Foreign Friday

Walking in the Rain

Nagasaki, Japan

April 1980

I didn't even own an umbrella before I moved to Japan. I left two years later with more than five of them.

Japan has four distinct seasons, and nearly every one of them involves rain. I lived in northern Japan where the rain turned to snow from late November to March; however, during the typhoon season, rain fell in sheets, driven by brisk winds. I remember distinctly when Typhoon Tip came ashore in October 1979: the driving winds and rain lashed at my little off-base house, but no damage was done.

This graph from Climatetemp.info gives average climate information. The dark green line is rain/snow fall, and the black line is humidity. Notice the pale green line - that indicates "wet days." The red line is temperature. Click on the link for more detailed information about Japan's average weather.