Here in Japan masks are as much a part of an outfit in the colder weather as scarves and coats. They don't have anything to do with bird flu, hoof-and-mouth disease, or swine flu as we may think in the U.S. but they are used to protect people. There are two different reasons that people wear masks. One, to protect people from the flu or other things that may be contagious that other people may spread. The second is to protect other people if you are sick and have something you might spread.
When you go to the store here they have a little section near the cough medicine and vitamins that has different masks that you can buy. One store we went to even had two masks flipped around that you could hold up to your face and see what size fits (not sure if this defeats the whole purpose of the mask - putting your mouth and face on something that somebody who needs a mask has also put up to their mouth)
Masks don't just come in one shape and one color, they come in many different shapes and you could probably find any color or pattern you wanted if you looked hard enough.
When we flew down to the south of Japan to play one weekend of games, the team made us all wear masks on the plane. They said that because of the close quarters on the plane and the air circulation we needed to wear them so we wouldn't catch anything that somebody might have. This included myself. The first time I saw a western looking person wearing a mask I thought it looked funny and
said it would never be me, but as you can see from the picture I have worn one as well. (The picture is from the trip home)
Even though I don't wear a mask as much as the Japanese people I wish I would have had one on last week. I ended up getting a bug and got quite sick; missed practice on Thursday and Friday and traded the basketball court for an all-day-date with my bed. Not cool.
Hopefully you've been sickness free this winter and will stay that way until the warmer weather comes.
p.s. - if you do get swine flu call the swine flu ninja to take care of it
When you go to the store here they have a little section near the cough medicine and vitamins that has different masks that you can buy. One store we went to even had two masks flipped around that you could hold up to your face and see what size fits (not sure if this defeats the whole purpose of the mask - putting your mouth and face on something that somebody who needs a mask has also put up to their mouth)
Masks don't just come in one shape and one color, they come in many different shapes and you could probably find any color or pattern you wanted if you looked hard enough.
When we flew down to the south of Japan to play one weekend of games, the team made us all wear masks on the plane. They said that because of the close quarters on the plane and the air circulation we needed to wear them so we wouldn't catch anything that somebody might have. This included myself. The first time I saw a western looking person wearing a mask I thought it looked funny and
Even though I don't wear a mask as much as the Japanese people I wish I would have had one on last week. I ended up getting a bug and got quite sick; missed practice on Thursday and Friday and traded the basketball court for an all-day-date with my bed. Not cool.
Hopefully you've been sickness free this winter and will stay that way until the warmer weather comes.
p.s. - if you do get swine flu call the swine flu ninja to take care of it
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