Man, it’s been a while, but this summer has been so crazy I just wanted to address it here in my Hokkaido blog.

For the first time in a long time, I went running around 7:30am instead of my usual time of 6:30am. The last month, there were days when I had to get up around 5:00 just so I could go running. I do this because I hate running when it’s too hot outside and you’re under the relentless sun armed with nothing but a baseball cap and sunscreen. To avoid the heat, I try to run early because it’s slightly more bearable that way.

But today, the temperature finally dropped to 21 degrees Celsius. Yes, you read that right 21. The previous weeks when I went running, the lowest the temperature dropped was at 25—at 5:00am. But even that is too damned hot to me. I would wake up already sweating and just dreading being outside in the heat.

Unfortunately, that’s been the reality for the entire month of August in Hokkaido. I was just as surprised as everyone that the heat wave lasted for a month, without any relief from the hot weather and the humidity.

It used to be that you could get through the summer months in Hokkaido with just a fan or two while keeping the windows open. Usually, that was enough to beat the heat. I also had to pack a light cardigan in my bag because the evenings cooled enough that you would need something to protect you from the cool night air. During the daytime, It was fun walking around outside because it wasn’t too hot and I wasn’t sweating so much. It was hot enough to enjoy but cool enough to not find it overbearing.

And I just checked my other blog to see that yep, there it is. Fourteen years ago, I posted a blog about me having to wear a fleece jacket in the middle of August in the summer time because it was too cold outside.

That’s the kind of summer that I love.

The other day, I was walking around downtown Odori and heard many people complain about the heat. It was a tourist who had thought that summer in Hokkaido was going to be cooler than summer in Honshu. Last week, my coworker, who’s relatively new to Hokkaido asked me if this was normal, and me and a whole bunch of other coworkers told her that no, it’s not.

I used to be able to say that Hokkaido summers are cool, dry, and short. This was the biggest draw for me, why I love it here.

Now, I’m afraid I can’t say that anymore.

I can’t rely on just fans any more. I bought an air-conditioning unit for our apartment to help me beat the heat. I have to stock up on OS-1, which is a drink to help you recover from heat exhaustion. I don’t carry a cardigan anymore, and this is mostly because I don’t walk around outside in the summer as much as I used to.

It’s just too damned hot.

Still, though, I am really hoping that this heat wave is just blip in the radar, that this is something that will soon pass and we could go back to normal. Looking at the recent weather reports, it looks like it’s going to cool down.

And I’m just happy to know that fall is right around the corner.