Noelle in Japan - An American Perspective

Before coming to Japan, others had told us (my husband and me) that Japan had four distinct seasons. After being here over a month, however, we have realized that not only are there many more seasons, but each one is decidedly not distinct. We arrived in early July, during the peak of rainy season. The U.S. had a nation-wide heatwave at this time, with sunshine and record-breaking temperatures. It was warm in Japan, too. However, along with the heat came downpours of rain nearly every day. Every day, that is, except the day we chose to climb Mt. Fuji. I had never been so sunburned in my life. Rainy season ended mid-July and the locals told us it was now summer season. Unfortunately, summer season is not much different from rainy season, except that you cannot predict when it will rain and when it will be too hot and sunny to walk outdoors. One minute the sun might be out, but by the time you walk to the public pool, it's raining again.

The strange weather doesn't stop the Japanese from enjoying their summer. Before I was born, my family lived in Hawaii. My mother told me growing up that when there was rain storms in Hawaii, the only people you would see on the beach would be the Japanese tourists. When my mother asked them once why they were laying on the beach in the downpour, they responded "We paid to lay on the beach, so we are going to lay on the beach." The same is true while they are at home. We went to Enoshima, a local beach town, and sure enough the Japanese were swimming, "sunbathing," boating, and playing volleyball in the rain, simply because they took the train all the way down there to do that. Americans would have went to the movies or sat in a ritzy restaurant, but the Japanese are a unique people that do not give up so easily.

After a Japanese lunch at Kirin: The Beer Hall, we went to the local amusement park, CosmoWorld. We rode a water roller coaster (similar to Splash Mountain) and watched girls compete at Dance Dance Revolution in the 4-storey arcade (see the video). For you parents out there, CosmoWorld is a great place to bring children. Just make sure to have plenty of Yen in Cash as they do not take credit cards.

Warming Up to the Japanese Summer