Okay, haters, this time I have something that's Japan-only!

Not to point any fingers, Julie and Seah, but there have been some haters here saying things like "We have duvets in America, duh" and "Those types of parking garages are everywhere in New York City, why don't you visit here for a change Alex." So, this time I have something new!
And I know we don't have them in America.

Without further ado, I present to you the kotatsu:













A kotatsu is basically a small, low table with a heater on the underside of it. When you drape a blanket over the frame of the table (like in the picture), the heat is preserved within the enclosed space, which keeps you nice and toasty warm during the winter months. Heating can be really expensive in Japan (as I just found out...) and a kotatsu can be a nice, cheap alternative to turning the heater on. Also, while you're not *really* supposed to do it, falling asleep with most of your body under a kotatsu can be soooo nice. As a result, using a kotatsu can be kind of dangerous if you have a test to study for... In conclusion, kotatsu are totally awesome, and it's so freaking great not to be using a giant cardboard box with a towel on it as a table any more.
Plus, that chair you see in the picture? Best purchase I've made so far in Japan. For the last few weeks I've been sitting on my hard, cold, wooden floor, and it's really uncomfortable. I finally have something soft to sit on! And I can lean back! Oh, it's so wonderful~

...Now, I suppose the haters are going to say "but I already knew about kotatsu!" Yes okay, that's true, but we don't have them in America! So hah! But yes, if you watch anime, or are interested in Japan, you've probably heard the legends before. But if not, just trust me when I say that kotatsu are awesome.

Okay, that was a pretty short post, so here's an extra picture for you:













Hey, it's Alex's kitchen! Not pictured: My dishes. Also, one of them fell and broke while I was straightening up to take this picture, so enjoy it! I really liked that dish too... :( And yes, my kitchen is even tinier than it looks. That stove is built into the kitchen, so I essentially have no counter space, it's pretty tough to make anything complicated, but I've been improvising.

So, yesterday was Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a nice day! My day consisted of sleeping really late, and then cleaning my whole room to set up my kotatsu. Cleaning this room is a lot more work than you'd think; it's really dusty in here. I also threw out some cardboard boxes that had been accumulating. Now that I have real furniture, I have no need for cardboard tables anymore! Begone with you! In any case, as you can tell, I had a totally awesome Valentine's Day. ...although it wasn't so bad, it had it's good points ;)













(They do look pretty similar, huh? Incidentally this is just a random picture I found online, not my own.)
But, I mention Valentine's Day because it's a bit different in Japan. See over here, girls give chocolate to the guys, not the other way around. It can be a pretty big to-do too; if she really likes him, she'll go and make him homemade chocolate for Valentine's Day. Alternatively, there's also "Friend-chocolate" which can be exchanged between friends, and "duty-chocolate" which is basically chocolate that you have to give to co-workers, classmates, and that sort of thing. Sound's like a pretty sweet deal for the guys right, getting all that chocolate from a bunch of girls? Except next month, on March 14th, there's White Day, and you have to repay the favor, and give gifts back to every girl that gave you chocolate for Valentine's Day. Since V-day was on a weekend, I was safe and didn't have to worry about receiving any of that scary "duty chocolate" from my co-workers (scary because my office is like 90% women, and that's a LOT of repaying I'd have to do next month!) ...although I did go out (today) and buy some chocolate to eat by myself. Oh and yesterday I ate a chocolate that I'd made a few days earlier... Hm, eating chocolate alone on Valentine's Day, somehow that seems kind of lonely... :D But it had a good ending~

Also! I need your help, faithful readers! My dear friend and I want to know: Is corn on sandwiches totally normal and absolutely delicious, or does it it an abomination - no sandwich should ever have corn on it, and that sounds absolutely horrible.
To keep from biasing you, I'll not say which viewpoint is mine, and which is my friend's, but let me know what you think! Help us settle this disagreement!

Finally, I just want to thank everyone that's left comments on the last two posts, or on facebook. Although I never reply (I don't know why, I'm always online..) I really enjoy reading your comments, and it's nice to know that people are enjoying this! So please leave comments! And I'll try harder to respond ^_^; I do want to add though - Ashley, you're totally right about how it's completely impossible to throw out anything that isn't a plastic bottle, since the garbage cans near vending machines are recycling bins, not "real" garbage cans. I totally was thinking "I have to remember to say that!" and somehow I forgot, so thanks for pointing that out! Really, nothing is worse than blowing your nose, or having a random pamphlet that you took by accident, and then having to carry it for an HOUR because there are absolutely no public garbage cans anywhere in this entire country.

Apologies on the somewhat boring entry this time around, but hopefully next week will be better! I might be making an epic four hour trip to get a bicycle on the cheap; don't miss it!