Dr. Strangetyphoon or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Except the Fact that Typhoons Never Hit Osaka

The title really says it all. Whether by Osaka's situating in between a pair of mountain ranges, or some unseen airstreams that fly past us, Osaka nearly never gets hit by typhoons.

For everyone who is curious, a typhoon is simply a hurricane that occurs in the Pacific Ocean, and in the late summer/early fall time period, Japan is in a literal typhoon alley. Many hit the southern island of Okinawa before making their way north towards the Japanese mainland, usually bearing west towards Kyushu, Korea and China, or east towards Tokyo and the ocean. While they can be quite large when hitting Okinawa, most lose a great deal of power when they get close to Honshu and are sometimes downgraded to tropical storms; pussies.

They do cause damage and problems in Japan especially in the Kanto region and the surrounding prefectures. This week's typhoon, named Mawar, has, as I write this, turned away from Honshu and is making its way out to sea. Rain fell, rivers overflowed, property was damaged and one man died.

I'm not trying to downplay the potential disaster that could occur, but if past history is any teacher, very rarely, if ever is Osaka hit by one of these typhoons. Yet, unlike any people I've ever met, Osakajin panic and freak out. They issue storm warnings, chat incessantly about floods and heavy rain, and stock up their homes with food and provisions waiting for the worse case scenario. Which never comes...

In three years here, we have been partial hit by one typhoon, which was hyped far beyond the damage it did in this area. One observer described this typhoon has "typical London weather."

So, in conclusion, the typhoons aren't coming to Osaka. Relax, don't worry, go to work, don't horde food and condoms and stop telling me about it. I do have internet you know.

Wisdom of the Day: Don't Panic
-- Douglas Adams