August 10, 2008

Late-summer Greetings from Very Muggy Tokyo


残暑お見舞い申し上げます zansho omimai moushiagemasu is a common greeting card message that Japanese use during this season. 残暑 Zansho or late-summer refers to around the period between August 8th through September 20th. I've just published a post wishing my readers good health on my Japanese blog.

If you are planning a trip to Japan, I urge you to avoid summer, especially August. It gets as hot as 94 degrees, was 96 degrees last Friday, and it's very muggy. When you walk outside, you sweat like you are in a steam bath. If you have been to Japan in summer, you know exactly what I mean. I miss the dry summer in California...

During this season, you should also expect evening showers and thunderstorms. Oh, this post sounds like a weather forecast!Speaking of weather, you may want to check out sites like this.

Since we use Celsius in Japan, I found it difficult to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius when I was living in the U.S. The calculation goes like, "98(℉)-30=68. 68÷2=34. 34+2=36(℃)."

To beat summer heat fatigue, eel is one of the best food choices because it's very nutritious, rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, and E. Many Japanese eat grilled eel on Doyou no Ushi no Hi or Midsummer Day(s) of the Ox during the hottest summer (July 24th and August 5th this year). We have eel throughout the year but the consumption of eel or うなぎ/鰻 unagi in Japanese reaches its peak on the day (s).

Do you still want to visit Japan during summer?
If so, you may want to eat eel to survive!

15 comments:

Christian Aaron said...

Muggy? No thank you! I'll make sure to steer clear of Japan during the summer!

I also can totally hang with the dry heat of California, which is why I'm an irritable, sweating mess during the humid summer months here in NYC...

Karen said...

I hadn't known that NYC is that humid until my friend started living there and told me about the weather. She lives in the suburbs of NY, and she says it's getting cooler now.

I already get sweaty during my morning commute. To deal with the discomfort, one of my essentials is Biore Sara Sara Sheet. It's a powdered body wet wipe product which gives you a refreshing feeling.

Anonymous said...

I hate hot and muggy weather! It gets really hot where I live too!!! but it's not really humid a lot.

I don't like changing Fahrenheit to Celsius!!! I wish the US would use Celsius like everyone else!

I've never had eel before....it must taste good if people like it right?

Karen said...

I wish the US would use Celsius like everyone else, too!

Japanese summer is very humid, and we have a lot of thunderstorms and showers this year. Seems it's getting tropic due to global warming.

Eel is very delicious! It's a little expensive, though. A eel bowl costs about $12-30 depending on the restaurant and the quality of eel.

Anonymous said...

Hi!

thanks again for the wonderful post :)

whoa! what else can i say? it's again , these adjectives : informative, eye-opening, entertaining, and very interesting :) (ops i came up with a new one, "interesting")

Anonymous said...

How do you do?I'm Yuma.
I'm a high school student in Tokyo.
Incidentally,I'll graduate next year.


Yeah,it's really humid and muggy,
isn't it?The heat is killing me.
I'm sensitive to heat.

Karen said...

Jen-chan,

Thanks again for leaving your second comment on my blog. It's so nice of you!

Writing the list of adjectives, you sound like an English teacher in a good way. The list makes me happy. :)

Writing in English is still challenging for me, but having read your thoughtful comment, I'm more motivated than ever. Thank you!

Karen said...

Yuma-san,

Hi, thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. :) Your English is very good! Do you have any plan to study abroad?

Yes, it's still muggy, and I hope it'll get cooler soon. I can't wait to wear boots and fall/winter clothes.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Karen

Im from Philippines and my interest is also same as yours :). i also love writing, songwriting/music, and have interest with different places/countries of the world, like their culture and society; though my profession is really different from my interest.

if only given a chance, i'd take up courses in music, writing and photography and will travel to different places of the world! Whoa sounds like a lot of money though, :) Gotta work hard for that ;)

Fortunately, since Philippines was also colonized by Americans, for more than 50 years, let's say Filipinos (like me) are fortunate to learn english. They taught us the language and brought textbooks and educated earlier Filipinos. Filipino is our native language.

Whoa! thanks for the compliment about getting the impression that i am an english teacher :)

Actually, I love learning english too, because when I was highschool,(i think it's middle to junior high in your school level) it was my great dream to travel and work abroad, especially in America and i have always had this fancy to speak english and learn it, so that im somehow prepared to go to foreign countries. :)


And actually the first time i saw your blog, i was really like soooo excited , because it's really interesting, since i love history as well,(aside from english) i also have this interest knowing more about different countries and culture; Not only America but all countries, and Japan is one of those :)

Our countries, Japan, America and Philippines are linked by world history, during American occupation here in Philippines, Filipinos have learned the American culture and its language ; US has ended its stay until Japanese came ; occupation ended after World War 2 (sometime around 1945 to 1946)

Knowing that you came from both countries (US and Japan) I dont know why it added my eagerness to read more about your blog :)

Keep it up! You are one of my connection to foreign culture and interests! Don't you think we are somehow 'connected' ? :)

Anonymous said...

PS :

By the way, Karen, I really love the way you wrote your articles, Dont worry you're doing pretty well writing in english!

It's not about the technicality of english writing that attracted me to your article - it's the way you want others know more about almost everything, under the sun :) Youre one really good blogger! :)

Anonymous said...

No problem.
Really??Thank you so much!
Yeah,I think I'll want to take the qualification of MBA in the foreign country (in four years?).
Of course,I'll go to the foreign country to study,When I am a university student.

I hope so.

Karen said...

jen-chan,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful commentsa(again). I'm so happy to hear that you like my blog's content.

Yes, I'll keep writing, trying to find time to write as much as possible. As you probably know, I haven't written since August 10. It's been hectic, and I've been tired.

But now, it seems things worked out, I feel refreshed and become motivated again. And I come up with a new topic: SATC. Hope you like the new post, too.

Karen said...

Yuma-san,

Getting an MBA? Sounds awesome!
Hope you will realize your dreams.
If you can dream it, you can do it--this is one of my favorite quotes. :)

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