10 Reasons to Hate Japan in the Summer

The dog days of summer just don't want to end here in Japan. Summer has been hot. Summer has been long. Summer just got a lot longer starting last week when a heat wave rolled across Japan.

Everyday has been close to 40C. It's rough. I spend a great deal of my day bitching and complaining about the heat. I'm not alone in this though. Almost every Japanese person I know has been complaining even more than I have.

I've decided to make a list of the top 10 things I really hate about struggling through a Japanese heat wave.

1. Wet clothes! My clothes are soaking wet the moment I leave the house. I'm not alone here. As I look around the train platform in the morning or afternoon I see a sea of pain contorted faces. People wearing sweat soaked shirts and dresses. It's definitely necessary to bring an extra shirt to work in the morning!

2. Air conditioners in Japanese houses are small and struggle to cool down the rooms they're placed in. With the a/c units cranked to cool it still takes hours to cool down my apartment to a tolerable level.

3. I find myself complaining a lot more than I normally do!

4. You go I to a convenience store to buy an ice cream to cool down. The instant you step outside, it instantly melts and drips down your hand and arm.

5. Get on a crowded train filled with sweaty businessmen! Smells like a large dead animal was carefully placed in the ventilation system.

6. Being outside too long makes me grumpy and dizzy.

7. My beer gets warm really fast!

8. Even more Japanese women are sporting parasols (that's right...still used in Japan) and they don't pay attention when they walk in crowds with them. It's "almost getting your eye poked out by a parasol" season!!!

9. I'm unable to rip the a/c unit out of my daily commuter train and bring it home...cause the one in the train actually works!

10. The crazy people I see on the train every day seem to become even crazier! 

You can find me on Twitter: @jlandkev 

Pepsi Salty Watermelon and Dwarves

Although I tend to find that serious and somewhat controversial topics (or at least ones I am very honest about) get the most views on this blog, sometimes I just have to keep it light and fun. I can't always be serious.

Here are two videos I have made in 2012 about two very odd and distinctly Japanese products. Both deal with beverages and both were fun to make!



This video was sort of a cliched video if you will. Japan is known for many weird things such as strange seasonal flavours of Kit Kat chocolate bars and Pepsi Cola. It is almost a right of passage for all newbie video bloggers in Japan to make videos about these food products. Although I am one of the most grizzled veterans of the Japan blogging scene, I decided I still wanted to make a video about Pepsi Salty Watermelon.

Earlier in the Spring, there was a type of tea sold in Japanese convenience stores that came with a rather odd omakae. "Omakae" is essentially a free gift you get when purchasing something. You can see for yourselves why I thought the free gifts were odd if not a little gross!