This is a kotatsu. It's a table, usually a low table, with a heating element on the bottom side, the top of the table comes off, and between the frame and the tabletop you put a special blanket. I spend basically all my time at home here. I eat here, watch tv here, call friends and family here, play computer games here, write these blog posts here, even sleep here but I try to avoid that.
My first time really hearing about kotatsu was when I was reading the manga Fruits Basket 10 years ago. Most likely my mother had mentioned the word "kotatsu" before in reference to her brother's house in Tokyo she visited in the mid 80's, but this was my first time truly understanding the concept. In the manga, there are two characters that are constantly fighting but they are shown to be asleep sitting at the kotatsu, with another character commenting "kotatsu can even put devils to sleep." Twelve year old me was intrigued by this apparently amazing piece of furniture. I wanted to try one at some point, but that was still a long way off.
Now, I did study abroad in Japan during college, but it was only during the hot, humid summer months. During that time I got used to sitting on the floor to sit at the table, as that is the style in Japan. Apparently one of our tables was a kotatsu, but no way were we about to turn it on given how hot it was. Fast forward 3-4 years and I'm moving to Tohoku in November, a place famous for cold temperatures and lots of snow. I made it my goal to get a kotatsu as soon as possible.
My apartment came with quite a bit of furniture, but no kotatsu. A new kotatsu is over $100, so I was looking at thrift stores for my options. I found one for about $60, but it didn't have a cord so I decided to keep looking. Later I was a few towns away in an actual city and spotted a deal that had me wondering if I was reading it right: an average sized kotatsu with a cord for 1650￥, or approximately $15. After checking the tag to make sure it does indeed work, I decided I wanted to buy it. One problem: there was no space in our car. This meant I would have to drive back 1.5 hours to the store that evening and pick it up, which was quite a feat given it was nighttime and my first week driving in Japan. However, I wanted a kotatsu so I decided to go for it.
The drive was a bit rough given that there was some pretty good wind along the coast, which is not fun in my boxy kei car, but I managed to drive back to the store and get my kotatsu. Did have to go through a weird one way tunnel under the road, though. My car is pretty big for a kei car so the kotatsu fit in just fine, which is extremely helpful. It was a pretty long drive, as you might imagine is often the situation when you live in the middle of nowhere, but it did give me a lot of good driving practice.
With my kotatsu safely in my living room, it was time to get the special blanket, a こたつ布団(kotatsu futon). After figuring out my kotatsu size, I took to Amazon to find something cute. Despite going for a cat theme for my kitchen, decided to go with a hedgehog design for my kotatsu futon. I actually have a hedgehog blanket for my regular futon, so I guess it still matches my house a little. It's grey, as you can see in the picture, so I got some grey cushions and a floor chair for sitting at the kotatsu, which I do a lot.
Let me tell you, people are not kidding when they say the kotatsu traps you. In my first week having the kotatsu, I fell asleep under it three times. Pretty much all my time at home is spent sitting at the kotatsu. My house and especially my floor get very cold, but under the kotatsu is a space of cozy warm air, floor, and blankets. It's under the wall heater and next to the sliding glass door, so warm and lots of natural light during the (unfortunately shot) days. My kerosene heater is also nearby for especially cold days. Overall, its probably the warmest and coziest place in my house. Sitting on the floor does hurt my legs after a while, but it's so warm and cozy I'll still spend all my time under the kotatsu. Kotatsu really did live up to everything I heard about it and more. I don't know how I lived without kotatsu before and will probably follow what one of the presenters in my pre-departure orientations did and ship my kotatsu back to the US when I go back eventually. It's too wonderful.
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