Things I'm grateful for during winter in Japan: humidifiers

One thing that winters in Japan have taught me to appreciate is the humble humidifier. I never owned a humidifier (or dehumidifier, for that matter) in my home country, but here I think they're an essential part of life. The dry air here makes a noticeable difference to my overall health as the cold weather hits – my skin gets more flaky, my lips get chapped, my throat and nose often feel dry – but humidifiers come to the rescue for those things!

We try and keep them running for chunks of the day so that our house can feel more pleasant, especially at night to help us sleep more soundly.

One of our indispensable winter in Japan items.

If you don't have humidifier devices, there are other ways you can add some moisture to the air. One of them is by hang-drying your clothes inside! You can also try boiling water on your stove (extra nice if you add some pleasant-scented items like mikan peels), or even let the steam circulate out of your bathroom after you've taken a shower.