I know that there are two type of posts that I keep repeating basically each year; complaining about the cold in winter and complaining about the heat in summer. But this time it's different...The heat this summer is unrelenting with Japan actually being hotter than most other places in South East Asia and the Kanto (Tokyo and surrounding prefectures) is very hot now with degrees over 35 C with sunshine reflecting the heat back from paved streets making it even hotter and basically no wind to cool things down a little. This is probably one of the worst and hottest of the ~12 something summers that I have spent in Japan now and the Salaryman household will rack up a considerable electricity bill and bad karma due to the amount of aircon and that we constantly pump out inside to survive.
On the other hand, I guess we shouldn't complain too much since some areas in South and West Japan has been suffering from constant and overwhelming rain the whole rainy season.
Previous years I've been scoffing at the ridiculousness of some of the goods that are marketed now in summer to ward of the heat (portable fans, cold scarves and towels etc.) since using them would make you look like a total clown, but I am seriously considering that looking like a clown might be a cheap price to pay if actually would help...
(Ok, not very amusing post perhaps, sorry about that but hard to scavenge up much wit in this heat...)
Posts
4 comments:
Theres a cheaper solution than the cool pad for the dog - just shave him bald.
I think maybe you read the same email magazine as me today, they were talking about the temp. report in Tokyo not being accurate because it is measured on a big grass patch with the sensor 1.5M off the ground. In reality, normally it is concrete and people are lower to the ground, and under those conditions temp. can be 10 degrees or more hotter! So if it says 35, it is more like 45 in da city.
I arrived back from Bangkok last week, which is a fair bit closer to the equator than Tokyo, and almost went straight back as the weather was much more comfortable there.
Oddly enough many Thai people are under the impression that Japan is a "cold" place. Well, it was snowing as little as three months ago...
If you ever find a safari helmet with solar cell powered fans built in. Please buy one extra for me.
Jlpt - Yep, they talk about it all over the news too how it's actually a lot hotter than that a high placed thermometer might give. And particularly around the height of baby sunshine's little cart, the poor little critter...
Penguin - Yep, it's freaky. Is it still ok to blame "El Nino" or is it too late for that? I guess the "greenhouse effect" always works to explain most things.
Martin - I will look!
Post a Comment