"Sa mui!" is a phrase I have quickly come to understand, as I hear it often, as Japanese people are leaving the train station, or walking outside. It means, "Cold!" Yes, indeed. It is winter here in Japan and therefore it is "Sa mui".
Here's a picture of Haidee standing outside the Tokyo airport our first night back. (Yes, she looks like a ninja -a very attractive ninja, in my opinion). Notice the temperature reading behind her: 5.5 degrees Celcius. Every other country in the world (to my knowledge) uses the metric system except for the United States. To convert Fahrenheit to Celcius simply follow this formula:
Celcius x 9/5 + 32 = Fahrenheit (the Super Fast shortcut is C x 2 + 30 = F, but it's not as accurate at higher temperatures)
Example: 5.5 x 9/5 = 10 + 32 = 42. (Super Fast shortcut would give us an answer of 41). So, it was 42 degrees Fahrenheit in Tokyo the night that Haidee and I were standing outside the airport waiting for a bus.
You might be thinking, "42 degrees in the middle of winter is not so bad." (especially if you're from Minnesota). However, there is one key difference. Japanese homes and apartments (for the most part) are not well insulated, and are not equipped with central heat or A/C. When Haidee and I arrived at our apartment in Fukushima City, it was "Sa mui!" to say the least! On an average morning, the indoor temperature is about 5 degrees when we wake up. Yikes! To heat ourselves during the day, we use an electric floor carpet and an electric space heater (and many layers of clothing!). Below is a picture of Haidee trying to keep warm one morning while sending an email.
The really nice thing about our apartment is that we have a patio with sliding glass doors on the South facing wall of our room. So, on a clear day when the sun is high in the sky, we get a pretty good solar heating effect. This was the highest temp so far: 21 degrees slightly before noon!
On those warm sunny days we take advantage of the solar energy to hang our laundry outdoors - since we don't have a dryer (very few people in Japan do). Check out the snow on the ground and the beautiful mountains in the background!
Sometimes I get to wear the ninja outfit - to go for runs outside, or to keep my nose warm inside.
Then there are those times when my mad ninja skillz come in handy, like when the honey won't run out of the bottle because it's too cold. Take that, plastic bottle!
Yesterday we had one of the most beautiful snowfalls I've ever seen. All streets were full of slushy snow, and the trees were covered with a white blanket. The snowflakes were very large and wet - perfect for making a snowman.
The beautiful scenery outside and the perfect ingredients to build a snowman were well-timed gifts from God - just what I needed last night.
Click
here to view a weekly weather forecast for Fukushima Prefecture.
Good Evening. 
Good Evening. 
The Omni Tucson Golf and Spa Resort (thanks to Hotwire.com) was our next stop for 3 nights. We didn't go golfing, but we enjoyed the great breakfasts and the complimentary champagne and chocolate covered strawberries (I think we're going to play this "we're on our honeymoon" card for a LONG time).
