FIRST PERSON
An ecstatic Alex at the conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. photography by Lisa Bruno
Transforming … A House Into A Home, Your Home! them, the last thing I wanted was them staring at me while I did so.
WE TRAVELED TO JAPAN IN MID-JULY.
All the guidebooks said the weather would be pleasant, if just a little hot.“ A little hot” apparently is codeword for“ scorching blast furnace.”
The daytime temperature frequently hovered around ninety-eight to ninetynine degrees, with the humidity levels to match. One day it hit 100. We soon realized why everyone traveled with sun-shielding umbrellas and portable fans around their necks— they had to. The blazing sun, coupled with the brutal humidity, started to heat things up in earnest by 10:30 a. m.
One morning, early in our stay, we walked from our hotel to Shinjuku station to visit a popular anime store. It was around 10 a. m., and the walk only took ten minutes. But as we made our way through the sweltering streets— minus umbrellas and handheld fans— we quickly succumbed to the heat. We ducked into a blissfully cool Uniqlo to figure out our next steps.
“ My head feels funny,” Alex said. Their face was a worrying shade of crimson. I had them drink some water and made an executive decision: We were heading back to the hotel. This weather was no joke, and the last thing I wanted was to mar our trip with a case or two of heatstroke. Alex started to cry.“ It’ s OK, honey,” I said.“ Let’ s go back to the hotel and cool off. We can try again tomorrow, OK?”
They nodded.
1764 Mendon Rd., Cumberland, RI info @ cumberlandkitchen. com 401.334.7317 ~ cumberlandkitchen. com
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I AUGUST 2025 37