Mosquitos are a horrible problem in Japan. The hot and humid summers are the perfect habitat for the little blood suckers. It is so much of a problem, I had my son immunized for Japanese encephalitis right after we moved here. It is a serious disease spread by mosquito bites that can cause someone to have symptoms ranging from vomiting and headaches to brain swelling and coma. My whole family has always attracted mosquitos and collected bites as some sort of insanity challenge.
There are lots of ways to combat mosquitos here. Before leaving the house, we spray ourselves with repellant and put repellant stickers on our clothing. Some days it helps more than others. Usually, we will get bites in the exact spot we didn't spray or a short distance from the sticker. It is so aggravating.
Many moms bring mosquito repelling incense to the park and burn them where we sit. I've gotten used to their scent, as many people have them burning at this time of year. Farmers have special little canisters with vent holes attached to their belt loop to continuously release the smoke on their clothes in the fields. These coils are so common, that one of the popular images representing summer is a ceramic pig that people put the incense into. The cute pig can be found on porches, bedrooms, anywhere they want mosquitos to stay away from. Of course there are other designs too, but the pig is the most famous.
We don't have a pig. I want one, but I just haven't found "the one" yet. In the meantime, we are eaten alive. Despite the spray. Despite the stickers. Despite the coils. We are eaten. And it is torture!
I keep yelling at my husband and son to "STOP SCRATCHING!!!" But it is to no avail. I put cream on them, but they scratch anyway. And we are all miserable in our suffering.
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