Summers in Japan – as well as a lot of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries – are brutal: hot, humid, and ripe for typhoons. A lovely combination, as I’m sure you’ll agree. For now, we’ll focus on the “hot” problem because I just recovered from a mild bout of heatstroke the other day, so it’s on my mind.
I gave some of my thoughts on this topic over on Quora, where I talk a bit about why parents might choose to take their kids to a mall instead of a park during the hot summer, but I wanted to expand more on my thoughts because it’s a pretty important thing to keep in mind if you’re planning to visit Japan (or maybe even live here).Summer in general has been a huge adjustment for me. I was raised in California, where it’s fairly easy to stay cool – just stay in the shade, keep the fan on and windows open. Growing up, my family didn’t even have air conditioning.
In Japan, though, the humidity means there’s no real escape from the heat. If you’ve ever been to the South in the United States during July, you’ll have an idea what it’s like; I visited Florida as a senior in high school, and I still remember how the heat wrapped around me like a blanket, even as the sun was setting. That would never have been the case in California, where nights cooled down quite a bit since there wasn’t a lot of moisture in the air to help the heat linger.
My husband works in a hospital here in Japan and has told me that there are always a lot of cases every year of people (particularly children and the elderly) needing to be hospitalized due to heatstroke – last year in 2020, cases were over ten thousand in just the span of a couple of weeks, and a lot of those cases happened while people were indoors.
So it comes as no surprise that in Japan, there are a few key methods to combat the many Summer ailments – not just heatstroke (here called netsuchuushou, written as 熱中症), but also natsubate (夏バテ), translated into English as “summer fatigue,” marked by listlessness and a lack of appetite.
1. Drink Lots. Like, a Lot a Lot.
The best way to avoid heat stroke is to drink lots and lots – particularly water or unsweetened, caffeine-free teas. The teas will take some getting used to if you’re like me and came to Japan with a very American palette; most of the tea I drank back in the States had a decent amount of sugar in it, and most Japanese teas were downright bitter by comparison. Now that I’ve gotten used to it, though, I actually find most of the teas (particularly barley tea, which most Japanese drink like water) quite refreshing.
You really do want to adhere to the “8 glasses of water a day” rule during the summer here. It’s very easy to get dehydrated without even realizing it, and if you wait until you’re thirsty to drink something (like I used to when I was younger), you’re way past the point of needing to hydrate yourself.
2. Avoid Too Many Sugary or Caffeinated Drinks
While drinking is important, the type of drink matters, too. Soda, coffee, and alcohol, for example, might be liquids, but they’re not very good at keeping you hydrated. You can, of course, still consume these; just make sure the bulk of your liquid intake is water or teas, as mentioned above.
If all that water is starting to bore you, though, sports drinks are a great option to keep your electrolytes up. As noted by the CDC, drinking too much water in a short period of time can actually cause problems. It’s best to moderate your liquids with electrolytes either in the form of snacks (preferably something a bit salty, like crackers) or sports drinks.
(Remember: you don’t just sweat water, but salt and other minerals that need to be replenished!)
3. Take Regular Breaks
If you’re outdoors (working, playing, or just getting from one place to another), it’s important to take breaks. This is less of a concern if you’re traveling by car or are staying in the same air-conditioned environment all day, obviously, but if you’re outside, it’s important to take regular breaks and drink some water if you find yourself sweating. Don’t push yourself just because you “need” to get somewhere or you “need” to get something done – prioritize your health!
4. Eat Watermelon and Other Fruits (you know you want to)
Juicy fruits like watermelon, oranges, and grapes are excellent sources of both hydration and electrolytes. This is not to say they can replace those eight glasses of water you should be drinking per day, but the fructose can help give you an extra burst of energy if you’re starting to feel that summer fatigue weigh you down.
Popping your fruit of choice into the refrigerator for a couple hours can make a great dessert as well. As much as I enjoy ice cream, I’ve found fruit to be a lot more refreshing when the summer heat has been bearing down on me all day.
5. Air Conditioniiiiiiiing is your friend
Remember how I mentioned a lot of the heatstroke cases happen while indoors? There’s apparently this idea floating around that you’re more likely to catch a cold if you’re sitting in an air-conditioned room all day, so some people (particularly the elderly, who grew up without air conditioning and are more likely to think, psh! I can manage without) might opt to go without air conditioning.
This is a very, very bad idea. While it’s true that you might be a little more likely to get sick (our immune system runs less efficiently if our body temperature is too low), the very slight increased risk of catching the common cold is far outweighed by the very real danger of heatstroke. During the summer, air conditioning is your friend.
This is not to say you should run the air conditioning full blast and just stay inside all day, since there are some health issues that can be associated with that. Which brings me to my next point:
6. I mentioned drinking, right? Hot drinks are important, too.
The first time I came to Japan, my sister mentioned that she heard that people in Japan drink hot barley tea (probably the most drunk caffeine-free tea here) during the summer because it makes them sweat, and the sweat, in turn, helps them cool down. I’m not too sure if that’s true (my husband is Japanese and hasn’t heard that, but it might be a regional thing). However, Japanese people do have hot drinks and hot meals even during the summer – not to cool down, but rather to combat summer fatigue.
Summer fatigue may not be as big of a deal as heat stroke, but it can still have you feeling like you’ve just been run over and dragged through the mud. One thing that can cause it is by consuming only cold drinks and cold meals, essentially throwing your digestive system out of whack. An easy trick that helps push back against the fatigue is to enjoy a hot drink or a hot meal. Yeah, it sounds like a crazy idea (hot drink on a hot day? Clearly, the advice of a nut), but I’ve tried it myself and was surprised at how well it worked. I wasn’t able to find a lot of medical research on this in English, but it’s a common bit of folk wisdom here in Japan, so take that as you will.
What if I get heatstroke anyway?
Well dang, I guess you’re screwed!
Just kidding. There are different levels of severity, and you’ll be fine so long as you pay attention to your body’s needs. If you start to feel weak, headachy, or overheated, stop whatever you’re doing, drink some cold water, and find a cool place to lie down. If you’re a bit older or you have a medical condition, see about getting yourself to the nearest hospital as soon as you can – either by ambulance or a cab, since you don’t want to risk passing out at the wheel or exacerbating your condition by taking a car or public transportation.
Whatever you end up doing this summer, make sure to take care of yourself and stay hydrated. I hope these tips help you to beat heatstroke – or at least manage to give you a head’s up about what’s in store for a Japanese summer. Don’t feel discouraged, though; there are plenty of great things about Japan as well as other Asian countries during the summer, which I’ll be sure to write about next time.
