...of doing YouTube which is: "why do Japanese people wear masks?"

その質問はなんで日本人ってマスクをつけるの？

This is probably like my third most frequently asked question after like,

この質問は私が三番目によく聞かれる質問かもしれません。

"Why did you learn Japanese?", "How did you get to Japan?", "What's your job in Japan?", etc.

どうして日本語の勉強をしようと思ったの？どうやって日本に来たの？仕事は？と同じくらい聞かれます

Why do Japanese people wear masks?

なんで日本人ってマスクつけるの？

Now, there are actually a bunch of reasons.

理由はいくつもあります。

Right now it is spring in Japan,

今、日本は春です！

although you can't really tell because it's been like snowing.

春なのにこの間雪降ってました！

Snow and cherry blossoms.

雪と桜。

And a lot of people here suffer from hay fever.

花粉が多くて花粉症になる人が多いです。

So in Spring, that is a big reason. You'll see people wearing masks, that's because a lot of Japanese people suffer from hay fever.

なので、春はこれが一番の理由です。花粉症が大変だからマスクつけるよ！

Like, really bad.

本当に酷いわ。

Like, in my friends there are a lot of people who suffer from hay fever.

私の友達にも花粉症が酷い人結構います。

Reason number two is reportedly the original reason people wore masks, and that's to do with sickness.

理由その2は花粉用マスクが作られる前の元来の理由だと思います。病気と関連があるわ。

So if you are sick, you wear a mask.

もし風邪をひいたら、マスクをつけるでしょう。

It's kind of a way of protecting the people around you from catching the sickness.

あなたの周りの人に風邪がうつるのを防ぐための手段です。

Now, I mean there's argument as to how effective this is, but it is kind of a common courtesy

それがどれだけ効果的なのかって議論されているけど、あくまで礼儀だよ。

because people who are sick do tend to go into work, even though they're sick in Japan.

日本では風邪をひいていにも関わらず、休まず仕事に来る傾向があるから。

I mean, it's kind of like you just go in until you're told to go home because you're too sick to be there.

風邪がひどすぎて家に帰るように言われるまで、そこにいるの。

But that is how it tends to be done here.

だからマスクをつける傾向があるの。

So that is another main reason.

理由その2でした！

Another one connected to this is people will wear masks to prevent getting sick.

もうひとつの理由はこれと関連して、病気にならないためにマスクをつける人が多いです。

So prevention, uh, particularly on trains, airplanes shinkansen, the bullet trains, and places like that, people will wear masks to protect them from germs.

特に電車、飛行機、新幹線。このような場所では、人々は病原菌から自分を守るためにマスクを着用します。

Whether or not it's effective, it is a main reason people do wear masks here.

それが効果的であろうとなかろうと、人々がマスクを着用する主な理由です。

And if you can imagine a very crowded Tokyo train and just all those germs flying around, it's enough to make anyone a little bit germphobic.

非常に混雑していて細菌が漂っている東京の電車を想像したら、みんなが少し潔癖性になるのも頷けますね。

But there are other reasons for wearing masks, too.

でもマスクをつける他の理由もあります。

One of them is disguise.

例えば、変装！

Probably this isn't something you guys will need to do but it is one of the reasons people wear masks, which is just a little extra disguised, particularly if they are celebrities.

一般人は多分その理由でマスクをつけないけど、有名人などはこの理由でマスクをつけます。

And another reason is if you are not wearing makeup, it covers pretty much most of your face.

あとは、メイクをしてない時に顔を隠すため。

So if you're not wearing makeup, it's kind of like a lazy day method of covering your face with something else.

もしメイクなしで、顔をなにかで覆う怠け者の日みたいな感じです。

When you have a breakout, acne, spots — I just scratched myself, whoops.

吹き出物、にきび、斑点とかがある時-自分でやっちゃったの。

Um, just you can put on your mask and cover them up.

マスクをつけたら、そういうのが覆えちゃいます。

And I'm not going to lie, I've done that before.

嘘じゃなくて、私はこの理由でマスクをつけたことがあるわ。

Another reason that has definitely been debated about online is social anxiety.

もう一つの理由は社交不安障害によるもの。

Like maybe you don't want people to approach you or talk to you.

人に近寄られたくなかったり話しかけてほしくなかったり。

Or maybe you're just not feeling confident so you can cover up your face and feel a little bit more secure.

それか自信がない時とかにマスクをつけたら、少し安心するの。

And I can definitely see how this would work being shy myself.

あたしも恥ずかしがり屋なのでよく分かります。

And another reason I found while researching this video was warmth.

このビデオの調査をしてる時に見つけたほかの理由は、暖かいから。

People wear it for warmth.

暖かさを求めてマスクをつけるの。

And I thought about that and I was like, "Really?"

「本当に？」って私も思ったわ。

But then I thought about how cold it gets in Winter and I can totally understand especially when you're walking outside.

でもよく考えたら、冬は本当に寒いし、特に外で歩いているときはよくわかるわ。

It's very cold, dry air outside.

外はとても寒いし、乾燥しています。

So warmth is another reason.

なので暖かさはもうひとつの理由。

I hope that answered the question for you.

あなたの疑問に答えられたら嬉しいわ。

Why do Japanese people wear masks?

なぜ日本人はマスクをつけるのか？

Recently masks are even becoming more and more of a fashion accessory.

最近のマスクはよりファッション雑貨みたいになってきています。

You can buy black masks.

黒いマスクを買うこともできます。

They're quite popular in Harajuku in the moment.

今ちょうど、原宿でちょっと人気なの。

You can buy, uh, like funny masks with little pictures on them.

写真みたいな可笑しなマスクも買えるわ。

And you can buy kind of pastel-colored masks.

パステルカラーのマスクを買うこともできるわ。

And you can get masks that have a little aroma infusion in them.

アロマの香りがするマスクもあるし。

I actually really like those.

私はそれらが本当に大好きです。

So if you're in Japan, I challenge you to try out a mask and see how it goes.

なので、もし日本にいるなら、マスクを試してみることをおすすめします。