Things are sometimes regimented in Japan, and summer is one of them. It took getting used to (“They’re closing the pool? But it’s still as hot as ever!”) but now I positively enjoy the predictability and the sense that we’re all doing this together. Although the season spreads over July and August, the word for summer—natsu—mostly vibrates with the excitement of the one-month school holidays in August. This is the final weekend in August, so it’s the last weekend of summer.
With the heat and humidity, the Japanese summer is a tough season to get through. But there are so many pleasures to be had, and now they’re over for another year. The fireworks shows that lit up the nights are memories. The rooftop beer gardens are closing. Summer festival drums and flutes are silent. Cicadas blunder about in the final hours of their short lives. The August high school baseball tournament, pitting teams from all over Japan in struggles of high drama and shameless passion, saw its final thrilling game earlier this week.
Down at the beach, the temporary rest houses built on the sands and offering lockers, showers and refreshments shut down for the last time this weekend. In a few days they will be dismantled and gone. We cycled down in late afternoon to see if there was a swim to be had. The lifeguards had just gone off duty for the day and season both, and were racing each other on surfboards. The sea was very warm, and the occasional mild tingling told us that this was the right time to cede it to the jellyfish. The beach houses were putting up shutters and stacking tables, but our favorite agreed to serve us beers and a dish of salty edamame. We were in fact their final customers of the season. As we left, the staff told us that they would have twice as much space next year, and to please visit them.
That's one more thing to look forward to next summer.
--Julian