DIYコタツとみかん

DIY Kotatsu and Mikan

私と夫は新型コロナウイルスパンデミックになる直前の年末年始を日本で過ごしました。夫にとっては初めての日本の冬。

私の実家に帰省して夫が驚いたのは日本の家が寒い事！部屋を暖かくしていても廊下やお風呂場がとにかく寒い！イギリスのセントラルヒーティングに慣れている夫は家の中でくつろぐ為に持ってきた部屋着がほとんどTシャツ… 私も日本の冬が久しぶりだったのでそんな事はすっかり忘れていました。夫は急遽、父に大きめのフサフサしたユニクロのフリースを借りて過ごす事になりました。そして和室に置いてあるコタツを初めて体験。ついているテレビが日本語で理解できなくたって関係なく、コタツに入ってずーっと幸せそうにテレビを見ていました。そして、コタツにみかんという最強の組み合わせもここで覚えました。

今年私達は2回目の冬をエディンバラで過ごします。ロンドンの冬も寒いけどもっと北に位置するエディンバラはさらに1-2度気温が下がります。そこで私達は「エディンバラにコタツを置いたらどうだろうか？」と思いつき、夫がインターネットで得意のリサーチ。どうやら日本から輸入も出来るみたいですが値段も高いし時間もかかります。さらにリサーチを進めると同じスコットランドでこたつをDIYしたスコットランド人の方のブログを発見。「これなら私達も出来るぞ」と言う事で早速エディンバラのIKEAで二段式のコーヒーテーブルを購入。二段式なので、足元の雑誌などを収納する棚部分を組み立てずに、それを天板代わりに置くと言う簡単な構造。

掛け布団にはベッド用のスーパーキングサイズを購入。布団カバーは起毛素材で温かな物をチョイス。肝心のこたつヒーターは無いものの、夫が以前からお気に入りで使用している日本製のアルミの湯たんぽをコタツの中に入れてDIYこたつの完成です！「まさかエディンバラの我が家でコタツに入れるなんて…幸せ」夫も「コタツにみかんを絶やしてはいけない」と変な使命感からみかんを見つけては張り切って買ってきてくれます。特に『Satsuma』と言う日本で言う温州みかんの品種を見つけると嬉しそうです。

日本のコタツ文化に感謝！これで今年の冬はぬくぬくハッピーに過ごせそうです。

The Best Way to Stay Warm in the UK – DIY Kotatsu and Mikan

My husband and I spent the New Year holidays together in Japan, just before the coronavirus pandemic kicked off around the world. It was my husband's first winter in Japan.

When we stayed at my parents' house, my husband was surprised at how cold it was in Japanes houses! Even if you keep the rooms warm, the corridors and bathrooms are freezing! My husband, who is used to the central heating in the UK, had brought mostly T-shirts as his loungewear... I also had forgotten all about that as it had been a long time since I had been in a Japanese winter. My husband had to urgently borrow a large fluffy Uniqlo fleece top from my dad.

My husband then experienced the wonder of kotatsu (Japanese heated table) in the wa-shitsu (Japanese-style room) for the first time. It didn't matter that if he understood the Japanese TV or not, he just loved being inside the kotatsu and watch TV. He also learnt the best combination of kotatsu and mikan (mandarin oranges).

This is going to be our second winter in Edinburgh. We have cold winter in London, but the temperature drops even further in Edinburgh. So we had a great idea… – "What if we put a kotatsu in our home in Edinburgh?" My husband started researching on the internet. We can buy kotastu and import them to the UK from Japan, but they are expensive and time-consuming.

After further research, we found a blog by a Scottish person who had made a DIY kotatsu in Scotland. We thought, "We can do this too" and immediately bought a two-tier coffee table from IKEA in Edinburgh. The two-tier design means that we don’t assemble the bottom shelf, but instead using it as a tabletop. We bought a superking size duvet and its cover which is cosy, lightly brushed cotton to cover the table.

Although there is no heater for the kotatsu, we put a Japanese-made aluminium hot-water bottle called “Yutanpo” inside the kotatsu, which my husband had bought a long time ago and he adores it. It keeps the temperature warm for a long time. Now our DIY kotatsu is complete! “We never thought we'd be able to enjoy a kotatsu in our house in Edinburgh, we are super happy!!” My husband also buys mikans whenever he finds them. He says "We mustn't run out of mikans for the kotatsu!”. He is especially happy when he finds a variety called Satsuma, which is the Japanese variety of “Unshiu mandarin”.

We are certainly sure to have a cosy and happier winter, thanks to the wonderful Japanese invention of “Kotatsu and Mikan”.

今日の主役たち – Featured —

DIYコタツ (DIY Kotatsu)

コタツのDIYを丁寧に教えてくださるブログ (How to DIY Kotatsu reference): http://astrobeano.blogspot.com/2014/01/kotatsu-made-in-scotland.html

温州みかん (Satsuma mandarin)