Since I am allergic to pollen, I wear a mask when I am outdoors this time of the year. This weekend, I spent most of the daylight hours outside. Before I started using masks, I would sneeze a lot and my eyes would get so itchy that sticking a fork in your eyes sometimes seemed like a good idea, even when taking my allergy meds. With the mask, I have much less problems, even without taking the meds.
Of course, you look like a robber or a crazy person, but since wearing a mask is common in Japan (for allergies, when you have a cold, or in various other situations), no one really reacts here. You do get a weird suntan, though. I was in the sun for too long during the Water Works Festival, and now have a very white line from where the mask connected to my ear...
This only shows what I always believed: getting up early in the morning (i.e. before it becomes dark) is not good for you. Going outside instead of sitting in front of a soothing computer is bad for your health. Now my skin is in pain, just because I a) went outside, and b) went outside before nighttime. Living like a vampire is the healthy thing to do.
Some people suggested using sunblock, but what do they now anyway? Also, Japanese sunblock contains weird chemicals to bleach your skin even whiter, and many of the common ones here are not legal in Sweden (because they are dangerous).
