いきなりなにこれの写真であります（笑）。
　年末や年始時期にはわが家は本州地域を旅することが多い。たぶん北海道人の一定数はそういう行動をされるものと思います。で、そういうときにホテルや旅館についてはいろいろ考える。
　一般的にはその地域の文化に触れたいということから、鄙びたとか、古びを感じさせるような旅宿を選択したくなる。とくに高齢になってくると、観光自体もそういった趣味傾向が反映されるのが普通。ということもあって、四国の山間の集落の一軒家がそのまま旅宿になっているというところに宿泊。
　到着したのは夕方遅い時間でしたが、周辺に山間の清流のせせらぎがあり、風情のある古民家。
　「これは・・・」という予感はまさに的中（笑）。
　そうです、温暖地の酷寒体験にはまさにピッタリのシチュエーションだったのです。
　まぁ、高齢夫婦旅ですが、いまのところはほぼ健康状態でそこそこの「耐性」はあるので「ひさしぶりに体験レポート化するか（笑）」みたいなチャレンジング心理が盛り上がった。
　なかなかのデザイン風情ぶりは朝になって、視覚的に味わえばいいということで、わたしはひたすら酷寒忍耐の実証実験的な「対応策」に邁進しておりました。
　目測では広さ的には一軒家古民家・平屋で、だいたい25坪程度の古民家。
　玄関土間12畳程度の開閉は引き戸が一応２重にはなっているけれど、もちろん無断熱。土間は見た目は見事。立派、素晴らしい・・・以上。その裏側に台所があって、茶碗や食器の類はたくさん置かれていて全部使用自由。コンロはガスでさっそく湯沸かしして珈琲などを煎れた。
　メイン空間として板敷きの居間が約20畳くらいはある。ここには囲炉裏が切られているけれど、防火対策上、こちらは使用禁止。ということでこの広大な居間は単なる通路に。
　その奥に12畳ほどの和室が２室。その周囲は縁が回っていて、外部との間には単板硝子入りの建具。雨戸があって一応、全面的に遮蔽した。縁側の床からはきつい冷気が伝わってくる。
　２間の和室周囲には障子があったのでこれも全面的に遮蔽。
　水回りは洗面・トイレが縁の端にある。その奥には浴室ですが、これが素晴らしい木の風呂でなんともグッドビューイング。なんですが即温水を全開で投入。それも最高温度でフル出水。浴槽に高温湯を溜めることで多少の「温房効果」を期待した次第。まぁ、ないよりはマシ程度。
　その上で床の間付きの上段和室12畳間に籠もって、夜の気温低下に備えることにした。ヘンなのですが、なぜか戦闘意欲モリモリで冷気との戦いに燃え上がっている自分がいる（笑）。
　まずは暖房器具として板の間にあった灯油ストーブを点火。しかし、これは一定の油量しか確保されていないのでそれが尽きると自動でシャットダウンしていた。朝になって確認。
　和室にも「電気ストーブ」が１台設置してあるので即全開スイッチ。いのちの綱と思える「電気コタツ」ももちろんフルスロットルに。で、布団を押入から出して敷き布団２枚敷きの上にかけ布団２枚重ねしてその上に毛布。で、そのふとんの足下側をコタツのなかに突っ込ませた（笑）。さらに、ふとんの乾燥機があったので、それもふとんのなかに没入させた。温風をいれることで就寝時のふとん内気温の上昇を狙ったのであります。
　その上でダウンジャケットを着込んで就寝前パソコン作業環境に向かっておりました。
　こういった環境構築の結果、高齢者で早めの就寝クセがついていることもあり、なんとか８時前ころには就寝することができた。早朝、といっても午前３時頃目覚めて、ふたたびコタツに籠もる。やがて全館ほぼマイナス気温状態のなかを重武装ダウンジャケットで点検＆デザイン吟味。・・・
　という用意万端での「体験ツアー」でありました（笑）。まぁまだ健康面で元気なうちに、こういう「局所暖房実験の戦い」やってみっか、というところであります。温暖地はスゴい！

English version⬇

[A tasteful old house in a warm climate area in the middle of winter “local heating” residence experiment].
Prepared to fight against low temperatures. We fully mobilized all kinds of devices that could be used for “local heating” to face it. But, it’s just for sightseeing (laughs). …

This is a picture of something out of the blue (laughs).
　At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, my family often travels to the Honshu area. I think a certain number of people in Hokkaido probably do so. And at such times, we think about hotels and inns in various ways.
　Generally speaking, people want to experience the culture of the area, so they tend to choose a hotel or ryokan that is remote or old-fashioned. Especially as people get older, it is normal for their tastes to be reflected in their sightseeing itself. This is why we stayed in a house in a mountain village in Shikoku that had been converted into a travel inn.
　It was late in the evening when we arrived, but there was a clear stream flowing in the mountains, and the old house had an air of elegance.
　I had a hunch that this was the place to stay, and it turned out to be right on the money.
　Yes, it was the perfect situation to experience the bitter cold in a warm climate.
　Well, we are an elderly couple traveling together, but at the moment we are mostly in good health and have a certain level of “tolerance,” so we felt like we should report on the experience for the first time in a long time (laugh).
　I was just going ahead with my experimental “measures” for enduring the extreme cold.
　The house is a one-story, single family house with a floor space of about 25 square meters.
　The entrance earthen floor is about 12 tatami in size, and although the sliding door is double-layered, of course, it is not insulated. The appearance of the earthen floor is magnificent. It is splendid and wonderful…that’s all. There is a kitchen on the back side of the house, and there are many cups and dishes on the table, all of which can be used freely. The stove is gas, and I immediately boiled water and brewed coffee.
　The main space is a living room of about 20 tatami mats with a wooden floor. There is a sunken hearth in the living room, but it is prohibited to use due to fire prevention measures. Therefore, this vast living room is just a passageway.
　At the back are two Japanese-style rooms of about 12 tatami mats. The perimeter of the room is surrounded by a rim, and there are single-pane glass fittings between the rooms and the outside. There is a storm door, which, in a manner of speaking, shields the whole area. The floor of the veranda conveys a harsh cold air.
　There were shoji screens around the two Japanese-style rooms, which were also fully screened.
　The washroom and toilet are located at the edge of the porch. Behind that is the bathroom, which is a wonderful wooden bath and what a good viewing. The water was turned on at full blast immediately. It is also full runoff at the highest temperature. We hoped that the hot water in the bathtub would have some “hot cell” effect. Well, it was better than nothing.
　I then holed myself up in the upper 12-mat Japanese-style room with an alcove to prepare for the nighttime drop in temperature. It is strange, but for some reason, I find myself burning up in a battle against the cold air with a strong desire to fight (laugh).
　First, I lit the kerosene heater that was in the boardroom as a heating device. However, this was only reserved for a certain amount of oil, so when it ran out, it automatically shut down. In the morning, we checked.
　There is also an electric heater in the Japanese-style room, so I immediately turned it on full blast. Of course, the electric kotatsu, the lifeline of the house, was also turned on full throttle. Then, we took the futon out of the closet and put two futons on top of the two mattresses, and put a blanket on top of that. Then I put the foot side of the futon into the kotatsu (laugh). (Laughs.) In addition, we had a futon dryer, so we put it inside the futon as well. The warm air was intended to raise the temperature inside the futon at bedtime.
　I then put on a down jacket and went to work on the computer before going to bed.
　As a result of this environment, I was able to go to bed before 8:00 a.m. because I am an elderly person and have a habit of going to bed early. Early in the morning, I woke up around 3:00 a.m., and once again went to bed in the kotatsu.

Posted on 2月 27th, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅取材＆ウラ話