The water's warm ....

Back in Tokyo, it's sticky and hot and although the rainy season is over, there are days of rain. In between however there are some truly beautiful afternoons and evenings, where the shadows are long, the cicadas are deafening and I know that even here, Summer is my favourite season.

Whilst I am yet to find something to come close to my beloved daily swims at Highgate Women's Pond, I've found a little treat, which is the Komazawa pool, in the Olympic park about 10 mins from home. When I left Tokyo in June, uninviting dark green water could be seen behind barbed wire. But now the 1950's pool is transformed, manned by buffed boys in yellow pants and at just the perfect temperature to cool you down, the pool is somewhere I visit at least once a day.

And yes, every hour, on the hour, I get to experience one of the most bizarre safety procedures which I understand happens in pools across the land. On the hour, every hour, a bell sounds and a voice across the tanoy says something which I presume means 'get out of the water'. Everyone does, dutifully, without comment and sits patiently on the side. About 8 lifeguards, each proudly sporting a red whistle and a yellow load hailer, stand in position around the pool, scanning their section of the water, and waggling their finger which apparently assists them in double checking that they haven't missed anything. Meanwhile, the chief lifeguard gets into the pool and does a few lengths. We've been told that he is looking for bodies, which is quite interesting given the water is clear and no more than about 5 feet deep so I'm not sure a body could be missed from the lookout tower, or even just looking from the side. And anyway, don't bodies float?!

This whole process takes about 10 minutes and meanwhile, we all sits in the sun. I noted a couple of children chasing dragonflies, well off to the side, who were stopped and told to sit down. Its very quiet and nobody else moves. Finally, after its been confirmed that there are no casualties, another announcement is made. All the lifeguards line up by the edge of the pool and blow their whistles which signals that we can get back in the water. Obviously we all let out a sigh of relief that another hour has passed without a drowning and jump back in.