Fall in Love With a Rainy Day in Tokyo
I hate rain.
Rainy days are the worst. Some people consider rains to be romantic, but I don’t think so. Rain makes you wet, creates unpleasant smells in the air, and ruins outdoor plans. Even the trains get delayed on a rainy day — something that is not very common in Japan.
Yet the so-called “梅雨” season is happening. With the cloudy weather every day, you don’t know if it’s going to rain or not.
It suddenly started raining today. “めんどくさいなぁ…” Without an umbrella in my hand, I stepped into one of the department stores nearby to shelter myself from the rain.
Something unexpected happened. While checking out something I just bought, the counter staff asked me a question: “Do you want an extra plastic bag to cover your shopping bag?”
First time hearing such a question from a counter staff, I asked “Why do I need it?” in return.
“Because it’s raining outside. We don’t want your bag to get wet. :)”
Astonished by this response, I asked: “But HOW do you know that?” It started raining literally just 10 minutes ago. For a counter staff who had been staying in the building all day, it was impossible for her to know the weather outside. Not to mention that umbrellas were not supposed to be brought inside the building in Japan. There was an umbrella holder in front of many department stores.
“It’s a secret.” She smiled. Obviously not satisfied with such an answer, I started observing by myself. After another 5 minutes walking around the building, I found nothing special.
Wait. The background music sounded familiar. It was “Singin’ in the Rain”!
The department store changed the background music to this song to inform all the employees that it was raining outside. Using this “secret code” between employees, they tailored their services immediately to match the customer needs.
This city, Tokyo, never fails to amaze me even if I already consider myself a "Japan Expert." Thirty minutes later, I noticed that the background music changed again. This time, it was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, one of my favorite movies back in childhood.
While the original melody of this song was somewhat depressing, its message was clear --- the rain stopped. Without having to go outside to check the weather, I knew that it was time for me to go home, since the original purpose of this visit was to shelter myself from the rain, not to spend money on irrelevant stuff (which I did).
I found some similarities between this department store and our 茶道 (Tea Ceremony) classroom. At the beginning of our stay in Japan, Mistletoe organized a Tea Ceremony class for us foreigners from different countries. Our teacher Sugiyama Sensei thoughtfully set up the tea room just for us. For example, the scroll on the wall was changed to one with "太平波寄萬里" written on it.
Having just enough kanji (Chinese Character) knowledge to understand what's written on it, I immediately realized how thoughtful our sensei was. The literal translation was "Pacific waves travel through thousands of miles." However, the deeper idea was to welcome us, students from different parts of the world.
In both situations, the messages were not conducted directly. However, once you were careful enough to notice the change they made to the environment, you would be amazed by the amount of thoughtfulness hiding beneath. I think this is something truly special about Japan.
I started to look forward to the next rainy day in Tokyo. It was not only about the background music in the department stores, but also about various small details in different aspects of life. The umbrella dryers in front the buildings, the special hooks on the train for umbrellas, and the cheap transparent umbrellas at the convenient stores in case you left yours at home. Most importantly, rainy day specials and rainy day sales. Yes, many cafes, restaurants, and shops in Tokyo provide special products and discounts on rainy days.
Experience a different Tokyo, only on a rainy day.
I still hate rain, but I think I fell in love with a rainy day in Tokyo.
