There is a period of time, from late May into June, when Japanese people talk about the rainy season. And sometimes it really comes down hard for 20 minutes or so. The husband in the above photo is going out to unblock the path of water flowing in front of his house.
Drain clogged near my front door
Occasionally, the rain comes suddenly enough, and the clouds are powerful enough, to produce lightening and thunder. And since rain in Japan is usually gentle, many people (most people?) are frightened by thunder. I remember being near a busy train station when one of these squalls hit, and I heard girls screaming after hearing thunder.
Of course, at times like these, I get the overwhelming urge to explain that in Texas, thunderstorms that last all night are common. And for me thunder is calming. (Of course, if a lightening bolt hits your house or the tree in your front yard, it isn't so calming. But in general, it stays up in the clouds, and has a nice effect.) .. Think of the beginning of The Doors "Riders on the Storm".
But I can't see why Japanese people insist that the "Rainy season" lasts for weeks and weeks. It does not rain every day, and it is not depressing like a Portland Oregon winter. There's sun. And flowers. And cool weather days. And the sky is clear enough (pollution-haze washed away) that you can see Fuji-san. And I like that.
view from work
Perhaps the big talk is people's way of expecting the worse, so that if they do happen to get hit by a steady week of rain, they won't get depressed. Or maybe it prevents people from having their picnic plans ruined. "Oh, can't do it then--it'll be the rainy season." It's like a social insurance safeguard.
Is this common to all countries? Do we all expect the worst, for a specific season? For people not living in Japan, can you think of something similar from where you live?
3 comments:
I live in Shikoku and it is only a little rain even during rainy season. So we have problem with insufficient water stock in a dam evey year.
How inconvenience it is:(
Those pics are great. I really enjoyed reading all that. It doesn't thunder enough here. Mitch and I love it when it rains hard and we get a good thunderstorm, but it seems of late it just teases us and passes right over. Now on the other hand I do not like it when we're under tornado warnings. That's scary. For all of you who live where those are infrequent, be thankful. They are super scary. (to me at least).
TMM
PS: The last tornado we were in, mom, me, and Macy were in the closet (like they tell you to go when there's a threat of a tornado) with the flashlight when we realized it must not be too bad b/c Mitch was on the couch watching ESPN Sports Center. :)
Lance, I'll email you some shots of a pretty sky here
@taro: After I wrote my blog entry, I thought "global warming?" ... for the years I have been in Japan, there is not any big rainy seasons, or snow storms.. so I guess it could be climate change. PS I like your blog! (Click on his name to find the link to his blog)
@t-rock: I bet Mitch would jump in there with ya at the first "freight train" sound. :)
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