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Published: September 12th 2005
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Inside Train Car
Here is an empty train car. It is rarely empty, but this was a private, local (kind of slow) line on a random afternoon. Transportation here is way different than in the United States and the infrastructure that has been built to support all of the systems is so incredible! In some ways I don't think the Japanese really planned out all of the systems, often it looks like things were just built weaving up and around and over and through what was existing. It's all very incredible and it all works very well. There are four main ways of getting places, and often going from point A to point B involves using several different modes....
TRAIN: Trains are probably the most frequently used kind of transportation. They go everywhere and they extremely accessible. There are also three kinds of trains and each kind requires a different schedule and a different payment. There is the JR (Japan Rail) which basically covers all of metropolitain Tokyo and then also connects Tokyo with other major cities (I could prolly go visit Sheyen's family using the JR). If you look at a train map of Tokyo, there is a big circle that the JR goes on... and basically you can get to any major area of the city using the JR. It's pretty cool. I like it a
Bicycle Parking
This photograph might be too dark, but here is an example of one of the bike parking areas at the Makuhari train station. lot. And then there are private lines which go to the more obscure places in and around Tokyo... my dorm is on a private line. And then there are the subways which are kind of like the private lines, but different somehow... I'm not quite sure. So anyway, you can buy tickets or a commuters pass (you save significantly if you are a student) and you can ride the trains! It can get expensive (it cost $11 for a round trip ticket from school to this place where we ate dinner in Ginza one night), and it can be extremely complicated because within each kind of train system, there are different lines and different kinds of trains which sometimes skip stops. Everyone has gotten the hang of it, so we are all self-sufficient.
Sometimes the trains are so packed... we have heard rumors that there are perverts on some super packed trains who will grope the girls. We are supposed to yell "Chikan" which literally means pervert. But so far no one has been molested. Knock on wood. Other times there are very few people on the train and it is possible to sit for the entire ride. Every morning
Kids Walking to School
Here are some kids walking through the Makuhari Sea Side park to get to school. Photo was taken from the 12th story of the OVTA building, so it looks kind of distant. and every afternoon we have about an hour long train ride. It's kind of a nice time to just listen to music and read or write. All of the Japanese people either take naps or read their books. And they all cover their books wiht a special cover to maintain privacy. One time we saw this guy reading a nudie magazine, and he really was not ashamed at all. No cover, no discreetness... he was just very involved.
Sometimes the trains get delayed because of "accidents." This is a gentle way of saying someone has committed suicide. Apparently it happens a lot, but none of the IES students have seen it happen yet. I think that would be an insanely scary thing to see. But other than these accidents, the Japanese trains are exactly on time. Not a minute early or a minute late. Japanese are known for their promptness (so what happened to Sheyen? just kidding ha ha I love you Sheyen).
WALKING: Walking is the next most common kind of getting around. There are some intersections (you have probably seen photographs) where all vehicular traffic stops and pedestrians can cross the road diagonally. There are just millions and
Train Passing
This train is passing through a little neighborhood. FAST. billions of dark haired people walking through the streets. One thing that really impresses me is the Japanese footwear.
All girls wear heels. I feel so out of place wearing my Newbalances because literally every single female wears heels. I have yet to get enough motivation to wear heels with such dedication. Also, a note about walking... everything is opposite, so instead of walking on the right side of the sidewalk or hallway, you walk on the left. Some of us gaijins still get mixed up.
The sidewalks that are built within the city are INCREDIBLE. There is of course normal sidewalks which border buildings on the ground leve, but there is an whole other layer of pedestrian paths which are one or two or even three stories above ground level. It's hard to describel, but there is a path or ramp to the elevated sidewalk, and then the sidewalk allows the pedestrian to walk above vehicular traffic and kind of through the buildings at different levels. It's soooo cool, Japan is way ahead of the times. It isolates the pedestrian from cars. This is consistent with what I've noticed in general... Japanese try to avoid direct confrontation in lots
Typical Station Sign
Thank god all of the station signs have romanji so I am able to read them all! of situations.
It's really crazy sometimes to see hundreds of kids in their school uniforms walking along. I think I have a photograph of a bunch of them. They come in herds.
BICYCLE: Another common way of getting around is via bicycle. There are bicycle parking lots which accommodate for hundreds of bicycles. Bicycles share the sidewalks, so we are always having to move out of the way for people riding along. Every bike has a big basket for holding stuff and sometimes two people ride the same bike. Also, bike locks work differently... instead of chaining your bike to a bar, there is a little lock which basically goes between the spokes of your back wheels. So it would technically be very easy to steal the bicycles here, but no one does. Actually, that's not true... our friend Jamie said that his bike was missing this morning. But Katherine reassured him that sometimes the Japanese just borrow bikes for like a week and then return them.
CAR: Lots of people have cars here, but no one that I have interacted with has one. Most people rely on the public transportation. The cars are much smaller and someone pointed out
Typical Station platform
This photograph is taken at the Horikiri-Shobuen station (which is near my dorm). that there are an overwhelming amout of white cars. But traffic seems pretty similar to traffic in the States, except for the fact that cars go on the left side of the road instead (like Britain). I kind of miss the luxury of just hopping into the car, but from what people have said, gas prices have skyrocketed (sorry mom and dad for using so much gas right before I left).
Ok, so that's the scoop on transportation. I wish that I had photographs which could show you just how interlocked everything is. But I'll see what I can find in my archives ooh la la.
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mom
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Fab photos! Those kitties--I hope someone takes them home.