Winter Thoughts
Well it seems that winter has finally hit us in Tokyo. Though the temperature remains reasonable warm, the wind was a bitter reminder of the forecoming winter. With the cold comes thick jackets and scarfs, christmas decorations (the store Tokyu Hands already has their decorations out and on sale!!) and the ever popular white mask seen in the picture above. Many countries used these in the SARS outbreak a while ago. But Japan uses these year round. There are two main seasons of "The Mask". 1) during spring to block the ingestion of pollen. Many Japanese people have a pollen allergy. Unfortunately, they tend to take the mask off at home and work, the two most likely places to be exposed to pollen. And, 2) during the winter to protect others from catching their flu.
The few foreigners who I queried remarked that they feel embarrassed to wear masks in public but will when they are at home and often at work. So they appear to do the opposite of the Japanese people. I wonder which is the best strategy. And I wonder why this "fashion" hasn't caught on in other countries. Perhaps they need to make a rainbow of colors and decorations to sweeten the deal.
Do you wear one? Tell us why you do or don't!
posted by Fudocom - Rei @ 6:10 PM
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