Stay Fashion Chic in the Winter

It's that season. Cover that cough and make sure to have the ever popular winter accessory at the ready!

In fact one of my entire classes was closed for a week because too many students caught the flu in it, so they were banned from coming to school. I am sure they didn't mind. One of the things that we are always told to do after teaching, before eating, upon coming home, is to wash our hands, but perhaps the more essential thing is to wear a face mask. I find this is especially essential in Japanese culture. I have noticed that when they cough they do not tend to cover their faces or redirect the spray of bacteria to another direction. I have actually seen on the subway that a woman with two little girls, first share the same water bottle even after she had been coughing ( oh and she was not wearing a face mask), and second cough directly onto the head of her daughter who was perched upon her lap.
So you see my concern. I did not notice this behavior as much in Korea, though the face masks were ever popular there as well. Face masks are often a sort of paper - the type that you find hospital gowns made of - and will have two straps; either they will both encircle the head or they will wrap either ear. If you are looking for a more long lasting facial mask, then cloth ones are available, but for whatever reason are less popular in Japan (in Korea my elementary kids loved them).

I get the feeling that these masks are seen as an unattractive feature. This is not a personal opinion but rather a witnessed event. Where upon leaving school or entering a social situation, even in the corridors, my students will more often than not remove their mask and place it back on when class is in session. I think that it might be a psychological effort to persuade the teacher not to call upon that student. Additionally, you never see a made up doll ( a young Japanese woman under the influence of make up) wearing any such mask. Either they have super natural abilities to avoid any such sickness, or they too feel like it is not quite the charm point that the manufacturers might want you to think.