My Japanese Summer Experience

ALTのエマ先生からのメッセージ、その２です。早速読んでみましょう！

Since I arrived in Japan, it has been impossible to ignore the summer weather. In the UK, summer is my favorite season. It’s warm, but not too warm! In August, the average temperature in my hometown (Canterbury) is 21°C. Canterbury is in the South of England, so it’s one of the hottest parts of the country during the summer. In Usuki, the average temperature in August is approximately 29°C or even 30°C.

There is also another difference in the weather. Japan is much more humid than the UK, so it feels even hotter. Since my body is not used to the weather, it makes me really tired!

Even though it’s very hot in Japan during the summer, I still like it. In the UK, most houses and schools don’t have air conditioning, so when it’s really hot it’s difficult to keep cool. We usually just use electric fans if it’s too hot to sleep at night. I like that it’s common to have air conditioning in Japan because it makes life more comfortable. I also like that there are summer festivals and special summer menus at some restaurants. The sea looks so
beautiful in the summer too.

Like in Japan, it is common to have barbecues (BBQ) in the summer in the UK. A lot of British families have a barbecue grill in their garden, or a small one they can take to the beach. On summer evenings in the UK, I often have a barbecue in the garden with my family. Sometimes, instead of barbecue, we make pizzas. Even if we don’t use the grill, we almost always sit outside to eat dinner if it is warm.

In the UK, lots of people travel abroad during summer. Before airplanes, it used to be popular to go to the seaside for your vacation. I grew up near a seaside town called Herne Bay. Usually, British beaches have a pier with lots of stalls and rides. Now, people still like going to the beach, but they prefer to go to another country for their summer vacation. I
found it interesting that in Japan, people mostly take trips to other places in Japan, instead of going abroad. I think next summer I will try to take a vacation the Japanese way, and travel to somewhere new in Japan!

↑　Nature in the British Summer

↑　This is Herne Bay. I have so many memories of coming to this beach as a child. You can see the helter skelter at the end of the pier in the distance.