I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so...
Why? Because I didn't notice until later that everyone in the photo was wearing masks. I am not quite Japanese yet though, as I still cannot imagine why they were wearing masks in the clean air and uncrowded environment of a spacious Zen temple in Kamakura on a Saturday morning... The man at the back is quite alone, watering a private part of the garden with a hosepipe.
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Posted By Blogger to jules' pics at 1/29/2011 03:30:00 PM
5 comments:
Many people wear masks in Japan because they do not want to pass their colds on to others.
Anonymous: Yes, I know that, of course. Might be the reason on a packed train or at work - but not in a spacious garden. And anyway, tourists would surely stay at home at the weekend rather than head to the chilly garden if they were ill. Could be fear of cedars, but that fever is probably worse in the cities too. Perhaps they are actually just using the masks as local humidifiers... the air is very dry...
There have been flu warnings of late. The gentleman with the camera certainly looks like a Tokyo tourist.
It would seem a little early for hay fever, although some of the temples (Enkaku temple) have some fine Sugi (cedar) ...
Japan is certainly a mysterious place.
There's also been warnings that we are set for a bad pollen season, but it's not started yet, as far as I can tell (not a sufferer).
Fuji TV this morning had a segment on the "datemasuku だてマスク" phenomenon, whereby an increasing number of Japanese enjoy wearing masks due to some sense of social insecurity...
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