Houseboat on Tokyo Bay in search of cooler weather, 1987

Yakatabune (houseboats) in Tokyo Bay in search of cooler weather, with Tokyo Tower in the background. On May 5, the Japanese archipelago experienced the hottest temperature of the year, with temperatures soaring to over 30°C (86°F) on a midsummer's day in many places. The highest temperatures were 32.0°C in Tokyo and Utsunomiya, 31.7°C in Yokohama, and 32.7°C in Chiba, which were all 7 to 8°C above normal. The heat caused Tokyo Electric Power Co. to record its highest power output ever in June, with a maximum of 34.25 million kW at 3 pm. The total of nine electric power companies in Japan also reached 9.735 million kW, breaking the record set in June last year and the highest ever. (Photo taken on June 5, 1987, near Odaiba, Tokyo, and published on the front page of the morning edition of June 6, 1987)