遭遇最热夏季 日本人"鬼屋"创意消暑

With Japan suffering its worst heatwave since records began in 1898, haunted houses or "obake yashiki" are doing a roaring trade as the traditional summertime venues to cool off.

Ghost houses are set up especially for the summer in amusements parks in Japan with the tradition linked to Japanese Buddhism which views August as the time when ancestral spirits may return for a visit and Japanese visit their elders' graves.

This year ghost houses have reported dramatic increases in visitor numbers as they tap into the Japanese tradition of also telling scary stories to send shivers down people's spines and cool them down.

With temperatures still running high, Tokyo Dome City Attractions has extended its ghost house opening by a month.

"Japanese naturally connect summer with being scared and feeling cool thanks to that," said the Dome's spokesman Yoshinosuke Goto.

"We have run the summer ghost house here for last 19 years straight, but this year has been special and we have had many more customers thanks to the hot weather."

In the past six weeks over 40,000 students, couples and company workers have flocked to the ghost house.

"It was frightening! We were so tense we broke out in a cold sweat," said Takuya Fujita and Mai Uchino, service company workers, clinging to each other after leaving the haunted house.

"We came here because it's very hot and we wanted feel a chill!"

Japan is facing its hottest summer since the records began, with temperatures reaching 38.3 Celsius (100.9 Fahrenheit), leading to a reported 132 deaths and more than 30,000 people taken to hospital with heatstroke.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency said on Wednesday the average temperature between June and August was 1.64 degrees Celsius above average for the period. The office did not give the actual average temperature.

日本今夏遭遇自1898年有气象记录以来的最热酷暑，但传统避暑胜地受到游客冷落，“鬼屋”生意却异常火爆。

日本的“鬼屋”专门开设在夏季的游乐场所里，这与日本的佛教传统有关。按照当地习俗，祖先神灵可能会在8月返家，日本人也要在8月为先人扫墓。

据报道，今年“鬼屋”游客数量猛增是由于“鬼屋”还利用了日本的另一习俗：给人们讲鬼故事，让大家不寒而栗，从而“冷”下来。

由于气温居高不下，东京后乐园游乐场将“鬼屋”的开放时间延长了一个月。

游乐园发言人五斗义之助说：“由于有了‘鬼屋’，日本人很自然地就把夏天和吓得浑身冒冷汗联系起来了。”

“我们在过去19年的夏天一直在这里开‘鬼屋’，但今年很特殊，由于酷热难耐，来这里的游客暴增。”

在过去6周里，超过4万名学生、情侣、公司职员蜂拥至‘鬼屋’消暑。

服务行业职员藤田拓哉和内野万井在离开‘鬼屋’后紧紧地抱在了一起，说“太吓人了！我们太紧张了，浑身冒冷汗。”

“我们来这里是因为天气太热了，想凉快凉快。”

日本正遭遇有气象记录以来最热的夏天，气温高达38.3摄氏度（100.9华氏度）。据报道已有132人因此丧生，3万多人因中暑入院治疗。

日本气象厅于本周三表示，今年6月至8月间的平均气温比往常高出1.64摄氏度，但并未公布具体数据。

Vocabulary:

tap into: 发掘，利用

break out in a cold sweat: 突然全身冒冷汗