Thursday, October 9, 2014

Why is the seashore of Japan vacant in September?

A journalist living in Tokyo is wondering why most of Japanese beach become vacant in September.

BBC: Why Japan's beaches are deserted - despite the sunshine

Although it is uncertain whether all of seashores are abandoned on Sep. 1, it is no doubt that sea bathing in autumn is not popular in Japan.


The author describes two main reasons. The first, Japanese adheres so much to official regulation that they rarely breach the rule not to swim in the sea in autumn. It is persuasive to some extent. Most lifeguards are out of work in September, and to my knowledge many seashore is closed in autumn.

The second reason is, that is also an explanation of closing seashores, the Japanese style of enjoying the four seasons, according to the author. I do not agree with this opinion. Nowadays, not so many Japanese keep traditional lifestyles.

I think the biggest reason is the fact that summer vacation ends on Aug. 31 in most schools, except colleges exactly speaking. Parents with their young children are the most valuable guests for the administrators of seashores. In September, it is not advantageous for them to maintain the seashores, I guess.

In autumn, jellyfishes can increase. Some typhoons come as well. These factors make seashores unavailable. Such circumstances have also a role to keep Japanese traditional lifestyles; autumn is not suitable to sea bathing.

However, recent rising of temperature is changing the situation. In the near future, elementary schools might be forced to reconsider the term of summer vacation.

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