It is getting pretty humid and hot in Japan these days. Today’s high shows 90 degrees F over here in Gifu. I am not a fan of humid summer weather, but this is how it goes in Japan during summer.

Today, in this article, I have gathered many of the summer related Japanese words.

風鈴、ふうりん (Fu-rin) -wind bell

The sound of 風鈴 in the summer is so soothing. Even in the hot weather, sound of 風鈴 will make you feel cooler. Just to give you an idea, this is how it sounds like:

団扇、うちわ (Uchiwa) – fan (round paper fan)

団扇（うちわ）is one of those things that everyone would have at home during summer.  Sure, you have electric fans also, but paper fans are so easy to pick up and use when you feel hot.

扇子、せんす (Sensu)-fan

扇子（せんす）is another popular fan to have during summer. It is another form of fan, but this one differs in that you can easily carry in your pocket or purse. It is very popular among women to carry 扇子（せんす). It folds back to a very thin shape.

浴衣、ゆかた（yukata）-cotton summer kimono

浴衣（ゆかた）is a summer cotton kimono. During the summer, especially for summer festivals, women and men including smaller children dress up in 浴衣（ゆかた).

花火、はなび(hanabi)-fireworks

花火（はなび）might remind you of Forth of July in U.S., but in Japan, this is definitely a summer thing. There are many 花火大会（はなびだいかい）-fireworks festivals around the country between the end of July and August. They often last for good one hour for people to enjoy 花火（はなび）. People often dress up in 浴衣（ゆかた）to enjoy the festival.

麦わら帽子、むぎわらぼうし(mugiwara boushi) – straw hat

麦わら帽子、むぎわらぼうし is must have during summer. You don’t perhaps have to have the 麦わら帽子、むぎわらぼうし(straw hat), but some type of hat to protect yourself from the strong UV’s.

かき氷、かきごおり(kakigo-ri)-shaved ice

かき氷（かきごおり）is my favorite during summer. My favorite flavor is by far the green tea with red beans, just like the one above. There are many flavors available for you to enjoy, but you have to try this one, if you like green tea!

There are so much more vocabularies that I would like to introduce, so I sure will be doing part 2 and 3 etc.. on this topic during the summer! Hope everyone is having a great summer!