Spring and Pollen

Spring has arrived in Japan, which means no more snow and no more freezing temperatures. Yet it brings something even worse: Pollen, and lots of it. This is a large problem in Japan as many people suffer from ‘cedar fever’ every spring. Here is the problem according to what my students have told me. About 50 years ago Japan planted an insane number of cedar trees to help rebuild after WWII, and now they are arriving at full maturity for maximum pollen producing. This is made worse by last years incredibly hot, long, and humid summer, which in all there is said to be 30 times the amount of pollen than last year. My students are constantly complaining about the pollen, and I am also seeing an amazing number of people walking around with face masks. This spring is going to be hell for anyone with allergies. Unfortunately, because of my inferior genetics (thanks mom) I too have allergies to pollen. Luckily, I still have a bottle of allergy medicine from the US as I still don’t understand any of the Japanese medicines. So what is the solution… Pollen-less trees perhaps?