Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
It is 100% normal. Particularly this time of year (hay fever season), and in the beginning of winter (flu season).
The masks do indeed block a lot of the pollen, so they sell like crazy once the weather starts to get a bit warmer. During flu season they may not be 100% effective (nothing is), but they cut down on the germs you breathe in, the germs you breathe out, and they reduce the chance that you`ll touch your mouth (and bring germs from something you touched into it).
They also help save people from embarrassment of having a dripping nose in public. Blowing your nose in public is a bit of a taboo here, so it`s a lifesaver to have a mask to hide any sniffles.
99.999% of the people wearing masks in Japan now would be wearing them regardless of whether there had been any problems at the Fukushima reactor.
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Ah, I have to ask . . . I've seen many Japanese wear these masks, but I've never seen any foriegners wear them. Granted the media I've seen tends to be in major cities, so probably more foriegn tourists than foriegn residents, but - out of curiosity - is it normal for foriegners to wear these masks too? Like say if a foriegn resident had flu/hayfever would they get strange looks or be considered weird for wearing a mask? I just wondered really, I know it's normal for the Japanese, but is it normal for foriegners too?