Heat wave continues across Japan

My electricity bill is going to be hell, but it's worth a comfortable sleep. Take care, people.

You can cut and paste this story for every summer over the past few years. The term "heat wave" is redundant: the entire summer IS a heat wave.

I'm around 13,000 / month for electricity. How does that compare?

Around 3.000/month(winter more) for a studio apartment.

No Aircon used yet, fan is good enough but I also walk 10km/day in this weather.

Yeah, my July and august bills are around ¥11-13,000, but that's mostly because I also have a long summer vacation (fully paid) and the aircon is pretty much running flat out 24/7. That extra hundred bucks or so over the summer is much better than dying.

Kamakura! Gosh, the ocean and beach look disgusting! Come to Okinawa. Beautiful skies. Clean white beaches. And that azure ocean that is the hallmark of these beautiful islands!

I am surprised that Japan gets as hot as it does, given that, as an island nation, it is completely surrounded by water.

We had solar panels installed on the roof this last spring. Our July 2016 electric bill was about $160, and our July 2017 electric bill was about $16. We get billed $10./month just for being hooked up to the electrical grid, so the part of the bill for electrical usage was only $6. We too use an air conditioner, though not as much as some people. 78 degrees is cool enough for us in the day time.

I'm around 13,000 / month for electricity. How does that compare?

I make between 13,000 and 15,000 per month off my solar panels, but have to pay around 8,000 to 10,000 for electric, Meaning that I am coming out ahead by 5,000 or so per month.

Before we put in solar, we were paying around 20,000 to 25,000 per month for electric bills.

8000 yen, no aircon during the day. Like @Disillusioned I also have a long summer break and am at home, but I don't see the point of having aircon on during the day when I'm in and out of the house all the time. For the elderly its definitely a must though!

Same here, 10-12,000 per month. Daytime temps are high but manageable I guess, pbm is evening/night time temps are still in the mid-high 20s, same re humidity, relentless 24/7 or so it seems.

Am already over summer tbh.

It's summer in Japan - why are people surprised that it's hot?

You're tough Wrembreck! I'd die without my aircon right now. Too hot!

On Saturday, temperatures reached their highest for the year in both Fukuoka and Tottori cities, topping 35 degrees. Furthermore, Hita in Oita Prefecture recorded 36 degrees.

Was 'topping' 39 degrees in parts of Yamaguchi and I fail to see how this is a 'heat wave'. Compared to some of the summers here over the past 18 years, this summer is one of the mildest I've experienced!

The heat is bad enough but the humidity makes it much worse...

It's summer in Japan - why are people surprised that it's hot?

Over the past 50 years, things have definitely become hotter. I spent my first 10 years in Tokyo and Osaka without air conditioning in my home. (An electric fan was sufficient.) Nor were the regular commuter trains air conditioned, only trains like Shinkansen, where you couldn't open the windows. Average temperatures have definitely gone up.

Aircon is just an expensive, mould ridden draught. Always gives me a sore throat and dry eyes. I'd rather sweat.

Intrigued to read everyone's comments on this. Educational contrast with my experience half a world away, my lecy bill is very low in summer but way up in winter. Very glad I don't have to endure the humidity, not something I have ever found easy. Is Hokkaido far enough north not to suffer this?

Is Hokkaido far enough north not to suffer this?

Usually, yes. It's the winter you need to worry about!

getting 30000 profit from solar at the mo, using anything i want. wish i had money to buy more panels.

Places like Saitama, Gunma, and Tochigi just gets hotter and hotter each year. And it's not only the summer I've noticed getting hotter, but also winter. I've lived in the Kanto region for the past 25+ years and have noticed less and less snow. I remember when it would regularly snow in December. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to see any snow in January or February in the Kanto area.

My electric bill in the 1980's was never above 4,000 yen, we only used a fan. In 1999 we bought a window style A/C and it went to 10,000 yen, after that we had to have an A/C because we had gotten used to sleeping in a cooler atmosphere in the summer. Next house we rented had 2 A/C's and it went to 18,000 yen, then we bought a 7 DK home with 6 A/C's and our highest ever bill was 38,000 Yen. Now, only three of us here and it has gone down to 20,000 yen per month in the summer.

Here in my area it is the humidity that makes it so bad. I always put my A/C's on dry, keeps the house from getting that mildew smell, also keep my closet doors open a little on both sides. Now that I am older, the A/C makes my body hurt, so I have one room with no A/C so I go to to to keep my bones from hurting so bad!

JeffLee: "You can cut and paste this story for every summer over the past few years. The term "heat wave" is redundant: the entire summer IS a heat wave."

Exactly! I was cracking up the other day reading the meteorological agency's report of a "double peak heatwave" this summer; the first from mid-July through the first half of August. The second from mid-August into the first half of September. I then stepped out to buy a cool drink and thought about some melon-pan. The sign read, as it often does, "1 for 80 yen, three for 240!"

In other words, the attempts to paint lipstick on the pig are entertaining but ultimately quite stupid.

While it won't help when caught outside and away from home, but perhaps Japan should join the rest of the first world countries in the 21st century - there's this miracle product used in both commercial and residential construction called insulation which does a wonderful job to retain heat in the winter and cold in the summer - rather than watching/feeling each fade away quickly once you turn off the heater/air con.

@ JEff Lee

"You can cut and paste this story for every summer over the past few years. The term "heat wave" is redundant: the entire summer IS a heat wave."

Wow we agree for a change, even a broken clock is right twice a day i guess ;o)

there's this miracle product used in both commercial and residential construction called insulation which does a wonderful job to retain heat in the winter and cold in the summer

Spot on. Think of the money and energy saved if they only started using it. Most homes here are merely elaborate sheds.

Our aircon is running whenever we are in the house, but it's still cheaper than leaving the house to eat out or go shopping.

For my house I pay now around 8000 yen, one aircon is working 24/7, two more only when we going to sleep. Solar panels generates 15.000 - 23.000 yen per month.

What makes summers in Japan so miserable is the 60-plus percent humidity that accompanies temperatures of over 30 degrees C. (86 degrees F.). Small wonder why window and split air conditioners are so common in central to western Japan. And it explains why many Japanese who can afford it have second homes in Hokkaido for the summer or vacation there.