with a normal coffee table.