Why I Don't Like Rain in Japan

I do not like rain in general. Aside from the pleasingly fresh feeling you get after a rain storm there is really nothing about it that makes me happy. The clouds obscure my mood, I can't wear anything cute for fear of getting wet, and it makes it extremely difficult to get anywhere on my bike. I have no car, way too expensive anyway, so bike is what I have to get around and about. There are lots of reasons why it is difficult to bike in the rain.

Going to school, my students just carry an umbrella while they ride. Even the girls in their skirts. Contrary to popular belief (Japan...) it is not that difficult to ride with an umbrella. Some day I will show you the pictures my parents have of me doing bike tricks back in Washington State. No, whenever I use an umbrella my legs still get wet. As I usually wear jeans and not the synthetic horror of a fabric my students use, I usually stay wet for way longer than is realistically do-able. I could just change at school, but that is way too much hassle in our nasty student-cleaned bathrooms.

I have a rain suit actually made by Columbia and bought in the USA. Actually I bought it at UVA before I went to Japan the first time. I do wear this, especially during the rainy seasons (which seems to last at least all summer as it intersects with the typhoon season). However, it is very, very hot. Plastic (rubber?) does not breath at all so by the time I get to school I am almost as soaked in sweat as I would be from the rain. In the winter it is not so bad, but most of the rain we get is in the hotter weather. Maybe 90% of it.

When I want to go into the city I have to walk about 1 kilometer (not so good at calculating miles here ...) to the train station. If I bring my handy fold up umbrella most of me still gets really wet due to lack of coverage and a long exposure. If I bring my bigger (convenience store) umbrellas I don't get as wet, but I do have to carry them around all day. Usually they end up bumping against my leg and getting me wet. This is a Catch-22 situation here people.

I have to admit that rain is a good thing. It makes the flowers grow, it washes off the dirt, it flushes out the open gutters and gets ride of the summer funk too. I like a nice rain storm even if I don't like cloudy weather and the hassle of biking. All you can do is gamman, which is the Japanese word for endurance. It just has the sense of unholy (and sometimes really idiotic) suffering. Oh well. I really do love it here so I will gamman. Gamman, gamman, gamman- but if you find a breathable rain suit set please do let me know!