ATSUI DESU NE

Hot isn't it.
Japan comes out in summer.

Firstly the heat, minimum of 28 C, max 38 C, same tomorrow and the rest of the week, it is 30 C at 5.30am! The ice-cream index has gone through the roof, shaved ice is recommended today,but last week it was a soft cream everyday. The wet season is over now, it is simply hot. 0% chance of needing an umbrella but 30% chance of heat stroke, the sweat index is graded at "drenched shirt", yesterday it was "body seeming to melt", tomorrow it is "if you expect a lot of experience to be wary heat stroke to be". I do love this Japanese weather bureau, I feel the weather even on the Internet, I hope you can feel it too, back in Australia, where it is now the middle of winter. I know back home in Melbourne this forecast would seem quite attractive, at least for a day or two of summer pool parties and surfing down at Point Roadnight. Is this what Queensland weather is like? But here there is little relief, only my new Japanese parasol and our 5 air conditioners. Even the shower sweats out the heat after use and seems to trap the temperature. To get to the beach is a difficult drive through the traffic, I have heard of one family who leave at 4am to have a swim, maybe we should join them. But so far we have had trouble getting under the water, it is so shallow, even the pools are shallow, give me a 1970's deep and cold Australian pool anytime soon...please! Yesterday we were invited to a public pool on the far northern outskirts of Nagoya. A tattoo free, no nappies (like that one), no running, no towel kind of pool. I am getting use to the hourly exercises that we do together, all of us at the pool. On the hour, everyone has to get out of the pool whilst the attendants check for something, but what?? Apparently, they are looking for bodies, I have heard that twice now. I guess it can happen there are so many people here. After we get out we commence our exercises, all of us, the same routine every time. I have even heard the same "exercise-music" on the radio too and Mark starts his day at work with the same set of moves. The pool was heated, aargh! The Japanese like their water warm, like in an onsen. Interestingly, this pool was cheap to enter 510Yen for and an adult, the pool is subsidized by the next door power plant, where energy is generated for the pool's heating by the burning of household rubbish, now that is another blog!

So far these summer holidays:
we have been to see the sumo wrestlers,

bought a pet rhinoceros beatle and found all sorts of mushi,

met a geisha and danced at a traditional festival with friends with whom we cannot converse,

took a taiko lesson and played a shamisen, a traditional 3 stringed Japanese instrument,

fell into a number of American tourist traps,

travelled to Tokyo, Osaka and next week to Nagano prefecture,

shopped at the latest and greatest kids shop in the world called Kiddyland,

bought and lit firecrackers, Oliver's newest passion,

spent hours watching the fireworks in the land of Toyota City.

and felt our first earthquake!

Never a dull day in Japan.

I sweat!

I perspire!

No ..... I sweat, I sweat, I sweat. I sweat like never before! This is the wet season and wet it is, it really is, sticky from head to toe, everything and everywhere is wet. The body, the curtains, the food, the washing outside trying to dry sweats, the shoes, the veggie patch sweats, the couch sweats. We all sweat together! Now we know why we have 5 air conditioners in our 100 m2 apartment. Of course, we shouldn't turn them on, but, we sweat. We haven't got a bill yet but when we get it, it will be OK, despite Japanese prices, because we wont be able to read it:) We are using our fair share of black balloons here. I don't think that that Australian advertisement would go down too well here in Nagoya. We are using so much electricity, we even went to an electricity museum to make ourselves feel good about contributing in this way to the Japanese economy, although the fact that it is partially nuclear energy provokes the idea of controlling heat in some other way, like getting in the fridge.
I sweat so much, I thought about doing what all the other expat families seem to have done. That is, get out of here for the summer. "Where are you going for the summer? You are staying here for the summer?" They ask in disbelief. I am starting to be convinced, perhaps we should get out of here, after all Mark is off to the Netherlands for a week so what are we doing here on the kids 9 week summer vacation? Let's go too, "Ikimasho ! "So off to the travel agent we go and guess what?
Everyone else is leaving the country all 127 million and we cannot get on a flight, so Nihon it is! Sweat or no sweat.

There are some very enjoyable things about the wet season though.

The tropical climate brings out the most incredible flowers and insects. The grandiflora magnolia are magnificent, the hydrangeas, the butterflies, dragonflies, bumblebees and bugs surprising and that is just around here in our Japanese neighbourhood. We are growing kiwi fruit, sunflowers, tomatoes, vivid hibiscus. How can we bring our balcony plants and pet insects and crustaceans home?

Did you know that I have no idea who, if anyone is reading this blog? Today I received a post card from someone who does not have a computer, yet managed to read the blog and has encouraged me to sit up and write again. Writing this blog has been great fun and a way to say hi indirectly to my family and friends back home, as well as to keep a diary for ourselves. If anyone would like to know when I blog, go to post a comment and scroll down to subscribe by email. Thank you for reading it:)

PS. I went to the one hairdresser in town who does blonde. The word was that he also does orange by mistake, I went, I had no other choice and guess what? He does blonde!:) Fortunately I do not look like this local octopus.