Tokyo Stopover. June 2011
I'm here in Tokyo for a few days right after the trip to Shanghai.
What a contrast.
The major difference I feel immediately is that Tokyo is all about the rules. Its not abut the clean, its about the culture.
Social rules. Social habits. Social norms.
Nobody jaywalks here. An old man waved a stick angrily at me when I did.
People look at me funny when I ate a candy bar on the train. I guess that is a big no-no.
Because I look north east Asian, I'm addressed in Japanese and then struggle to understand when I'm redirected to enter the train station the right way.
The metro is incredibly confusing and my friend Sydney has to map out every train change between stops. I assume it is easier once a person is fluent in Japanese but in some places, Tokyo is just downright hostile to the non-Japanese speaker.
I'm here in Tokyo for a few days right after the trip to Shanghai.
What a contrast.
The major difference I feel immediately is that Tokyo is all about the rules. Its not abut the clean, its about the culture.
Social rules. Social habits. Social norms.
Nobody jaywalks here. An old man waved a stick angrily at me when I did.
People look at me funny when I ate a candy bar on the train. I guess that is a big no-no.
Because I look north east Asian, I'm addressed in Japanese and then struggle to understand when I'm redirected to enter the train station the right way.
The metro is incredibly confusing and my friend Sydney has to map out every train change between stops. I assume it is easier once a person is fluent in Japanese but in some places, Tokyo is just downright hostile to the non-Japanese speaker.
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