Air quality in Japan

I never have hay fever before I come to Japan, and I always love to smell the flowers whenever I see them on a hiking. It never occurred to me that I need to worry about the air until 3 years ago, I noticed that I always have the problem to breathe during the spring every year after I came to Japan. Turnout that I have pine tree pollen allergy, and it is quite common in Japan. 20% of the population in Japan has this allergy. 

You may think that staying indoor may help but most house and apartment in Japan have poor air sealing and ventilation filtering. Japan is clean, but the air quality is very poor. From PM2.5 flowing from China, pollen from the Japanese pine tree, to the dust from the Gobi Desert.

If you have children at home, you should be more serious about this issue. It doesn't matter if you live in the countryside or in the city, the pollen and the dust will get you and your family. I usually change my ventilation filter every month and this is what it looks like. I live in Kanagawa about 1 hour from Tokyo Station, and there is no highway near my apartment. I will coincide my apartment is in the suburban area near Enoshima, many people from the city come here to breathe in the FRESH air ;)

First thing you should do is identify the fresh air inlet and measure the size then go to 100 Yen shop and buy an air filter immediately. Then buy a roll of 3M air conditioner filter online to clean the air inside your house, you can skip the 100 Yen store filter and go straight to cutting the filter from the roll as well but it is cheaper to use the subscription order on Amazon so it takes a week or so to arrive.

AQI - Air Quality Index