The Good and the Bad #2 – Rainy season in Tokyo

So rainy season (Tsuyu 梅雨) has official started in Tokyo, usually it hits around early June and lasts until mid-July but this year it feels like it’s late, however apparently it’s not. Country to popular belief, it doesn’t rain every day but it can be quite a dreary time and rainy for a few days at a time. For example, most of this week was drizzly with some heavy showers.

This year’s rainy season is my fourth, and I still don’t have any wellingtons (rain boots) and a rain mac, I have tried to wear a rain coat before but it was like walking around in a portable sauna, so no thanks.

The bad.

1. It’s raining …obviously. Which is a positive, if you like that kind of thing, I don’t mind it but nearly a month of dreary drab rainy weather just makes me homesick and consequently sad.

2. It can be quite humid, recently it has been kinda chilly but I remember my first rainy season here was unbearable humid.

3. Frizzy hair :(. Unless you have straight hair or hair that’s not easily effected by humidity then you’re grand. But for me, I have normal to fine caucasian hair, add humidity to that and poof! Hermione Granger hair :(.

4. Damp/mold. I haven’t been affected much by this, but older apartments and houses can be more susceptible to this. Food can get mouldy quickly too, apparently food poisoning is quite common this time of year.

5. Clothing takes FOREVER to dry. Well, maybe not forever but they take a while and some items end up getting that damp mouldy smell :(.

The good.

1. Ehhh, it’s good for the plants?

2. After the rain come the sunshine? I am clutching at straws here.

3. OH! The hydrangeas (Ajisai アジサイ), around rainy season time they pop up all over Tokyo and just bright everything.

How to survive? Carry an umbrella, invest in some good waterproof shoes, and quick drying clothing (I wear a lot of Uniqlo’s Airism). If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel, I’d suggest just leaving for a few months, Hokkaido apparently isn’t effected much by the rainy season. If I could I’d just escape to the UK, I’d rather deal with their inconsistent weather than Japan’s rainy season and summer.

Nicola has some good suggestion for how to dress during rainy season and it’s stylist as expected, I just rotate the same 4 outfits, haha.

Got any good and bad points to add?

Thank you for reading.

#lifeintokyo