Life Without a Car

I never really thought of myself as someone who had to have a car.  But living where I lived and having a small child...I "had to have a car!"  Add in the job and the trips out of state to see family and its a no brainer.
Once we decided to move to Japan...we sold both cars.  Let me say - a very unsettling thing.

Skip to today ~ living in Japan.
Things here are very different when it comes to transportation.  Consider - there are 127 million people in Japan.  We live in Yokohama, the 2nd largest city in Japan...3.4 million people.  The public transportation system is one of the best in the world, but that still doesn't make it easy to travel.  Actually, it sucks!

When I arrived in Japan, my husband had already been here almost 2 months.  He had already mastered the trains and buses because he had to take them daily for work.  He took me a on a few trips and then handed over some paperwork with bus numbers and schedules. So I pretty much started from scratch - learning without my husband because he works 16 hour days!  Trying to remember what bus goes where and then figuring out the time it will actually come to the bus stop...all the signs are in Japanese and everything is in military time here!  Of course - I am STILL counting from 12 o'clock forward on my hands to figure out what time it is!!!

So, to go anywhere - you have to take a bus (which is usually crowded) and then a train (which is also crowded).  By the time you get ANYWHERE - you are already tired.  It takes at least an hour to get anywhere.
Now throw in a stroller, a bag with extra clothes (while potty training), food and a drink, all for a 3 year-old who has never been on public transportation or shared a vehicle with anyone but his family and his dogs...and you've got a real treat brewing. Not to mention the bags that you have to carry back with you after you have been somewhere and made a purchase.
I must admit - my first MONTH of learning the public transportation system was terrible.  Now picture my son - jumping and grabbing the poles on the train and using them to slide down!  They love us here.

Which brings me to train and bus etiquette: DO NOT LOOK AT ANYONE AND DO NOT SPEAK!
At least that's what all the Japanese do.  We "loud" Americans...well, isn't the train and the bus where you are supposed to shoot the breeze and chit-chat to pass the time? uh, yea.  So needless to say, we get some very curious looks out of the corners of the eyes!
Kidding aside ~ do not look at your neighbor. Pretend there is no one there unless they actually need to scoot out of the seat beside you to get off the bus.  The only time you acknowledge someone else on the bus is if you are trying to give up your seat for a pregnant woman, a child or the elderly. Any other time - its likely you will turn to stone if you look someone in the eye. This is the Japanese way.

You also have to watch out for the elusive 'seat swapper' on the trains.  I read an article in Metropolis Magazine that stated the 'seat swapper' is something of an conundrum here...they are everywhere.  Moving even if no one else is sitting beside them.  Strange - especially after you start noticing how many of them there are.

They also have "pushers" - people hired to get on the buses (and trains) at the busiest times of the day, and push the masses closer together to get as many people on as possible.  They are dressed like any other person - so you can't tell them apart.
In America, it would be considered a safety hazard to have that many people on a bus or train while moving. People standing, people sitting, people crunched together like sardines.  Not fun.
I saw a train last week so packed with people - it looked like a clown car from a cartoon. Heads turned sideways, arms and legs everywhere.  Faces smashed against the glass. No joke.

Another curiosity - everyone sleeps on the trains & buses.  Heads hung, bobbling side to side.  I really don't know quite how they do it.  All the stops and starts. We all know how uncomfortable it is to sleep sitting up.  Much less while moving.
How do they not miss their stop?  Do they not sleep at home?  Is this the dedicated time to sleep?
I ask all this because there really are that many people sleeping on the trains and buses that it warrants investigation.  I'll have to ask my Japanese friend who gets all my elementary questions.

But we ended up getting a car.  Company provided.  The LaFesta!...its a beauty let me tell ya.  It helps for the trips to Costco (yes, they have one here) and for the day trips to places only 30 minutes to an hour away - which would take us 2-3 hours by train.
Beauty aside - the car is a joy.  I never thought I would be so happy to have a car. Now if I can only convince them to give me a Japanese driver's license - I'll be set!