It’s been raining for the past two days, at times heavy enough to turn roads into rivers. My wife drove me to the station this morning. Want to hear my excitement for today? I looked up in the car’s owner’s manual how to adjust the dashboard clock. It’s no longer running eight minutes fast, causing me to drive like a maniac at times from thinking I was late.
Notice in the photo that the platform isn’t so crowded that white gloved conductors have to cram commuters into cars. That’s the only scene you tend to see in video clips, but in reality it’s not the norm. That only happens when the trains are delayed during rush hour due to an accident, which isn’t very often. Trains do get crowded closer to Tokyo, but in normal circumstances not painfully so, unless you’re crushed against someone with demoniacally bad breath.
It’s also been said that Japanese people often are reluctant to sit next to foreigners on trains. Honestly, I can’t remember that ever happening to me, probably because like everyone else I don’t take a special interest in the people around me. Tourists have a way of looking around that makes Japanese uneasy, as if you might talk to them or ask them a question in English. To be honest, I avoid those types too. You just never know if they’re going to be crazy, smelly, embarrassing or annoying.