Greetings 3
The mystery of the dropped masks
Dear readers, you may have heard that Japan has finally opened its borders to foreign travelers. That means it is now allowing visa-free, independent tourism while abolishing the daily arrival cap.
But not so fast. While other places have already removed their mask rules, leading to bare faces becoming the norm again in western countries, most people in Japan still wear a mask. Which means foreign tourists will have to temporarily get back to the old ways.
Yes, because the government has proposed a revision to the “free borders” rule that would allow hotels to refuse entry to guests who don’t follow requests to take “anti-infection measures” during pandemics without a valid excuse.
Nothing exemplifies Covid-era Japan’s logic better: “Our peer countries have gone back to normal… so we’ve got to toughen our mask rules!”
I suspect a lot of Japanese would gladly do without masks, but social pressure to conform is so strong that nobody wants to take the first step.
At the most, you’ll see a few people (including me) walking bare faced in the streets but promptly putting their mask on as soon as they reach a crowded area. The new walking style looks like this:
Speaking of masks, one thing I can’t understand are all the masks I find lying left and right every time I leave the house. On average, I find at least two or three masks per outing, which doesn’t look much until you consider that they are practically the only trash defiling the otherwise spotless landscape.
The Japanese are very conscientious when it comes to handling garbage. If they can’t find a trash can, they usually put it in their bag and take it home. Yet, I find masks everywhere.
I find them in the street
On the sidewalk
Along the river path
Even in the fields
I believe that’s some sort of statement; a form of civil disobedience. Those people are saying, I hate those masks, and leave them where everybody can see them, just to make my point.
My wife, who believes in ghosts and likes a good conspiracy theory, this time disagrees with me. She says those people accidentally dropped their mask and either didn’t realize it or thought, well, now it’s dirty I can’t use it anymore, I’ll just leave it there.
Which is very un-Japanese. It cannot be.
In the last couple of years, I have gathered a nice collection of dropped masks including black ones
and even cute kids masks
Sometimes, a pious soul will even go so far as to rescue an abandoned mask and hang it somewhere.
As for me, I’ve come to appreciate them. Why, you ask?
I don’t have to shave every day
Dog breath? No problem!
And now that winter is approaching, they are great to keep my face warm.
What do you think about this mystery? Please share your thoughts. Tell me about your relationship with masks. Do you have a mask fetish? Do tell.
If you are new to Tokyo Calling, welcome and please read this post.
I have always enjoyed masks for the last few years during winter - it DEFINITELY keeps my face warmer. I also feel a bit more comfort in more congested areas if I wear a mask - I feel a bit safer.
What a bizarre thing...and something I have seen in Switzerland! They often hang on tree branches...clearly places, as you say, as some sort of civil disobedience, not mere accidents. And the intriguing thing is that Switzerland has a nearly opposite culture/system of law when it comes to COVID. Yes, we had lockdowns and mandatory tests at times, but the country was ultimately extremely lax compared to its European neighbors, often causing the border guards in France, Germany, and Italy to be extremely careful about Swiss who crossed over (at certain times, it was only allowed for cross-border workers or split families). Anyway, it almost seems people are rebelling against the mere existence of the virus itself...as if it were a being capable of witnessing these masks...because there is nothing in place in Switzerland anymore besides the occasional requirement in a doctor's office. Ah, we shall be studying the strangeness of human reaction during this time for years!