Hay Fever

I thought I should write at least a brief post about Hay Fever in Japan.  I have gotten my information from wikipedia, so take it as you will.

I was rather surprised a while back at how many people were talking about how hay fever season is starting.  I was mostly surprised that so many people actually knew the words "hay fever" in their second language.  I realized shortly that it's because hay fever is so wide spread.  According to wikipedia 20% of Japanese people suffer from it.

After World War II, Japan started planting all these trees to produce lumber.  However, they soon were able to import wood for cheaper and so the trees they had planted kept growing and are still growing to this day.  The problem is that the trees that they planted produce a lot of pollen, especially after they get to be 30 years old.  The result: many people have hay fever.  People wear masks outdoors to help them not inhale as much pollen.  The pharmacy shops are stacked with a plethora of allergy medicines.  Luckily, I only suffered mildly from hay fever.  In general, I've kept going for runs, etc. and been fine.

They also have sites that forecast the pollen levels.  The sites are just like a weather forecast site, except that they show you the pollen level of the day and the forecast pollen level for the next few days.  From what I've heard, the pollen level should be dying down by mid-April.