木村：毎日いやな天気が続きますね。
佐藤：本当にムシムシして、早く梅雨が終わるといいですね。
Mushi mushi suru
Kimura: Mainichi iya na tenki ga tsuzukimasu ne,
Sato: Honto ni mushi mushi shite, hayaku tsuyu ga owaru to ii desu ne.
Kimura: We keep on having terrible weather every day, don't we?
Sato: Yes, it's so humid and sticky, I wish the rainy season would hurry up and finish.
Mushi mushi suru is an onomatopoeic expression used to describe hot, humid and sticky weather conditions.
The rainy season in Japan varies from region to region. It arrives first in Okinawa and gradually moves up the country from west to east until it reaches the Tohoku area. There is no rainy season in Hokkaido.
Konna ni mushi mushi suru to, sentakumono ga kawakimasen ne (When it's so humid like this, the washing doesn't get dry, does it?), one housewife says to another. Amari mushi mushi suru no de, eakon wo kau koto ni shita n'desu yo (It's so hot and sticky, we've decided to buy an air-conditioner) the other replies. People tend to think of summer as the season in which air-conditioners sell best, but in fact it is around this time of year that most are sold. Clothes hanging up around the house with the air-conditioner on during the day, is a typically Japanese scene.
When looking for a new apartment to rent, there are important things to consider, such as layout of the rooms, and whether it gets enough sunlight, but the question of whether it is sufficiently ventilated during the rainy season is an important point, too. Amari mushi mushi shite shikke ga ooi node, tsui ni hikkosu koto ni shimashita (It was so hot and sticky, and so humid that in the end I decided to move out) one of my foreign students told me.
When he rented his apartment in April, he could have used the phrase, Masaka konna ni mushi mushi suru to wa omoimasen deshita (I never thought it would get this humid) and, to him, could be said now: Mushi mushi shita kono kisetsu (This hot, sticky season) from June to the end of August and looking for a new place to live isn't easy now either.
Another point to look out for when renting a new apartment is mould on the walls. Real estate agencies are sure to repaper the walls before they let a place out, so you should always ask the neighbors before making up your mind. Sometimes, the answer is, Mushi mushi shita kisetsu wa, dooshite mo kabi ga haeyasukute (When the weather gets hot and humid, mould soon starts to grow).