Japan - See What I Saw

CASUAL OBSERVATIONS

STREET PEOPLE – There are homeless “street people” in Japan but I'm not seeing them. In the first two months, I’ve been here I’ve seen exactly two. One, I’ve seen multiple times, as he has set up “housekeeping” in a park I regularly transit on my way to visit my sister-in-law in the hospital and the other, seen on only one occasion, sleeping on a park bench, in a very small park adjacent to the Tennocho train station.

Since being here, a month and a half, I've not seen a single panhandler yet. No one on the street corner with a "god bless" sign smoozing for bucks. I understand that in Tokyo there are large homeless encampments but I have yet to see it.

Taking a break from a busy day

JAPANESE COURTESY EXCEPTIONS

The Japanese are extremely courteous and mindful of their behavior in public EXCEPT at train stations and drivers of cars vs. pedestrians.

TRAIN STATIONS – In the mad rush of the train stations, especially the larger ones, like Yokohama Station, its every man/woman/child for themselves. They will push past you, cut in front of you, and edge you out of the way should you be in their intended path. To counter this, you need to be just as assertive. Even if you don’t know where you’re going pretend you do and move with purpose, that or move to the edges and get out of the main flow (but sooner or later you will have to cross thru the masses).

DRIVERS – While in a car, moving along with traffic, I’ve not noticed Japanese drivers being particularly aggressive, BUT, when you are a pedestrian, WATCH OUT! Most of my undesired close-encounters, and there have been more than I care to think about, have occurred when a vehicle is making a legal turn on a green light, but I also have the green “WALK” light. In the states, you just assume the driver is going to stop well back and patiently wait until your safely out of the way. Not so, here in Japan, the drivers will a.) try to beat you (get through the turn before you cross in front of them), b.) edge up very close and try to force their way past you, or c.) honk their horn at you to hurry your ass up. It’s happened to me (multiple times), and I’ve seen many other pedestrians have “close-encounters of a dangerous kind”. There is no “counter moves”, the laws of nature override the laws of man every time. Be aware and “move outta da way quick!”

A green walk does NOT ensure safe passage

EGGS – Alrighty then…. eggs. What’s to say about eggs? I’ve found that eggs, here in Japan, have a MUCH thicker/stronger shell. These suckers are damn near bullet proof. I’ve busted many a yolk by my multiple raps against the edge of a pan. Heck, I recently dropped one on the floor (NO, NOT on purpose) and though it cracked open a bit, only a small amount of liquid leaked out.

Hard Case!

A not so interesting note about eggs in Japan is that the standard packaging in Japan is 10 eggs (vs. 12 in the states). Also, they are sold in sealed clear plastic packages (vs. the states using cardboard or Styrofoam).

STAIRS – Oh my gosh, that which don’t kill me makes me stronger. I’ve got to keep that in mind here in Japan. Hills equal stairs. Stairs, oh so many stairs! They are everywhere, train stations, shopping malls, and throughout neighborhoods. I venture to say that in my month and a half here, I’ve ascended/descended more stairs than the combined total of my lifetime before coming here. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. Stair Machine… I don’t need no sissy machine!