Kissing The Window
A couple of days ago I got to experience a new sensation. I like to call it 'kissing the window'. I was the one that got to board the train backwards, raising my hands behind and above my head, gripping the doorjam and forcing my way onto the train, crushing everyone behind me. It felt wrong, but it's standard practice here and I didn't want to wait for the next train.
With a little help from the platform worker, I was on the train and the doors were shut. My face was about 3 inches from the door windows. Once the train made a slight bank in the opposite direction, the weight of the crowd pushed me directly into the window. I didn't enjoy kissing the window. Luckily the train straightened out and the crowd gave me some relief. I've often seen trains go by with faces squished against the window, and now I know how those people feel.
At the next stop, I managed to push my way further back into the crowd so I didn't have to do anymore window kissing that day. I've since learned that I need to push my way further into the crowd or wait for the next train if I don't want to kiss the window.
Two weeks ago in one of the daily English papers they ran an article about the crowded trains in Tokyo. There were reports of the usual gropers and the creation of Women Only trains during peak hours. They also mentioned episodes of people reaching their limits on the crowded trains and literally bursting with frustration, anger, fatigue, and so on. There were accounts of people fainting from the heat and pressure of the crowd. There were accounts of people getting injured when a train made a turn or leaned and the crowd fell against them. And there were numerous accounts of folks giving up on trains by riding buses, taking taxis, or sometimes calling in sick because they have developed some type of fear of the crowded trains. I must say that it is easy to experience claustrophobia on some of the trains. One of my co-workers takes several buses in the morning to avoid the sweaty trains.
Another interesting experience this past week was the activation of the train's emergency braking system. I'm not sure what happened, but the train suddenly stopped and the driver muttered something over the PA in a soft tone that I couldn't really hear. We sat there on the tracks for about 5 minutes, just 20 feet from the platform. I noticed that the train going the opposite direction was stopped at the station for the same period of time. Whatever the cause, it was only a slight delay and we were off again.
With a little help from the platform worker, I was on the train and the doors were shut. My face was about 3 inches from the door windows. Once the train made a slight bank in the opposite direction, the weight of the crowd pushed me directly into the window. I didn't enjoy kissing the window. Luckily the train straightened out and the crowd gave me some relief. I've often seen trains go by with faces squished against the window, and now I know how those people feel.
At the next stop, I managed to push my way further back into the crowd so I didn't have to do anymore window kissing that day. I've since learned that I need to push my way further into the crowd or wait for the next train if I don't want to kiss the window.
Two weeks ago in one of the daily English papers they ran an article about the crowded trains in Tokyo. There were reports of the usual gropers and the creation of Women Only trains during peak hours. They also mentioned episodes of people reaching their limits on the crowded trains and literally bursting with frustration, anger, fatigue, and so on. There were accounts of people fainting from the heat and pressure of the crowd. There were accounts of people getting injured when a train made a turn or leaned and the crowd fell against them. And there were numerous accounts of folks giving up on trains by riding buses, taking taxis, or sometimes calling in sick because they have developed some type of fear of the crowded trains. I must say that it is easy to experience claustrophobia on some of the trains. One of my co-workers takes several buses in the morning to avoid the sweaty trains.
Another interesting experience this past week was the activation of the train's emergency braking system. I'm not sure what happened, but the train suddenly stopped and the driver muttered something over the PA in a soft tone that I couldn't really hear. We sat there on the tracks for about 5 minutes, just 20 feet from the platform. I noticed that the train going the opposite direction was stopped at the station for the same period of time. Whatever the cause, it was only a slight delay and we were off again.
posted by Terry & Mio @ 9:18 AM
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