Japanese culture: weather (rain and sun)

(Note: these are just my observations, not necessarily a pronouncement on all Japanese culture)

    Japanese people are not afraid of the rain. Everyone owns a kasa (umbrella).  For my everyday life in America, umbrellas seem to get in the way more than be helpful. It takes just a few steps to get from my front door to my van, and then I have a wet umbrella to bring in the van (and I often get wet in the process of folding it down).  But if you're primarily walking, you need an umbrella (at least until you get under the cover of the shotengai).

    Most stores here have an umbrella stand to hold your umbrella (the alternatives are plastic bags for your umbrellas or an umbrella "dryer" like at the library).  Two mistakes I've made when it comes to umbrella stands.

1. not using it. An elderly Japanese shopkeeper was horrified when she realized that I was carrying my wet umbrella through her store.
2. forgetting which umbrellas were ours.  Many umbrellas are the same design -- clear and see-through.  When we took umbrellas from our AirBNB to our first church service, we couldn't remember for sure which ones we brought.  I fixed this problem by heading to the 100 yen store the next day to buy some pipe cleaners to identify our umbrellas.

   

(Cooper is trying to keep his umbrella small so he doesn’t run into anybody)

Now, they may not be scared of rain, but they seem to be scared of the sun.  They use a different type of umbrella to block the sun.  My Japanese friends back in Kentucky are very conscious of the sun -- using sunblock even for a short amount of time, staying in the shade, and wearing long sleeves and long pants (on a scorching day at a park meet-up back home, I was the only one wearing shorts among my dozen Japanese friends although this could also be due to fashion and/or formality).  

    I chuckled when Masumi wore a sun visor but also pulled out her higasa (parasol/sun umbrella) for double protection. I guess I shouldn't be laughing, though, since Japanese people have an overall lower rate of skin cancer than Westerners. Maybe I should be more protective against the sun. Time to invest in a UV umbrella!