Before Japan, I live and work in Europe for an extended time. And some of my best memories of Europe happened to be in the summertime. While it was hot, but, it always has been with a nice sunshine.
So, with that kind of happy and sunny memories, I thought that the summer in Japan would be exactly the kind of weather I had experienced in Europe. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the summer in Japan is definitely sunny but not necessarily happy.
Usually the temperature in the summer in Tokyo averages around 30°C-ish. Although, the temperature is almost like in Malaysia or Singapore, but when the heat is combined with high humidity, it can turn into a very unpleasant climate. At night, the temperature doesn't go down too. The heat continues to blanket the city, making you sweat in your sleep at night and uncomfortable. You will wake up tired. The Japanese has a term for this condition, necyusho (熱中症) or heat exhaustion.
I know that my electricity bills usually rockets up at this time of the year. Yes, I don't care. The air-conditioner is my new best friend. Together with shadow-shade of tall objects (building, traffic light pole, tall people, etc...) whenever I am out. In fact, any air-conditioner and any shady area are my two best friends in summer.
So, it is no-brainer that I want to tell you that it is a terrible idea to travel to Tokyo in the summertime. Unless you are planning to be indoors most of the time, stepping outside of any building to go for sight-seeing in Tokyo means you risk melting yourself until you get re-animated again by the cool breeze of an air-conditioner. You can sometimes see Japanese people walking around with towels around their necks, ready to mop up their sweat.
So, with that kind of happy and sunny memories, I thought that the summer in Japan would be exactly the kind of weather I had experienced in Europe. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the summer in Japan is definitely sunny but not necessarily happy.
Usually the temperature in the summer in Tokyo averages around 30°C-ish. Although, the temperature is almost like in Malaysia or Singapore, but when the heat is combined with high humidity, it can turn into a very unpleasant climate. At night, the temperature doesn't go down too. The heat continues to blanket the city, making you sweat in your sleep at night and uncomfortable. You will wake up tired. The Japanese has a term for this condition, necyusho (熱中症) or heat exhaustion.
I know that my electricity bills usually rockets up at this time of the year. Yes, I don't care. The air-conditioner is my new best friend. Together with shadow-shade of tall objects (building, traffic light pole, tall people, etc...) whenever I am out. In fact, any air-conditioner and any shady area are my two best friends in summer.
So, it is no-brainer that I want to tell you that it is a terrible idea to travel to Tokyo in the summertime. Unless you are planning to be indoors most of the time, stepping outside of any building to go for sight-seeing in Tokyo means you risk melting yourself until you get re-animated again by the cool breeze of an air-conditioner. You can sometimes see Japanese people walking around with towels around their necks, ready to mop up their sweat.
This year, with the mercury actually hitting 38°C, making it one of Tokyo's highest temperature records, it has definitely become a very miserable summer for me. However, determined not to be beaten by the heat, I randomly tell a friend about having a picnic in a sunflower field. She is keen on the idea and we decided that going to the nearby park to have a picnic and to enjoy some sunflowers. After filling up a small backpack with food and drinks, we set off, risking ourselves in this fever-induced heat and headed towards the Showa Kinen Koen.
Although, we missed the peak flowering season for the sunflowers, we are still treated with a few beauties.
Although, we missed the peak flowering season for the sunflowers, we are still treated with a few beauties.
If there is a competition to vote for the happiest summer flower, my guess would be the winner would be the sunflower. To me, the more blazing the sun is, the happier they look. Or maybe it is their yellow colour that convinces me so. Or maybe it is how they always seem to glow under the bright light of the sun. Well, they sure cheer me up on this miserable hot day!
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| Smiling under the sun |
The best time to see the sunflowers is at the height of summer, anywhere from the end of July till end of August. You can find the direction for the Showa Kinen Koen in my previous posts:
Enjoy the sunny beauties and enjoy a lot of water!
