Time to chill out

What say you on the issue below?

Crowds throng water parks and swimming pools to beat the summer heat.

THE stifling heat and humidity of summer relented when torrential rain and typhoons struck Japan recently. Then it was back to the sultry weather. As the mercury climbed above 35°C, people thronged swimming pools, water parks, spray pools and beaches to cool off.

Outdoor pools are mostly opened from early July to early September. My family prefers pools to beaches to avoid the hassle of washing off the sand and salty water afterwards. Besides, more jellyfish can be found lurking in the waters after mid-August.

On Aug 28 (the last Sunday of the summer school holidays), the popular pool at Toshimaen amusement park in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, attracted about 20,000 people, whereas the outdoor pool at Koriyama Culture Park in Koriyama (about 60km west of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant) had only a few hundred visitors due to the fear of radiation exposure there.

Cooling off: Funseekers having a splashing time at a water park.

We often go to the outdoor pool at Honmoku Shimin Park in Naka ward, Yokohama. This summer, it opened from July 7 to Sept 4.

When we reached the park during a recent trip, cars were lined up bumper-to-bumper, waiting to enter its paid parking lot. We parked at a coin parking lot some distance away and walked to the pool.

Picnic sheets, beach chairs and tents were spread under rows of beach umbrellas by the poolside. By noon, the main pool was so crowded that it literally became a pool of bodies! With the humongous inflatable floats around, bumping into each other was inevitable.

Youngsters frolicked in the water, shooting each other with water pistols. Revellers flocked to the fountain when the water came on. The pelting water worked like a massage.

Every hour, everyone had to get out of the pool for a 10-minute break which was announced through the PA system.

Thrills on a water slide.

I did a rough head count; there were about 12 lifeguards (males and females). They were everywhere, blowing whistles and hollering through megaphones to warn kids and teenagers not to run on the pavement, dive into the pool or be rowdy in the water.

Some lifeguards kept watch under shaded towers. They ensure there was order and see to the safety of revellers as they queue up at the top of the water slides and await their turn to slide down at the signal of the lifeguard below.

Indoor pools tend to have stricter rules as certain lanes in the adult pool are for doing single or double laps, or for wading. It is compulsory to wear a swimming cap in indoor pools. However, most outdoor pools relax this rule.

A TV programme showed how a security guard handled problems at a popular outdoor pool. He had eyes like a hawk. A few men suspected of furtively taking pictures or videos of bikini-clad ladies were hauled up for questioning.

He also spotted men who groped women in the packed pool. The police were summoned to deal with complaints of molestation. Since a tattoo ban has been imposed, he asked those who defied the rule to leave.

The management of many pools, hot springs and communal bathhouses prohibits persons with tattoos (including temporary body stickers or body paint) from entering. Tattoos have been perceived to be affiliated with the yakuza (Japanese mobsters). Although some people spot tattoos for fun or aesthetic reasons, tattoos generally tend to scare others away.

At one water park, the tattoo ban was even written in English. Those who flout this rule were asked to leave; no refunds were given.

Some pools permit tattooed bodies, provided the person wears a rash guard or cover the tattoo with waterproof tape.

Honmoku Shimin pool has no tattoo restrictions. When a few ladies donned rash guards with hoods and visors while swimming, they were actually protecting themselves from the blazing sun.

Most schools and some nursery schools have outdoor pools which are opened to the schoolchildren during the hot season. However, I have yet to come across apartments with pools in Japan, like those in Malaysia.

As I was passing through the neighbourhood one day, I saw three small kids having a whale of a time in the garden. They were playing with water in two inflatable pools shaded by a beach umbrella that was supported by a tripod stand.

I chatted with their mother. “Ah, nostalgic! My son enjoyed playing in one of these when he was small.”

“Yeah, my kids can have fun any time, and I use the water on my plants after that,” she replied, smiling.

In the punishing heat, I wished that my bathtub could turn into a swimming pool!