Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Rainy Season

June is the month of Tsuyu (梅雨), the rainy season.  It is the divider between spring and summer in Japan.  While people generally associate the year having 4 seasons, Japan really has 5 of them.  The rainy season of June and early July making the 5th season.  The rainy season is the last time things in Japan will be cool until very late in the year as the Japanese summer is a very hot, humid and long season.

The rainy season is different than the typhoon season; in that it is not comprised of powerful and dangerous storms, but rather a heavy continuous rain. (The typhoon season is from August - October.)  It does rain a lot, but not violently and almost every day.  Basically, the umbrella becomes your outside companion and weekend plans become indoor only.  June often becomes a downpour all day.  While the weather is pretty nasty, it does keep things cool in Japan as when the rain comes to an end, summer's oppressive heat and humidity here take over.

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