Become The Ultimate Couch Potato with This Traditional Japanese Invention

With kotatsu, an incredible Japanese invention, you’ll never want to leave your bed ever again.

A traditional Japanese table that consists of a blanket placed between a table top and low table-frame and a heat source located beneath the blanket, kotatsu is used by locals as a heating source during cold winters.

Since most homes in Japan have little insulation and rooms are heated separately , Japanese people have long depended on kotatsu as their centralized heat source.

It is believed that kotatsu originated from a cooking hearth or Japanese irori, an invention from the 14th century. This evolved into a hori-gotatsu which is an irori dug into the ground by the 17th century. Today, movable modern kotatsu are now called oki-gotatsu.

Traditionally, families gather around kotatsu to have conversations…

…play games, cook hot pots, and have naps.

"It's always warm under the table, so everyone gathers around to cook nabe (hot pot) on a portable stove…

…eat mandarin oranges and watch television," Nippon reports.

This graph shows the construction of a modern (above right) and an old (below right) kotatsu.

Although you can purchase your own kotatsu starting from $125, you also have the option to DIY it.

The cold will never bother you anymore with this incredible heat source.

Source: Bored Panda, Aplus, Nippon