Summer is coming

It seems to be that whenever summer comes, it is a love or hate affair for many people. For me it is difficult to pinpoint how I feel about summer in Japan. Although it has been about 4 years since I came from New Zealand, I somehow forget how I feel about how the previous summers went. Although I do recall that they were incredibly hot and the air conditioner starts leaking after I use it too much, after the season passes and autumn arrives, you just forget about it.

I have always enjoyed the summer time and it is quite a festive and enjoyable season, especially in New Zealand. We have our long summer vacations, fun beach or outdoor activities like swimming or hiking, BBQs, fish & chips, ice cream; not to mention there is also Christmas Day (which also means Boxing Day sales the day after). In short, it is a time where you will spend lots of time with friends and family and a wonderful time to make new memories. So from this upbringing and these experiences in New Zealand, it is overall difficult for me not to love summer and what it brings. However, difficult access to the beach and other nature spots, as well as things like BBQs etc. in Tokyo, make it difficult to celebrate and enjoy summer in the same way.

Besides problems with the air conditioner and concern over how much the power bill will be (due to my excessive use of the A/C and mini electric fan, which is basically useless), another thing that surprised me is how strong the sun’s UV rays are here. It is well known in New Zealand and Australia that the UV index is really strong there. Every summer there are always ads on TV telling people to “slip, slop, slap”. It means to “slip” on a T-shirt, “slop” on some sunscreen and “slap” on a hat. So sun or skin safety is taken very seriously and ingrained into people from a young age. However, this stance was relaxed a bit after I came here but I still had not expected to get sunburnt. In fact, I got sunburnt in one of the most unexpected places, the top of my head, while waiting in line for the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios Japan. It seems even hair is not enough to prevent sunburns! Good thing there is a good selection of sunscreen here at some very reasonable prices in my opinion. Sunscreen back home tends to be greasy or oily after you apply it, and if you are at the beach, the sand will definitely stick to your skin. But most sunscreen here does not have that effect. It is a bonus.

I am hoping that this summer I will have an opportunity to have a BBQ. Hanamasa has a really good selection of meat and they have pretty big portions. I think it is worth spending 5000yen for around 5kilograms of bacon or pork belly to grill up and share with a good bunch of people. The next issue is finding a good BBQ location….

Amy

Vocabulary
pinpoint (v) – to determine or identify exactly
leak (v) – to drip or lose liquid from a hole or crack
upbringing (n) – how one was taught or raised as a child
ingrain (v) – to fix deeply and firmly in nature or mind in a way that is unlikely to change; to instill