here are some creative lunch pics.
“The key to what?” you might ask.
The key to knowing how to dress yourself, that’s what.
Japanese (and Koreans) have this really dumb habit of dressing according to the calendar rather than the temperature. It doesn’t matter if it’s warm in January, they’re going to dress like it’s winter. And not just any wintry day, they’re going to dress like they’re expecting a full-on blizzard to start any minute.Take today, for example. Gorgeous day! I couldn’t believe it when I checked the weather this morning and they said it was going to be 16 degrees. (That’s just over 60 in real degrees.) I was psyched. I had errands to run, and instead of bundling up – I could wear shorts!
Yes! Shorts in January!
And that’s what I wore. Shorts and a long-sleeved rugby shirt – with the sleeves pushed up, naturally. I had to go pick up my gaijin card and do some geek shopping in Akihabara, so why not dress comfortably? It was going to be a beautiful day. And it was!
Of course, you wouldn’t know it to look at the Japanese.
I may have been the only person in Tokyo wearing shorts today. Okay, I can kind of accept that. Hell, I’ll wear shorts when it a little cooler than 16, but that’s just me. But there was no need for anybody to be bundled up like an extra from The Day After Tomorrow. Probably 95% of the people I saw today had on big winter coats. At least half of them had hats on as well.And it wasn’t just the coats and hats. Most of them had on sweaters or something else far too warm for the day’s weather.
Do they just not look outside before getting dressed?
Yeah, I know it’s January, and January usually means “winter weather.” That’s generally a safe assumption.
But not all the time!
If the weather report says it’s going to be warm for a day, ditch the “Nanook of the North” look! Lose the big coat for a day and enjoy the weather. I see plenty of other foreigners who are capable of checking the weather and choosing their clothes according to that – so why can’t the Japanese?!?
Anybody got an answer for this one? ‘Cause I’m stumped.