The last four days: Part 1, Setsuden

The pilot gives an update before we land in Tokyo.  We hear about wind direction and speed, arrival time and gate but it's the temperature I want to hear.  Then it comes.

"It's 30 degrees Celsius."  Ouch.  When I left Boston it was a cool sixty-something.  In Tokyo it's tsuyu--the rainy season.  That means 30 degrees C (around 87 degrees F) contains a muggy, sweaty, rainy, humid mix to the higher-than-I'm-used-to temperature.  Let's just say I'm a fall and winter girl.  I melt in the heat.  My usual love for adventure and "bring it on" mentality is less attractive all of a sudden.  At least it's not August.  At least I came in June.

I don't really melt in the heat.  I get cranky but I mask that well.  Most of the time, at least.  What I'm dreading is the previously announced government policy towards the use of electricity.  Rather the lack thereof.  With the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster still very much on everyone's minds, there's an awareness this summer will be hotter than usual if for no other reason the use of electricity is to be limited.

Setsuden is the Japanese word, catchall word/phrase/abbreviation for saving electricity.  There are signs all over Tokyo proclaiming this is the summer for all of us to turn off our fans, use the air conditioner less often and not turn every light on in the house.  The conductors on subways and trains tell us every few stops that fewer lights are on in the trains and stations and not all cars are using air conditioning.  This is followed with a request for everyone's understanding and cooperation.  The stations and underground mazes smell not of body odor but of stale and stagnant air.  There is a distinct odor everywhere not of stinky bodies but of damp and heavy air that has not had a chance to circulate.  The heat emanating from bodies is palpable as we pass each other on the street, stand next to each other in the trains and move from place to place.

But, no one complains.  I've seen salarymen in short sleeves fanning themselves with round fans they picked up at strip clubs.  Women carry cloth umbrellas to block the sun.  I have to work hard not to look at a woman's make up (especially her foundation) as it starts to flake with her sweat.  Small hand towels regularly wipe off sweat from the nape of the neck and the brow.  Everyone is hot.  Everyone knows it's going to get hotter.  I have yet to hear anyone complain.  I have yet to see anyone snap.

Stations post signage saying fewer trains are running.  Building entrances have similar postings stating the air conditioner is turned off.  These same signs apologize for the inconvenience.  Fewer trains run because there's less electricity to go around.  Skyscrapers and department stores no longer give off that strong blast of cool air immediately upon entry.  There's less electricity available because the nuclear power plants that provide this area (and beyond) are inactive.  Short of going through scheduled brown outs this summer, everyone knows setsuden is now a way of life.  Complaining about it does no good.  It is what it is.

It's going to be a long summer.