digging out

Between the move and the holidays and various commitments, it's been tough digging out of the mountain of boxes (the empties now occupy an entire room--M's salon). But we have the dining and living rooms as well as the kitchen pretty much sorted out and we're finding it pretty livable. This is the first time I've lived in a house in Japan that was well insulated (I did live in a condo in Ebisu that was surrounded by other condos, but that doesn't count since it's not a real house). I'm used to waking up in the winter in the Hiroo house with the temperature around 10 degrees C (50F), but this one has so far always been above 15 (60F) even with the stove off overnight. What a huge difference that 5 degrees makes. I hope it stays like this through the nastier days of February.

The floors, both the tatami and the cryptomeria wood, stay very warm as well, and are soft under the feet. We've already tested out the softness of the wood in many places, dropping things, spilling things, making the house ours, I guess.