"I love Japan, but I always try to avoid visiting in summer. The heat and humidity are brutal, and I can't stand feeling sticky all the time. How do Japanese people manage to look so cool and put together?" (American man, 30s)

"The humidity in Japanese summers really surprised me. I always pictured summer as hot but dry, so Japan's summers are honestly pretty tough to get through. That said, hitting the pool on a day like that feels amazing!" (Slovakian woman, 30s)

"I was shocked to see Japanese people wearing long sleeves, long pants, and even long skirts in this kind of heat." (Malaysian woman, 30s)

A ton of people told us they love Japan but just can't get behind Japanese summers, and humidity is almost always the culprit. Even when the wind picks up, it's a hot blast with nowhere to escape, and that's what makes the season so hard to handle.

Plenty of visitors were also surprised by how many Japanese people stick to long sleeves and long pants despite the heat. Seeing people avoid lighter clothing even under such intense sun left quite a few people scratching their heads.

Here's what some of the international members of the LIVE JAPAN editorial team had to say about the struggles of Japanese summers.

"One of the toughest things about Japanese summers is how sweaty and sticky you get, and it just doesn't let up. Hiking is especially rough. A regular T-shirt gets soaked through fast, and it's genuinely uncomfortable. I even feel a little self-conscious walking into a shop while sweaty. When I first moved to Japan, I used to wear way too much perfume because I was worried people would notice how I smelled." (Timothy, American)

"When I worked at an English conversation school, I mostly taught kids' classes, and kids have so much energy that keeping up with them left me drenched in sweat. I wanted to turn the air conditioning down, but the school director was pretty strict about it, so there wasn't much wiggle room. Since the kids would laugh whenever I started sweating, I ended up cutting back on the more physical games." (Cassie, British)

When the humidity climbs, it's not just about feeling uncomfortable from your own sweat. A lot of people also worry about sweat stains and body odor affecting the people around them. Some end up packing a change of clothes or stocking up on deodorant just to manage it all, which can add an extra layer of hassle to daily life.

"Back home in the UK, we get plenty of hot days in summer too, but nothing close to how hot it gets in Japan. The weather also changes constantly throughout the day, so if it gets hot, it might turn rainy and cool down again not long after. There are also lots of pleasantly mild days leading up to summer. In Japan, though, spring barely ends before the hot days suddenly take over. Winters are so dry you need a humidifier, and then summer hits and everything feels muggy, so it's not just the heat that surprises me, it's how much the humidity swings." (British)

In the UK, even when it gets hot, the frequent rain tends to keep things cool, so people can enjoy the sunshine comfortably without the kind of extreme heat Japan gets. The difference between Japan's winters and summers seems to be a genuine surprise for a lot of visitors from abroad.

"I was surprised by how much the temperature can swing in just a short amount of time here in Japan. One day it's over 30 degrees Celsius and feels like the height of summer, and the next day I'm digging my long sleeves back out of the closet. I never know what to wear, so I'm always trying to time my laundry and dry cleaning just right." (Malaysian woman, 30s)

Day-to-day temperatures really do fluctuate a lot in Japan. Plenty of people told us they'd heard Japan has four distinct seasons, but they were still surprised by just how quickly the temperature can change. This is especially true around the turning of the seasons, when you might be in short sleeves one day and reaching for a jacket the next.

The Malaysian woman we interviewed has lived in Japan for three years now, and she still hasn't quite gotten used to the shifting climate. She said she'd love to know how Japanese people manage to adapt so easily.

Many foreign visitors and new residents say the climate is one of the hardest things to adjust to when they first arrive in Japan. Some also mentioned that things like parasols and hand towels felt strange to them at first, but made a lot more sense once they'd lived here for a while. It seems people naturally adapt their habits to match the climate of wherever they call home.