A hotel for allergy sufferers

This is a neat idea.

Allergy-suffering guests checking in at the Tokyu Inn in the business district of Shinbashi, will step into a phone booth-style box to have the pollen blown off their clothes by a high-powered air shower before going to their rooms, the Mainichi Shimbun said on Sunday.

Windows on the allergy-sufferers' floor will be kept closed to keep the pollen out and peppermint tea, said to alleviate the symptoms, will be provided in each room, along with a special spray to prevent pollen sticking to clothing.

I don't recall Sean or myself suffering from allergies while we were in Japan. I'm not sure if our honeymoon is a good example, though, because we were there in March, which was probably too early for pollen. I may have had some allergies when I was in Kyushu in 2001, because I did fall under the weather with a "summer cold", but that could have been due to exhaustion from the trip just as easily as allergies.

I guess we'll have to find out in a future trip if the massive cedar tree reforestation mentioned in that article has an affect on us. (Joy!)