My greatest challenge in Japan: getting from Kyoto to Mt. Fuji to Tokyo. From 9:30am to 3:30pm, I rode on 6 different trains and subways to get to Fuji-san. I took a Rope Car up a neighboring mountain, and ran around to the north end of a lake to get a view over the lake. After a quick sightsee, I hop 3 more trains and get to Tokyo by 9pm. Whoo!! Check it out!!
The Tokyo Subway – a post for my cuz Kaitlyn!!
Attendants in navy blue shirts and white gloves stand beside each of the doors of the subway. I look into the subway – people shoulder to shoulder front to back, inhaling another’s exhale. No room! But the stream of business(wo)men in the terminal with me kept moving towards the doors! So I get right in there, along with my 50 lb. bag (not joking!), slowly sidestepping towards the subway doors, which, mind you, are still a good 8 feet away. Then I feel two hands on my back, and I look behind to see a white-gloved blue coat bracing himself, his legs at a 60 degree angle to the ground like a football lineman – and pushes. Gently, firmly, then with all his blue coatted weight – and my body squishes into the black overcoat in front of me, and my feet struggle to not trip over my giant bag. The funny thing is that you can’t really fall when people are squishing inwards from all sides – I mean, where would you fall? Squish squish squish squish! Finally, I feel the man with the COOLEST job in the world take his white gloves off me and the subway doors nip the back of my jacket and off we go!
Us sardines rock forwards and back along with the train currents. The train slows and comes to a stop. The calm before the storm. Then the doors skireeek open spraying people like a shaken can of coke, me right in the thick of it. My friend Ryosuke and I tumble to the side as the masses stampede out. Whhaaa!! Oh man. This isn’t even our stop. We get in line to get back through the doors we just rejected out of. Holyyyyy Molyyyy. If there was ever a Discovery Channel show about the spectaculars of human behavior, this would be in it.
Oh, btw, I’m home! Thanks for the prayers and support. Its been so much fun, but I’m glad to be home!
