Snowy morning

We had a treat this morning: actual feathery snow falling as we walked to school. Very rare in our Tokyo experience.

Bye-bye, Super Typhoon

It was quite rainy overnight, but Super Typhoon Melor has gone north ahead of schedule.

Right now, at 11 a.m. Thursday morning, a strong, gusty wind is pushing massive, puffy clouds very rapidly across a bright blue sky. The only remnants are some leaves on the ground; there's no flooding because the city's roads are gently curved to send rain to curbside drains leading to Tokyo's gigantic sewer system.

Lucinda's school is closed (because it was still raining at 5 a.m. when they made the decision) so she's at a playdate. Arno's school is open, which makes us all very happy.

Super Typhoon!

There's apparently a Category 5 storm, Super Typhoon Melor, arriving tomorrow in Tokyo. Always something new and different here.

Here are some NASA radar images of what NASA calls "monster Super Typhoon Melor." Not the most calming headline!

Rainy day

For a big rainstorm yesterday, Lucinda and Arno were kitted out in Japanese style yesterday, with Hello Kitty and Shinkansen raincoats and ubiquitous clear-plastic umbrellas.

Summer night

The weather in Tokyo lately has been delightful. I'd been warned about the rainy seasion from mid-June to mid-July: that it would rain most days with a blustery wind that would soak us and shred our umbrellas.

Instead, we've had a string of lovely, cool-enough days with some rain, but not too much rain. And we're really enjoying it. The other night, we went swimming at the Tokyo American Club, took the bus home, ate soba and tempura at a century-old noodle restaurant, and walked home through Azabu Juban in 70-degree pleasantness.

Snow!

We woke up this morning to see enormous snowflake feathers floating down in our adopted city.

As you can tell from this flower photograph, it doesn't freeze here very often.



December was about blue skies, chilly mornings and warmer afternoons. January is much colder and grayer with temps in the 30s and 40s. The snow is thankfully not sticking on the ground because this is how Arno gets to school.

Sun and fashion

Most days here are still muggy and hot, in the 90s. I imagine it's like being in the South in mid-summer without ocean breezes or an air-conditioned car, and wearing shorts and T-shirts is the only option for many expat women who are pushing strollers up and down Tokyo's hills.

But many Japanese women manage the heat differently: with parasols, huge tinted visors, white gloves and a long black shirt and pants. This woman was on a rooftop playground with her son yesterday.



Maybe I'll try it next summer?

Typhoon Fitow

Our first typhoon is here - Typhoon Fitow, with projected winds of 80-100 mph and up to 20 inches of rain. It's pouring outside!

We've had rainy weather for a few days, and I've noticed something curious: In NYC, people mostly use small compact umbrellas. But here, when the forecast says rain, Japanese people carry these long umbrellas with a very curved rain shield and a curved handle.

People hang them on an arm and whip them overhead to handle short, frequent rainshowers.





The sameness of style - among women and men, children, seniors, teenagers - is remarkable.


This is what you see outside office buildings and restaurants.



And many businesses (including this, at Starbucks) provide plastic bags for umbrellas in these contraptions.