Summer is Coming!

Here comes the summer!   Summer announced itself today with a wall of rain outside my apartment. Yes the report is in, for the next few months it is going to be hot and wet.  Time to break out the poncho and drink plenty of water, When I first moved to Japan in August 2012, more than the excellent train service or the twenty-four convenience stores, the summer was my biggest shock, and not entirely a pleasant one.

By July it will be mid to late 30’s Celsius, in fact, summer started early this year since it’s been that hot since the last week in May.  Come August it will feel like 40 Celsius. So you may think, ‘cool you can go to the beach and drink alcohol’.  Nah, sorry, not going to happen.  There will be late 90% humidity, so beer is really not a good idea, your best friend will be soft drinks until at least until late August.  It is so easy to faint from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  Japanese summers have body counts, people dying, and not just the elderly, from heat exhaustion.  So not excessive drinking children, which sucks.   

With the heat, also comes the rain and the beginning of typhoon season. The first typhoon system actually often appears in January, but those of any threat happen from May or June onwards. So stock up on water, buying a flashlight and a rechargeable lithium battery (so you can film the power cut black out with your smartphone), and prepare to batten down the hatches at a moment’s notice.

You may also find eating difficult, heat often kills hunger, or at least food doesn’t always taste nice.  There is of course an upside, you may lose weight.  So eat healthy, else the lack of exercise due to the rain and heat will leave you fatter in September than you were in May.

You will need to take at least two baths or showers a day from late June onwards, and three in August.  If you don’t you will smell, which can really effect both your love-life and employment opportunities , I sweat so much by August nobody wants to employ me, so maybe also save up Yen for the lean and overheated times!

There is however one good thing about summer, the summer sun. It is called the Land of the Rising Sun for a reason, and the sunrise by July will be breathtaking.

Would be nice though if it were a bit less melty and sweaty.

http://youtu.be/UcaWk0W0Cc8