The cold in Gunma can really make a South African blue, especially when you consider how great South African weather is. Knowing how to keep warm is essential if you want to get out and make the most of your time in Japan. Here are some tips learnt from the master – Ray Mears. 2m1k3k

Dress in Layers

Long legged thermal underwear and a Heat Tech t-shirt from Uni Qlo with warm long socks makes and excellent first layer. I prefer bamboo socks myself, but Uni Qlo also sells a bunch of Heat Tech and dry socks. Unfortunatly I found these socks can sometimes be quite tight on bigger feet (I’m a Japan size 30, which means 30 cm).

Over this first layer I’ve gotten away with any kind of pants, including my suit pants. I found a great pare of casual pants at Sanki that are a bit warmer than anything I brought over. Add to this a hoody or fleece jacket, or a hoody and a fleece for extra cold days and you should be warm indoors.

For the final layer a wind and waterproof jacket with gloves, a beanie and a scarf with preferably waterproof boots or shoes should keep you warm enough in the wind outside. The wind in Shibukawa can get very strong and very cold, so any kind of wind breaker is a must. I also think that a beanie is one of the most important items because you loose most of your body heat through your head, and wool is probably much better than cotton.

Conduction

If you touch something cold you loose body heat through conduction. This is why insulation from clothes and through things like carpets is so important for keeping warm. If something is wet it looses heat even faster, so staying dry and being able to get dry is important. Again, layers come in very handy here. If you can take off a wet jacket and dry it, you can potentially maintain more heat.

A good example of the effect of conduction can be illustrated with my Christmas present from my folks, a pair of sheep skin slippers. The inside is wool and the outside is leather with rubber souls. Before the slippers I was walking around in my socks, since you take your shoes off inside, and getting much colder. Now I’m much warmer, since I’m loosing less heat through my feet.

Diet

Obviously more Vitamin C is important, since it’s easier to get sick. Eating enough and drinking enough, and just staying healthy, are vital. We’ve lost much of the fat we had from our South African diet, so making an effort to eat protein is, I think, important.

Survival Skills and Thriving Skills

The more time I spend learning survival skills from guys like Ray Mears, Bear Grylls and John Wiseman, the more I’ve come to realise that survival skills, when mastered and used, lead to thriving. Take for instance the idea of establishing and keeping a routine. This will help you survive in a survival situation, and will help you thrive in life too, since the more you practice something the better you get at it.

So have a great day and keep warm this winter.