Necessary Items for the Cold Winter

This past summer, Japan was troubled with horrible hot tempertures. So we missed any cool weather during the summer. But now, when it’s getting cold we miss warm weather. Recently, Japan has been getting colder and becoming wintry. It is the time to collect several items for staying warm in the cold winter. For me, gloves and scarfs are nothing special. My necessities are a “BABA shirt (ババシャツ),” a “belly warming band (腹まき),” and a “disposable body warmer (使い捨てカイロ).”


I don’t know standard nomenclature of BABA shirts, but it’s commonly known as a warm undershirt. “BABA” means middle-aged and older woman in Japan. So, BABA shirts were recognized as a warm undershirt for only old women. In recent years, the shirts are very popular among young people too because they are becoming fashionable and stylish.

Maybe stepping up measures against global warming and popular eco ideas also help to promote BABA shirts. Wearing BABA shirts is one of the familiar examples people can join eco activities casually. Moreover, many textile companies have developed new fabrics like “HEATTECK” sold at UNIQLO.


Detail of HEATTECK is here!


“腹まき (hara-maki) ” is a belly warming band in Japanese. It used to be worn among old people or children. By the same token, hara-maki is also getting popular among the younger generation. Since several years ago, hara-maki with pockets appeared. You can put a disposable body warmer in.

“使い捨てカイロ (tukaisute Kairo)” is a disposable body warmer: 使い捨て(tukaisute) means disposable, and カイロ (kairo) means warmer in Japanese. There are various kinds of Kairos in Japan: small size, sticker type, specializing for lower back, shoulders, toes, or tired eyes, etc…

There is a little trick to use them.


BABA shirt and hara-maki — Wearing several layers of thin BABA shirts warm you more than wearing a thick BABA shirt because air stays in between fabrics and clothes, and layers of air keep your body warm. But layers build up static electricity, especially during the cold, dry winter. So, it is important to choose the shirt’s or belly band’s material. You better choose fabric which is hard to build up static electricity. Something that’s static-free, thin, and warm.


Kairo (disposable body warmer) — In Japan, sticker type Kairo is more popular than the regular one. People apply it to their body where they want to warm up. Many people put them on their lower back. Some people put it on between their shoulder blades and others put it on their bellies. All these places are reflex points called Tubo in Japanese, and every Tubo is an effective point of making the body warm. I think between the shoulder blades is the best point to increase temperature, but the best place changes depending on the person. So let’s try to find your best point!

There are a few cautions to using sticker type Kairo. Sometimes it can be seen through clothes when you’re wearing a very thin or faint color. When people catch a glance of you, you seem to wear light clothing. Maybe you look like a person who is willing to stand the cold to be stylish. But when they look at you from behind, they will notice the reason why you don’t wear a lot of layers. There is a square thin bulge on your back. It’s obviously a Kairo. Anyway, even if you pretend to be a sophisticated woman wearing stylish clothes, the square shape on your back exposes the truth. So if you worry about this situation, I recommend you to wear thin BABA shirts or other clothing over the Kairo. And this is the most important caution; don’t put it on your skin directly. You’ll burn. Just in case people didn’t know, be careful of low temperature burns, even though you don’t apply it to your body directly.


Now I bought a box of Kairo and I’m ready for the cold winter. I’m glad if you can have a warmer winter with those items.