The weather forecast predicts a 36 degree high today. Certainly the hottest day of summer. A good day to go meet a friend at Imojin and eat red bean ice and sip green tea. The office was 33 when I walked in this morning. Thank goodness for aircon.

Tokyo summers are dreadful. June brings rain, then July and August follow with their hot and humid glory.

There are plenty of distractions to keep people’s spirits up. The cool blue and white patterned cotton of summer kimono; paper fans emblazoned with advertising and handed out on busy streetcorners; the delicate tinkling of glass windchimes. Nature is reproduced on the stuff of daily life—dishes, towels, clothing, linens.

Morning glories have their own summer fetivals. It’s cool enough to enjoy an early morning flower festival. Thousands of pots of flowers turning their faces to the sun is a sight to see.

And at night, fireworks turn the sky into a garden of fire. There are a dozen fireworks festivals scattered around Tokyo this year. Some will attract 850,000 people. Sitting among them, it is amazing to hear the crowd fall silent as the show begins. The collective gasp at the first explosion echoes across the banks of the river.

So it’s hot, but pretty. Japanese tempers never flare, like mine does. The only cranky Japanese person I’ve ever witnessed was 2 years old. Posted by kuri at July 23, 2000 07:09 AM