reading/writing UTF-8 encoded chars in node

gistfile1.txt

> var fs = require('fs')
> fs.writeFileSync('foo', JSON.stringify({ä: 'Å'}))
undefined
> ^Z 
[1]+  Stopped                 node
smikes$ cat foo
{"ä":"Å"}smikes$ fg
node
> buf = fs.readFileSync('foo')
<Buffer 7b 22 c3 a4 22 3a 22 c3 85 22 7d>
> buf
<Buffer 7b 22 c3 a4 22 3a 22 c3 85 22 7d>
> JSON.parse(buf)
{ 'ä': 'Å' }
> require('os').platform()
'darwin'