It's not common to see well-mannered Japanese resting on park benches wearing only trousers.

But recent high temperatures have Tokyo residents stripping down to the bare essentials to cope with the heat.

[Yoshiaki Kobayashi, University Student]: (male, Japanese)
"It should get cooler in September, but this year it's still hot. It's pretty tough."

The Japanese Meteorological Agency says the average temperature between June and August was nearly 35 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

[Nobuaki Hiramatsu, Meteorologist, Japan Weather Association]:
"This is the 113th year since Japan began measuring temperature, and this is the hottest summer since then."

In Tokyo, residents sought a traditional solution to cope with the heat, visiting haunted houses to make chills run down their spine.

[Keiko Usami, Haunted House Visitor]:
"It cooled me down quite a bit. It was frightening and cold in there."

[Azumi Onoda, Haunted House Visitor]:
"I felt myself cooling down from around here. It made me really want to escape."

Scary movies and haunted houses are popular in the summer time in Japan for their chilling effect.