Not everything in Tokyo is back to normal. Office workers complain that the corridors of their buildings are so dark, the result of electricity-saving measures, that they fail to recognise colleagues in the gloom. One man was spotted on the subway, also less bright than usual, wearing a miner’s hat with torch attached, the better to read his newspaper. There are fewer foreigners on the streets, since many who fled in the immediate aftermath of the March 11 earthquake have not returned. And shops have taken to selling unusual items: one was offering “ice-touch underpants” for the hot, non-air-conditioned summer that descended with a vengeance on the capital this week.
东京还没有完全恢复正常。办公室职员们抱怨，节电措施致使大楼走廊灯光过于微弱，同事在昏暗中见面都认不出彼此。地铁里的灯光也没有以往明亮，有人看到有一名男子戴着矿工用的安全帽，开着顶灯，就为了能在地铁里看报纸。大街上的外国人变少了，因为很多外国人在3月11日的地震后立即离开，现在还没有返回。商店纷纷卖起了以往不常见的东西，其中有一家正在出售“冰感底裤”，因为一个没有空调制冷的炎夏刚刚降临东京，展开了大自然的报复。