It's Hot!

 According to the news, many places in Japan are experiencing a heatwave.

The city of Kofu in Yamanashi recorded a high of 38 °C. This area does get very hot, but not in June.

Heatstroke warnings have been issued to many areas, but unfortunately, 3 people have already passed away due to heatstroke!

This happens every year. Many are older people who don't run air conditioners because of the expense. I've often wondered why the local community centers aren't open up for older people to go and spend the hottest time of the day there. One thing I have noticed over the past few years is that some supermarkets have a small seating area. You can buy lunch and just sit in that area for a while. I think it's a step in the right direction. 

Another problem is the people who have to work in this heat. I noticed this poster in a supermarket the other day.

poster in a local supermarket

It's basically apologizing for the staff having to drink while they are working. I think for some Japanese, this is seen as bad manners! For me, however, it's common sense!

One news report that I watched this morning showed a delivery driver. The company gives them a special vest that has fans in it and a watch-like device to track their temperature. The staff are encouraged to drink and eat salt candy.  I'm glad that some companies are starting to see how dangerous heatstroke is and are taking some preventive measures!  I'm also wondering when this common sense will trickle down to the schools. A lot of schools continue with sports activities outside, even in the extreme heat. Every year, we see the same thing on the news: ambulances lined up outside schools because some of the kids have heatstroke!

On a personal level, I finally got my air conditioner fixed. It wasn't broken, the problem was the wall socket and the plug on the machine were a different shape. I checked a few places and got quoted about 20,000 yen to fix this (about £100). This morning, David called a few companies and got quoted 5,000 yen (£25), a much better price. 

The guy came this afternoon and changed the plug, took less than 5 minutes! 

I'm so happy to have an air conditioner that works! I would love to have one in each room, but just having a place that I can sit in that is cool helps a lot. Also, being able to have the air conditioner at night will help me sleep better.

I want to buy one for David's room, he sleeps during the day, when it's very hot, and I worry that he isn't getting good sleep!  Need to save some money for that!!