Photo/Illutration Occupants of Bonds House in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward say 'kotatsu' keep them warm while sitting out on the terrace on Nov. 26. (Yosuke Fukudome)

Those people sitting outside of a guest house in Tokyo's Sumida Ward weren't thrown out into the cold or denied a place to stay.

Instead, the operators of Bonds House in the ward have installed “kotatsu,” a traditional quilt-covered low table that doubles as a heater to keep the legs and feet warm, on the first-floor terrace. 

The coronavirus pandemic prompted the guest house to give birth to an idea that would have been previously unthinkable. 

A 26-year-old company employee from Chiba Prefecture said the kotatsu felt great.

“Kotatsu keep me warm and less worried about the virus because it is outdoors,” the employee said.

Bonds House had been popular with foreign budget travelers before the pandemic hit.

But the manager of Bonds House started an eatery on the first floor of the building after bookings by foreign visitors dried up. It added a terrace to the eatery to secure more space for customers.

Later, Bonds House was turned into a share house for Japanese to help weather the public health crisis.

Now, the Tokyo metropolitan government has asked eateries to cut operating hours as the capital sees a surge in new cases.

“This year was like from the frying pan into the fire three times,” said Kiyoto Ishii, 25, the representative of Bonds House, about metropolitan officials’ repeated requests. “But I could not think of placing kotatsu under other circumstances. It is a manager’s job to be nimble and ride out an economic downturn.”

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