It’s cold. This seems to be the sole thought every single time the train’s doors open to let passengers on and off. Perhaps it’s time to start paying 350円 for the reserved cars that have a double set of doors to prevent the cold from seeping too far into the car ….
The temperature has dropped by another ten degrees Celcius in this part of Japan and, as a result, people are now bundled up as though we lived with the penguins. Last year I found the appearance of super-bundled people as comical, considering how the winter temperatures rarely went below -5 degrees. However, after experiencing a few seasons in this country, it seems that my Canadian blood has thinned to the point where a 5 degree morning with 60% humidity is just a bit too much to handle. As a result, I too have become one of the super-bundled passengers on the train.
But this does raise an interesting question. Japan experiences quite a few extremes. Temperatures above 40 degrees are quite normal during the summer, and the mercury falls to just below zero in the winter for most of the country. Naturally, cities and towns built on the mountains or in the more norther latitudes do experience much colder temperatures. So, if it’s really so darn hard to live in Japan’s variable climate, why haven’t the technologically savvy citizens created some sort of air-conditioning-enabled jacket? One that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Sure, there have been a few gadgets and whatnot released over the years that try to use tiny fans or other gimmicky things that rely on air temperature … but for a country that has given the world ホッカイロ (hokkairo — those wonderful hot pads), is there really no relief from the bitter bitter cold we are forced to trudge through in the winter?
Heck, I really have no idea how school girls and women manage to wear skirts with skimpy stockings everyday in this weather, either … it seems like some sort of twisted male-imposed torture.
But I digress.
Looking For A Heated Winter Jacket
Reusable thermal pads have been around for ages, so why can’t we find these things in jackets? If memory serves, there was something like this offered in Canada shortly before Thinsulate became popular. Perhaps I’ve just become soft in my old age, but I think there is a real market for something that we could cling to for warmth. Sure, we could just pile on more layers, but why should we look like the Michelin Man whenever we go outside in the winter?
I’d like to find a good winter jacket that is relatively thin, has two inside pockets, is long enough to look good when I’m wearing a suit, but also looks good when I’m in jeans or whatever else, and carries a price tag of under 20,000円. That shouldn’t be too much to ask for, right?
As for heating, a winter jacket is just too big to put in the microwave, so it would need to be able to heat up through a plug-in device that consists of a tiny heater and a pump … this way the gel inside gets to circulate and heats up at the same time. Baring that, putting the coat into a clothes dryer for 10 minutes should also have the same effect.
Does something like this already exist, or should I whip out the sewing machine and put it together myself?
Considering this Sunday Snapshot I would think something like you describe sounds like a pretty cool idea. Alternatively, you could have a sort of small rechargable battery power some sort of heating element within the jacket. There may be things like this available already for heating (I know I have an uncle who has a heated vest that plugs in to his motorcycle for riding in cooler weather) but you might be on to something as far as developing something for summer months…