4 Seasons.
Hello again from an increasingly cold Japan. Brrr! It's getting chilly outside now! Winter is definitely on its' way here in Tokyo. Trying to stay healthy when everyone on the trains is getting sick will be a mission. I've been pretty lucky to not be sick too much this year, so here's hoping it continues. Christmas is just around the corner, and the illuminations are out in full force here in Japan. Many areas of Tokyo put on their own unique light show, and I'm keen to go out and look at them in the next few weeks. So now that I've experienced all 4 seasons here in Japan, I thought I'd do a comparison between Japan and New Zealand for you, bearing in mind that the seasons occur at the opposite times of the year-NZ summer December-February, Winter June-August and Japan summer June-August and Winter December-February. Hopefully this will help you decide when to come if you're planning a trip to either Japan or New Zealand. Let's get into it!
Round 1:
Summer.
Japan: Aka the worst thing ever. Humid. At least 35 degrees every day. 0/10. Would not recommend to a friend. Honestly the worst time to be in Japan. However, there are the beautiful fireworks displays during August that are worth a look. The only other upside is icecream. That's all I have to say really. Avoid at all costs.
New Zealand: Around 25-30 degrees most days. Not humid-at least not in Wanaka. Very important! Long evenings, barbecues with friends, going to the beach, and just enjoying life. Would definitely recommend. Obviously icecream is included here too. A kiwi summer is truly the best, as there are so many beautiful beaches to enjoy, and if you're not near the beach, chances are you're near a lake or river, and they are for the most part pretty clean and ideal for swimming. Our family is also lucky enough to have a boat, which means water skiing and biscuiting, and going to a secluded beach somewhere around the lake and spending the afternoon relaxing. Also, there is a long school holiday over Christmas and New Year during summer too! Bliss.
New Zealand wins the summer round by a long, long way!
Round 2:
Spring:
Japan: Beautiful!! Cherry blossoms for days, nice temperatures and usually good weather, picnics in the park-what's not to love? Also there is sakura paraphernalia everywhere, including a Starbucks sakura frappucino that changes every year. Spring in Japan is probably my favourite.
New Zealand: Unpredictable weather! On Monday, there was snow in Wanaka. Snow. In November. When it's (supposed to be) almost summer. If that doesn't scream climate change I don't know what does. You can find cherry blossoms, but they're not everywhere like they are here in Japan. People don't really do the whole picnic in the park thing in New Zealand either.
Japan wins spring by a mile!!
Round 3:
Winter.
Japan: Christmas lights! I've already seen a few Christmas lights around, which are beautiful! Coming from New Zealand where it's summer during Christmas time and it gets dark at around 9.30, you have to stay up late to see Christmas lights. But in Japan, it's dark by 4.30-5 so you have so much more time to wander around and look at the beautiful lights! However, obviously, it's cold. I feel like Tokyo in winter is kind of dreary a lot of the time, cloudy and rainy, rather than crisp, clear days.
New Zealand: Winter in New Zealand is relatively similar to Japan, except for the fact that it's in June/July/August, so there are obviously no Christmas lights or decorations. I like the crisp clear days that winter brings to my hometown of Wanaka. However, when I studied in Dunedin, the winter was rainy and dreary, much like here in Tokyo.
Due to the Christmas lights and decorations, I have to say Japan wins! Finally experiencing a winter leadup to Christmas is great. I get to hear songs about a white Christmas playing when it's actually cold outside!
Round 4:
Autumn.
Japan: The way restaurants and cafes really embrace the seasonal foods like pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnuts is really great. There are so many seasonal specialty foods and drinks to try! The parks also look absolutely beautiful at this time of year. I love the variety of colours you see, from the bright yellows to deep reds. However, I'm not really a fan of Halloween, which falls in autumn here. It feels too commercial for me, and the Japanese get far too into it for people who don't really understand the origin of the event. The Halloween merchandise also comes out super early, so it feels like it goes on forever!
New Zealand: I feel like New Zealand doesn't really embrace the season of autumn and seasonal produce that it brings the same way Japan does. However, the parks in New Zealand look equally as beautiful as Japan with the changing colours. And there's no Halloween in autumn, as it's April/May. So this is a tough one...
I might have to call this round a tie!
There you have it, a comparison of the four seasons in Japan and New Zealand. I'm super lucky that I've lived in countries that do have all four distinct seasons! I think I love spring in Japan the most and summer in New Zealand the most. Autumn in both Japan and New Zealand comes a close second though! I have really enjoyed exploring around Tokyo recently, going to new parks to see the beautiful colours and just enjoying nice weather before it gets too cold to do so. I'm going to TeamLab Borderless in Odaiba on Monday, which is an interactive light exhibition - look it up on Google, it looks incredible! So I'm super excited for that, I've been wanting to go for a while and will definitely be sharing some photos.
That's all I have for now, hope you've enjoyed this wee update, will be back with another soon.
From Japan with love,
Hannah. xx
Round 1:
Summer.
Japan: Aka the worst thing ever. Humid. At least 35 degrees every day. 0/10. Would not recommend to a friend. Honestly the worst time to be in Japan. However, there are the beautiful fireworks displays during August that are worth a look. The only other upside is icecream. That's all I have to say really. Avoid at all costs.
New Zealand: Around 25-30 degrees most days. Not humid-at least not in Wanaka. Very important! Long evenings, barbecues with friends, going to the beach, and just enjoying life. Would definitely recommend. Obviously icecream is included here too. A kiwi summer is truly the best, as there are so many beautiful beaches to enjoy, and if you're not near the beach, chances are you're near a lake or river, and they are for the most part pretty clean and ideal for swimming. Our family is also lucky enough to have a boat, which means water skiing and biscuiting, and going to a secluded beach somewhere around the lake and spending the afternoon relaxing. Also, there is a long school holiday over Christmas and New Year during summer too! Bliss.
New Zealand wins the summer round by a long, long way!
Round 2:
Spring:
Japan: Beautiful!! Cherry blossoms for days, nice temperatures and usually good weather, picnics in the park-what's not to love? Also there is sakura paraphernalia everywhere, including a Starbucks sakura frappucino that changes every year. Spring in Japan is probably my favourite.
New Zealand: Unpredictable weather! On Monday, there was snow in Wanaka. Snow. In November. When it's (supposed to be) almost summer. If that doesn't scream climate change I don't know what does. You can find cherry blossoms, but they're not everywhere like they are here in Japan. People don't really do the whole picnic in the park thing in New Zealand either.
Japan wins spring by a mile!!
Round 3:
Winter.
Japan: Christmas lights! I've already seen a few Christmas lights around, which are beautiful! Coming from New Zealand where it's summer during Christmas time and it gets dark at around 9.30, you have to stay up late to see Christmas lights. But in Japan, it's dark by 4.30-5 so you have so much more time to wander around and look at the beautiful lights! However, obviously, it's cold. I feel like Tokyo in winter is kind of dreary a lot of the time, cloudy and rainy, rather than crisp, clear days.
New Zealand: Winter in New Zealand is relatively similar to Japan, except for the fact that it's in June/July/August, so there are obviously no Christmas lights or decorations. I like the crisp clear days that winter brings to my hometown of Wanaka. However, when I studied in Dunedin, the winter was rainy and dreary, much like here in Tokyo.
Due to the Christmas lights and decorations, I have to say Japan wins! Finally experiencing a winter leadup to Christmas is great. I get to hear songs about a white Christmas playing when it's actually cold outside!
Round 4:
Autumn.
Japan: The way restaurants and cafes really embrace the seasonal foods like pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnuts is really great. There are so many seasonal specialty foods and drinks to try! The parks also look absolutely beautiful at this time of year. I love the variety of colours you see, from the bright yellows to deep reds. However, I'm not really a fan of Halloween, which falls in autumn here. It feels too commercial for me, and the Japanese get far too into it for people who don't really understand the origin of the event. The Halloween merchandise also comes out super early, so it feels like it goes on forever!
New Zealand: I feel like New Zealand doesn't really embrace the season of autumn and seasonal produce that it brings the same way Japan does. However, the parks in New Zealand look equally as beautiful as Japan with the changing colours. And there's no Halloween in autumn, as it's April/May. So this is a tough one...
I might have to call this round a tie!
There you have it, a comparison of the four seasons in Japan and New Zealand. I'm super lucky that I've lived in countries that do have all four distinct seasons! I think I love spring in Japan the most and summer in New Zealand the most. Autumn in both Japan and New Zealand comes a close second though! I have really enjoyed exploring around Tokyo recently, going to new parks to see the beautiful colours and just enjoying nice weather before it gets too cold to do so. I'm going to TeamLab Borderless in Odaiba on Monday, which is an interactive light exhibition - look it up on Google, it looks incredible! So I'm super excited for that, I've been wanting to go for a while and will definitely be sharing some photos.
That's all I have for now, hope you've enjoyed this wee update, will be back with another soon.
From Japan with love,
Hannah. xx
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