The first time I visited Japan was in November of 2008. November (as many Japan tours guides will tell you) is a good month to visit Japan. As is April. But I decided to go in August. The one month every Japanese person and Lonely planet guide will tell you to avoid.
When you tell somebody who knows nothing about Japanese climates that you are visiting Japan in August, they'll say 'Oh, that's nice'. But tell that to somebody who knows all to well about the dem seasons and they'll bark "Why the fuck are you going in August? U MAD!?" Summer is a popular time of year to visit most places. But it's a season worth avoiding in Japan if you can, because of the fucking humidity. The heat in Japan is of third world proportions. If I didn't have a fan and there weren't vending machines loaded with water within 10 metres of one another, I would have died from exhaustion, fatigue, tiredness and emotional famine.
I thought being black and having been to Jamaica during its hottest times of year would put me in good stead and allow me to cope. But it meant nothing, as the sweat dripped off my body and took the blackness of my skin with it. Black don't crack. Except for in the heat of Japan where that shit fries off and sizzles. Even The Phoenix would struggle with her M'Kraan crystal protecting arse in Japan.
The worst thing with the heat in Japan is that you don't get a chance to truly acclimatise to it. During trips to Jamaica; supermarket, banks, any where indoors often didn't have air conditioning You might get a fan at some counter somewhere or stood upright in a corner if you're really lucky. But air conditioning isn't really 'a thing' in Jamaica It was torture, but you would acclimatize to it and just deal with it over time. But in Japan, EVERYWHERE is air conditioned and the air conditioning in Japan is freezing cold. Even the trains are fully air conditioned, a big deal / surprise to me coming from London where trains are not air conditioned for shit, and even in the Winter train carriages can get exceptionally hot.
The one thing which struck me about Japan is how socially acceptable it is walk around with your clothes drenched in sweat. Granted, you have no choice. But locals give up even trying to prevent it, because...well...you can't. Working / Salary men who have to wear shirts will always wear a white t-shirt underneath it to prevent sweat patches showing. I admire the effort. But no. More times often than not, every salary man I had laid eyes on had sweat through 2 layers of cotton like they were 1 ply sheets of cheap toilet roll. And shout outs to the woman on the Toei line with the maxi dress which was soaked from her neck back all the way down to her ankles. And the woman in Nara with the sweat patches under her titties. You bitches rocked that sweat like pros. I could never.
If this post taught you anything, let it be NEVER VISIT JAPAN IN THE SUMMER. Even Japanese people hate their own Summer's.
The one thing you want to do when you visit any country is explore it. But the heat puts you off of doing all that you want to do, and you also end up doing things at half the speed. You can't walk at your normal pace because you're fatigued from the heat. And even if you do manage to pick up the pace, you run the risk of working up an even greater sweat. Nobody wants to spend their holiday sweaty, tired and looking a mess in public. But visit Japan in August or early September and that's exactly how you'll be spending it.
I am not exaggerating when I say that the heat came close to ruining my holiday. SHITTING ON IT!
When you tell somebody who knows nothing about Japanese climates that you are visiting Japan in August, they'll say 'Oh, that's nice'. But tell that to somebody who knows all to well about the dem seasons and they'll bark "Why the fuck are you going in August? U MAD!?" Summer is a popular time of year to visit most places. But it's a season worth avoiding in Japan if you can, because of the fucking humidity. The heat in Japan is of third world proportions. If I didn't have a fan and there weren't vending machines loaded with water within 10 metres of one another, I would have died from exhaustion, fatigue, tiredness and emotional famine.
I thought being black and having been to Jamaica during its hottest times of year would put me in good stead and allow me to cope. But it meant nothing, as the sweat dripped off my body and took the blackness of my skin with it. Black don't crack. Except for in the heat of Japan where that shit fries off and sizzles. Even The Phoenix would struggle with her M'Kraan crystal protecting arse in Japan.
The worst thing with the heat in Japan is that you don't get a chance to truly acclimatise to it. During trips to Jamaica; supermarket, banks, any where indoors often didn't have air conditioning You might get a fan at some counter somewhere or stood upright in a corner if you're really lucky. But air conditioning isn't really 'a thing' in Jamaica It was torture, but you would acclimatize to it and just deal with it over time. But in Japan, EVERYWHERE is air conditioned and the air conditioning in Japan is freezing cold. Even the trains are fully air conditioned, a big deal / surprise to me coming from London where trains are not air conditioned for shit, and even in the Winter train carriages can get exceptionally hot.
The one thing which struck me about Japan is how socially acceptable it is walk around with your clothes drenched in sweat. Granted, you have no choice. But locals give up even trying to prevent it, because...well...you can't. Working / Salary men who have to wear shirts will always wear a white t-shirt underneath it to prevent sweat patches showing. I admire the effort. But no. More times often than not, every salary man I had laid eyes on had sweat through 2 layers of cotton like they were 1 ply sheets of cheap toilet roll. And shout outs to the woman on the Toei line with the maxi dress which was soaked from her neck back all the way down to her ankles. And the woman in Nara with the sweat patches under her titties. You bitches rocked that sweat like pros. I could never.
If this post taught you anything, let it be NEVER VISIT JAPAN IN THE SUMMER. Even Japanese people hate their own Summer's.
The one thing you want to do when you visit any country is explore it. But the heat puts you off of doing all that you want to do, and you also end up doing things at half the speed. You can't walk at your normal pace because you're fatigued from the heat. And even if you do manage to pick up the pace, you run the risk of working up an even greater sweat. Nobody wants to spend their holiday sweaty, tired and looking a mess in public. But visit Japan in August or early September and that's exactly how you'll be spending it.
I am not exaggerating when I say that the heat came close to ruining my holiday. SHITTING ON IT!