Blind Kindness

Today I saw my first asshole of Japan. A guy on a scooter started wailing on his horn when he was about 50meters away from the intersection because it was a green light and pedestrians were crossing. First asshole. Everyone in Japan so far has been insanely nice, courteous, and respectful. To the point of annoying actually. Aside from the insincere, high-pitched shriek of “Irashaimaaaaaaaaaasu!” (basically meaning “Welcome to our stoooooooooore!”) that you hear every 7 seconds as you move through or even near a store…yea, aside from that, some of the courteousness of the Japanese seems just plain nonsensical. A few days ago I witnessed something to make New York drivers wake in cold sweats. A cab, a taxi cab mind you, was driving down a smaller, but typical street in Tokyo. The taxi came up behind a seemingly middle-aged Japanese guy walking down the middle of the street in the same direction, back to the cab, with headphones on, walking to the beat. Instead of honking or anything, the cab just slows to the man’s pace and just keeps going behind him, waiting for the guy to notice. This goes on for nearly a full minute before the guy just happens to walk out of the middle of the street, allowing the cab to pass yet still fully unaware of what happened… Amazing. Had it been nearly any other city, the car would have honked without slowing down and the guy would jump out of the way. Simple, perhaps a bit brash, but effective.

In general, Tokyo is a really safe, controlled city. No one runs(except for trains), yet no one is late. No car may be in sight, but no one crosses until that cross-walk sign turns green. Bicycles equipped with bells share the sidewalk with peds, yet you never hear a bell. Everything seems to move at a controlled speed fast enough to get things done, but not fast enough to hurt anyone.

Oh, almost forgot, Asshole #2..maybe: Umbrellas seem pretty communal in Sakura House (where I live), but maybe also in the city?? One rainy day, I go to 7-11, leave my umbrella in one of the umbrella holder things outside like a good citizen, then come back to find it gone. Gone! Stolen in safe Tokyo!? Maybe, though it did look like all the other umbrellas people carry around. Could have been a mistake..or maybe umbrellas are communal in the city. Assuming the latter, and not being the kind to lose an umbrella lying down, I of coursed snagged a similar umbrella to my one and dipped out.

Awesome picture (not from tokyo) courtesy of photographer extraordinaire 'Webbiedebbie"