Tokyo Fashion

Hi everyone. I thought I let you know that Swine Flu (or whatever they are calling it now) has officially hit Tokyo. They know the exact two girls who brought it in, but are trying to keep their identities under wraps because they are just high school students who caught it at a mock United Nations last week in new York.

Ever since the flu was known of, it's all Japanese people can talk about. I don't know how things are where you live, but it is on the front page of our papers everyday. People are freaked out. My school is so worried that they have canceled our students home stays to America and Australia this summer. But with anything trendy in Japan (including illness) there must be the appropriate fashion accessory to go with it. This was the picture on the top page of the Japan times website today.


Face masks are a common sight in Japan. People usually wear them during high pollen season. Also people wear them when they have a cold or flu so they are less likely to pass their illness of on to someone else (it's polite to wear a mask). However, most foreigners don't wear masks because it makes them look even more scarier. So don't worry, Juan and I have not joined the mask wearing groupies yet. We will keep you posted.

P.S. The cheap American clothing store "Forever 21" opened in Harajuku last weekend. There were over 1,500 shopping fanatics lined up down the street on opening day. CRAZY?!?!?!?!!