# Japan - Winter time



## pasturesnew

so with Visa in hand we are due to be in Tokyo Oct/Nov time, now having visited Japan many many times I am all too aware that Japan is pretty cold or would appear to be so given that properties tend not to have central heating but rely on A/C blowing out hot/cold air ! and the odd portable heater of course. 
This brings me to the question of types of properties to consider for our move, we are tempted to try something different, ie high rise , ceiling to floor glass windows with panoramic views etc, just thinking that we may well suffer during both Summer & Winter months if the A/C cant keep up, indeed I guess in high rises you are restricted on the use of portable heaters for fire & safety purposes also....

Thoughts appreciiated...., I guess if we go high rise then dont go ground/1st floor that way at least get the heat transfer from below


----------



## dallibee

pasturesnew said:


> so with Visa in hand we are due to be in Tokyo Oct/Nov time, now having visited Japan many many times I am all too aware that Japan is pretty cold or would appear to be so given that properties tend not to have central heating but rely on A/C blowing out hot/cold air ! and the odd portable heater of course.
> This brings me to the question of types of properties to consider for our move, we are tempted to try something different, ie high rise , ceiling to floor glass windows with panoramic views etc, just thinking that we may well suffer during both Summer & Winter months if the A/C cant keep up, indeed I guess in high rises you are restricted on the use of portable heaters for fire & safety purposes also....
> 
> Thoughts appreciiated...., I guess if we go high rise then dont go ground/1st floor that way at least get the heat transfer from below



we are coming from kiev where it gets to - 27 in the winter so I am looking forward to a positively balmy winter in Japan. 
I am interested to know how cold it gets there, I can't bring any of my 9 heaters that we bought while living in Serbia, when the russians cut off gas supply to the ukrainians, as the voltage is different. good question pasturesnew, I hope we get some answers.


----------



## pasturesnew

dallibee said:


> we are coming from kiev where it gets to - 27 in the winter so I am looking forward to a positively balmy winter in Japan.
> I am interested to know how cold it gets there, I can't bring any of my 9 heaters that we bought while living in Serbia, when the russians cut off gas supply to the ukrainians, as the voltage is different. good question pasturesnew, I hope we get some answers.



I lived in Austria for 4 years where it used to hit -20, I actually found it quite refreshing !. For sure Japan will seem balmy in comparison. If you need your fix of cold weather from time to time then head for Nagano, get some skiing in too !.

Again I dont think its a case of how cold, it's simply that properties are not geared up to handle the cold spells, my in laws tend to position a portable heater in the living room to supplement the A/C but other rooms stay cold, oops almost forgot , the loo seat is heated too......


----------



## pasturesnew

btw dallibee, if you want your fill of News (streaming video) from Japan before you arrive, check out....

NHK WORLD English

you can also get language lessons for free !.


----------



## larabell

dallibee said:


> I am interested to know how cold it gets there...


Here in Nakano-ku (Tokyo) it hits freezing a few times during the winter but almost never significantly below that. Snow is possible... some years it didn't snow hardly at all but one year we got three blasts in a row and the stuff stayed on the ground for about a week. Most of the time it melts on contact or by the next day at the latest. That should give you some idea of what to expect. You can probably find more detailed information on the JMA website: Japan Meteorological Agency.

As for housing... look for newly-built structures. Older houses are usually poorly insulated. Newer houses, depending on the builder, can be very well insulated. The place we just bought even has double-pane glass to prevent heat loss in the winter. It's true that most houses are heated with wall-mounted heating/cooling units but: (a) if the owner didn't wimp out on the cost and installed a unit that's the proper size for the room, there should be no problem keeping warm, and (b) if you have the budget, you can always negotiate with the owner to install more modern units. They cost around 100,000 each, plus-or-minus depending on the room size.

There is actually an advantage in these unit-based heaters if you have a large place. You can close off the rooms you don't use and only heat the area you're using at the time. Electricity is not cheap here so being able to turn off some rooms is a definite plus. Also look into buying a kotatsu -- it's a small table covered with a thick blanket and with a heater underneath. You'd be surprised how warm it will feel with your legs under the table... even if the remainder of the room is not heated at all.

I don't know of any restrictions on space heaters. If you buy one or more here, they are usually well-built and safe (ie: cutoff switches if the unit tips over, etc). The Japanese are very sensitive to fires resulting from earthquakes so space heater designers take safety seriously. For that reason alone, it's probably worth the money to ditch your current heaters and buy new ones here if necessary.

Also... if living in an apartment is an option, consider a concrete mansion. These buildings are generally cheaper and easier to heat in the winter, given that concrete is a fairly good insulator and usually only one or two walls are exposed to the outside (as opposed to a house where all four sides are exposed to the cold). If heating (and cooling in the Summer) is more of a concern than view, you might want to avoid apartments with huge exterior glass walls.


----------



## aciara14

pasturesnew said:


> so with Visa in hand we are due to be in Tokyo Oct/Nov time, now having visited Japan many many times I am all too aware that Japan is pretty cold or would appear to be so given that properties tend not to have central heating but rely on A/C blowing out hot/cold air ! and the odd portable heater of course.
> This brings me to the question of types of properties to consider for our move, we are tempted to try something different, ie high rise , ceiling to floor glass windows with panoramic views etc, just thinking that we may well suffer during both Summer & Winter months if the A/C cant keep up, indeed I guess in high rises you are restricted on the use of portable heaters for fire & safety purposes also....
> 
> Thoughts appreciiated...., I guess if we go high rise then dont go ground/1st floor that way at least get the heat transfer from below


In the Tokyo area and surrounding areas (not in the mountains of course) it generally stays between 0 and 15 Celsius in the wintertime. Nights are usually 0-5, while days are often 6-11, depending on if it's a colder or warmer than usual winter. It's not too bad. I come from the Pacific Northwest (US) and it's about the same temperature - mild. The closer you are to the mountains the colder it gets, or if you live in the mountains, or further north of Tokyo. Slightly warmer of course south. I live in Shizuoka and we have rather nice winters, though the wind chill can sometimes make it incredibly cold! 

You can also buy things to insulate windows and such, like bubble wrap and other items... not as great as modern insulation, but it helps with the space heaters. Don't forget a kotatsu!!! 

Any other specifics, feel free to ask!


----------

