Tokyo in summer...
Tokyo has an almost semi-tropical atmosphere (weather-wise). Winters as we know it in northern North America, are almost non-existent. If, during a winter, four centimeters of snow fall twice in a season, it's a tough winter. I relate Tokyo's weather to that of Atlanta, a city far more familiar to many people. But as humid and hot as Atlanta gets in the summer it just isn't as much so as Tokyo.When we lived there, almost twenty years ago, central air conditioning was reserved for very new buildings and most homes had nothing to dispel the hot city air at all, other than to throw windows wide open and drape futons over the sills to 'get some air'. (Observing tall grey apartment blocks thus festooned, it becomes a kind of urban art.) Those relatively few city inhabitants who lived in what passed for 'western-style' houses had window-type air conditioners placed throughout the house and although they were not very efficient they did provide some relief from the wet, scorching outdoor temperatures. Leakage was a problem as houses were not built to western standards and one could just about pass a hand through gaps between the air conditioners and the house walls.
Walk outdoors of a summer evening to 'get some air' and one almost reels from the shock of the temperature which slings itself at one's face, feeling like nothing less than a hot, wet towel enveloping the face. During the day when outdoors, you can slip your hand down your arm and watch the accumulated perspiration drip off, note the resulting dry area on your arm, and the portion of skin untouched still hosts its reservoir of perspiration. Everywhere, along main streets, side streets, there are huge electronic street cases dispensing sport drinks, hot or cold tea, coffee for a modest cost, catering to the everpresent need to rehydrate.
Which is why, when I recently read a news item reporting that the Prime Minister of Japan is trying to encourage energy conservation through persuading 'salarymen' (white collar workers) and their superiors to go 'casual' in lieu of the usual suit and tie in an effort to remain cool, and cut back on the office air conditioning, my response was - not likely.
But guess what? The temperature might be a tad much, given this description, but living in Tokyo is like living nowhere else on earth. For a metropolis of over fourteen million people, this is a city par excellence, in its public civility, its atmosphere of culture, tradition and history. To live there is to be blessed with the opportunity to view a population accommodating itself to an incredible human density and managing to do so with grace, humour and sensitivity.
posted by Pieface @ Saturday, April 09, 2005
<< Home