The surgical mask is common accessory for many Japanese people. Walking around Tokyo you can see them everywhere. Kids, high school students, businessmen, the elderly. When you're sick, it's a practical way to keep germs from spreading. Plus they're cheap and disposable. In the US, you'd get a good many stares just from walking around with one on, but to people here it seems like a no brainer if you're the least bit sick. Very considerate!

Wearing face masks ends up peaking when flu season hits, but they're a consistent presence throughout the year. While some wear them to keep their own sickness from spreading, during flu season they're just as common to wear to avoid getting sick. A lot of people even wear them to avoid pollen.

Practical though they may be, the masks still creep me out. Maybe it's just a weird thing I've yet to get used to, but there's something discomforting about not being able to see someone's mouth, especially a stranger's. Black-haired mobs of similarly dressed, strangers all acting the same, no less.

It could be just knowing so many people around me are sick that bothers me, or maybe the lurking threat of zombie-apocalypse style epidemic I'm prone to dream up when I see that many masks.

I'm sure other parts of the world use face masks frequently. Once upon a swine flu, even Americans wore them around for all of 2 days. But, I think it's safe to say the bulk of public mask wearing happens in the East. Thanks SARS.

At any rate, they're useful, they're everywhere, they intimidate me, and if worn by that one last salaryman left in my train car late at night will make me feel like a victim in some sort of Japanese Friday the 13 reboot.