Boat cruise with 'kotatsu' heater in southwest Japan

Boat cruise with 'kotatsu' heater in southwest Japan

FUKUOKA, Japan - Tourists enjoy a wintery view while keeping themselves warm in "kotatsu," a traditional Japanese table-style heater, aboard a boat on Dec. 24, 2015, in Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

Women warming themselves at a kotatsu

Women warming themselves at a kotatsu

Geisha sit in a kotatsu heater and practice songs on a shamisen lute. Since no pick is being used, this is a sansen or jamisen. The sansen is a musical instrument of the Okinawa and Amami area and is slightly smaller than the shamisen.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number91‐47‐0]

Women warming themselves at a kotatsu

Women warming themselves at a kotatsu

A girl is seen with her mother at a kotatsu heater in a room lit by a paper lantern. A cotton-padded coat is placed over the heater. The photograph conveys the severe cold of a winter night.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number91‐39‐0]

Boat cruise with 'kotatsu' heater in southwest Japan

Boat cruise with 'kotatsu' heater in southwest Japan

FUKUOKA, Japan - Tourists enjoy a wintery view while keeping themselves warm in "kotatsu," a traditional Japanese table-style heater, aboard a boat on Dec. 24, 2015, in Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo)

Kotatsu train

Kotatsu train

Passengers warm themselves with kotatsu electric heaters in a train operated by Sanriku Railway in Noda in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 19, 2020.

Kotatsu train

Kotatsu train

Passengers warm themselves with kotatsu electric heaters in a train operated by Sanriku Railway in Noda in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 19, 2020.

Kotatsu train

Kotatsu train

Passengers warm themselves with kotatsu electric heaters in a train operated by Sanriku Railway in Noda in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 19, 2020.

"Kotatsu" heaters on beach

"Kotatsu" heaters on beach

Photo taken Feb. 29, 2020, shows transparent tents with traditional "kotatsu" heaters on a beach in Yonago in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

"Kotatsu" heaters on beach

"Kotatsu" heaters on beach

Photo taken Feb. 29, 2020, shows transparent tents with traditional "kotatsu" heaters on a beach in Yonago in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo