日本でしかみえない物の一つ：日本のすごい電車 ※ Only in Japan: the Amazing Train System

「三分も遅れてしまいましてまことに申しわけございません」とか「お客様、本日市営地下鉄をご利用くださって、まことにありがとうございます」などの丁寧なお知らせをよく聞きます。日本に来て以来、毎日電車に乗っているので少し慣れてきました。やっぱり日本は丁寧さと綺麗さと有能さのイメージで知られていて、日本の色々なところでこういう イメージが見えます。そのところの一つは、日本の電車です。僕は、子供の時から乗り物で電車が一番好きですから、電車について書きたいと思います。
第一に新幹線は日本の電車を代表しますが、普通の電車と地下鉄も有能で使いやすいと思います。日本人の友達が電車に慣れていて、あまりすごくないと考えているかもしれませんが、アメリカのとくれべたらすぐ色々な違いに気がつきます。それに、日本の色々な電車はとてもユニークで日本的な考え方を表すと思います。
ある特徴でとてもびっくりして、感動しました：

１） 駅の綺麗さ。初めて地下鉄に入って、今すぐ駅のきれいさに気がつきました。もちろん名古屋はだいたい綺麗なので、地下鉄だけが綺麗だというわけではありません。でも、アメリカの町の地下鉄と比べると、日本の地下鉄はキラキラするほど綺麗です。(^_^)

２）使いやすさ。東京都大阪のほうと実感しましたが、名古屋の電車は一般的にとても使いやすいです。一ヶ月か三ヶ月に使えるICカードを買って、よく行く駅を決めれば、乗り放題であの場所に好きなだけなんどもいけます。学生にとって本当に役立ちます。そのカードを他の町でも使えます。それに、町で電車の駅と線も多くて、ほとんどどこにも行けます。車を買わずに済む人は多いです！アメリカでは、そんな生活があまりできません。

３）有能さ。５分以上遅れている電車を、日本で見たことが全然ありません。1分しか遅れても、たくさん謝ってくれます。NAVITIME（ナビタイム）というスマホアプリを使えば、電車の時間をみて、その時間をもとにしてスケジュールができます。アメリカでは、電車でいったら、すごく遅れないとは限りません。実は、アメリカ人の友達は悪名高いAMTRAKの電車が５時間以上遅れてしまいました。

４）駅員さんの勤勉さ。駅員さん達はもっとも丁寧です。朝早くても、夜遅くても、いつでも元気で真面目そうに仕事をしているみたいです。いつもお客さん達の安全のために気をつけてくれて、すごいです。僕が駅で道に迷った時に、駅員さんは早くて、笑顔で手伝ってくれました。それから、白い手袋をしていて、紺の帽子をかぶっている運転者の身振りと表情が最初に本当に面白くて、「踊りみたいな」と思っていました。やっぱり日本人が慣れていると思いますが、僕はアメリカから来た人として、少し感動しています。アメリカでは駅員さんがほとんど全然見えません。そしてよく駅員さんが一人しかいないので、危ないではないかと思います。

５）電車の歌。この点は少し関係がないことですが、その特徴にとってもびっくりしました。地下鉄も普通も電車が駅をまもなく駅に着いたり、出発したりしている時に、駅インさん達は線と 先によって別の歌を流します。たいてい明るくて、おとぎ話的な歌ですから、最初に聞いた時にちょっと笑っていました。でも、どうしてその歌を流すかわかります。先日、ホームまで歩いた時に、僕の電車の歌を聞こえたおかげで、いそいで間に合えました。その後で、特に天気が良くなくて、気分が悪い日にその面白くて、短い歌を聞くと少し盛り上がります。とても日本的なものです。(^_^)

この国の電車は日本の良い点をたくさん表すと思います。前に言いましたが、有能さや綺麗さなどの価値は日本で大切にされています。こういう事が、電車だけじゃなくて、ほとんどどこでも見えます。でも、電車でもっと深い観察をしました。日本では、お金のためだけじゃなくて、自分の成就と勤勉さを守るために働いているひとが多いとおもいます。もちろん、世界中でも勤勉な人がいますが、日本で綺麗に見えます。その白い手袋をしている電車の運転者とか、毎日毎日駅を掃除してくれるおばあさんなどの人たちの仕事が単調で大変そうですが、とても元気で積極的に働いています。それを見て、尊敬をたくさん感じます。アメリカ（とたくさんの国）では、給料が低くて、単調な仕事をしている人はばかにされていて、よく悲しく仕事をしていて、とても大変そうです。でも、名古屋の地下鉄で働いている人たちのように尊厳を持って、どんなに難しくても頑張る強い心が欲しいです。

最後に、先アメリカの電車と比べるのは、少し不公平かもしれません。アメリカの電車は本当に良くないですから、日本の素晴らしいのとあまり比べられません。やっぱり、アメリカはすごく広い国なので、そんなに電車の必要がないです。代わりに多くのアメリカ人は車と飛行機を使います。時々それは不便ですが、仕方がありません。でも、電車で表されている日本の価値観が本当に気に入っていて、いつまでも心に入れておきたいと思います。特別なところが違うかもしれませんが、アメリカでもこういう価値観があればいいのになと思っています。

(Translated) "[Dear subway passengers] we offer our utmost humble apologies for this inconvenient delay of three whole minutes." "Honorable customers, thank you for graciously using the municipal subway system today." Yes, I have gotten used to hearing this kind of announcement in Nagoya's subways, though I'm pretty sure an average New Yorker would burst out laughing if anything like this came up on, say, the morning A-train. Japanese culture is famous for its emphasis on efficiency, politesse, and general cleanliness; and in my opinion nothing represents these qualities better than the country's train system. Since I have really liked trains since childhood, I decided to take some time to try to describe the railway experience here.
When most foreigners think of Japanese trains, they picture the shinkansen. The bullet trains are magnificent, but I actually believe the normal trains and subways are just as impressive. Tokyo's Yamanote commuter line is a good example. This single train line transports over three million people in an average day. In the Tokyo area alone, commuter/subway train ridership exceeds thirty-seven million riders every day. So, you can see that trains are quite important here. The Japanese train system represents what I think are some strong points of the Japanese ethic.

1) Cleanliness. Of course, most of this country is generally very clean. The cleanliness in Nagoya is certainly not limited to the train stations, but compared to an average NYC or DC subway stop, the stations over here shimmer and sparkle. And of course, with a clean and bright atmosphere comes a safer and relaxed environment for commuters.

2) Easy to use. Tokyo and Osaka's systems are much more complicated, but Nagoya's is relatively simple. The best part is the ability to buy a magnetic "MANACA" ridership card for a month or three months. In doing so, you can choose your most frequent destinations and subscribe to an all-you-can-ride sort of program, which becomes a fantastic bargain for students like myself! It can even be used in other cities' subway, bus, and the bullet train.

3) Punctuality. I have never seen a train that's more than 5 minutes late, and if they're delayed by even a minute, it's a BIG DEAL. I can use a smartphone application to plan my daily schedule in-sync with the appropriate transportation, so that I know exactly what line to use and how long it will take to get everywhere, down to the minute. And, I can actually rely on this detailed system, because it's simply reliable. Based on my older siblings' (currently residing around Washington DC) experiences, I think it's comparatively risky to plan your day around the DC Metro system, where sudden 30 minute (or worse) delays happen fairly often. And I can't even begin to think about the notorious Amtrak trains, which delay for hours on end.

4) Lovable system employees. Even in the early morning and late night, they always appear chipper and ready to go in their snappy navy blue suits. They greet and thank almost every passenger that goes through the turnstile, and bow to trains coming into the station. Whenever I get lost in the station, they always help me out; sometimes walking with me all the way to where I'm trying to go. Better yet, the white-gloved train drivers do this hilarious routine of big gestures to each other to signal that they're going to leave the station. The first time I saw it, I laughed because it looks like a dance. On the other hand, there are some stations I've used in the U.S. with only one staff member, who sits in an isolated booth and doesn't interact at all with the passengers. DC Metro runs its trains with computers these days, and the token operators who sit in the front have been spotted sleeping by passengers...

5) The train station jingles. You may not have heard of these, and this will probably seem like a really trivial point. Well, I can't deny that it is. But I like them all the same. Train stations play different little songs over the loudspeakers for different train lines, and even different directions of train. The songs I've heard so far vary from 80's style disco, traditional Japanese folk, and classical melodies. They sometimes strike such a drastic contrast to otherwise dreary conditions that it's just comical. Better yet are the huge stations, where several melodies coincide with each other different platforms into one huge confusing din, so you can't really understand anything about which train is coming or in what direction. All the same, I know why they use these jingles. A couple of times I've the song for my train to school (I've memorized it) playing from the mezzanine above the tracks, and thus was able to rush down to meet the train just before it departed.

So, trains (and hotels, convenience stores, etc.) display the Japanese appreciation for cleanliness, efficiency, punctuality, etc. Maybe it is a little silly to devote a whole post to praising something so mundane as a railway system. But, there's something special that I've drawn from my experience with Japanese trains. The white-gloved train drivers, the elderly lady who cleans the local station each day, the ticket agent who greets every passenger through the turnstile... they're rarely noticed or appreciated, and their jobs are inarguably monotonous. But they perform with such an enthusiasm and devotion every day. I've never seen someone sweep a platform so thoroughly as that elderly lady. Based on what I have learned so far, I believe that jobs are viewed by some people here not only as a means of making money, but also as a source of self-purpose and a means of protecting one's own work ethic. I know that there are people who think so admirably all over the world, and I like this idea very much. Low-income jobs receive little respect in a lot of societies. Many people working such jobs are treated badly, and do their work really in a miserable way. I think that one good point of the Japanese service industry is that no matter the job, honest devotion and self-respect on the part of the employee is a near guarantee.

Lastly, I don't think it's completely fair of me to compare Japanese trains to the American ones. Modern America is a totally different country with a vast geography that perhaps leaves little need for railway anyway. I mainly compare because it's just my instinct to compare current experiences with past ones, and also because America's trains are amusingly inefficient, for the most part. But seriously, I want to work so hard as those station attendants in my own job, no matter what that job is in the future. And, even as someone with little experience in the customer-service sector, I really admire the ability to take a simple job and perform it time and time again with dignity and diligence. That's what I've gathered from Japan's spectacularly clean, punctual, polite, and musical train system.

Looking forward to writing soon!

東京の山手線（原宿駅）・Tokyo's Yamanote Line (Harajuku Station)

　

日常生活と冒険 ※ Daily Life and Adventures

3/8/2015
みなさん、こんにちは。最近、楽しくて、忙しい生活でブログを書く時間をあまり作らなかったです。すみませんでした！一ヶ月間に何も書いていないので、今回、本当に色々なことについて書かなきゃいけないような気がします。でも、ブログポーストが長すぎないように少し短縮しようと思っています。それで、ちょっとだけ生活について書いて、後で最近の冒険について書きたいと思います。


日常生活
日本の日常生活が面白いです！いつも新しい経験ができて嬉しいです。今、日本についての観察がたくさんかけると思います。それに、僕の日常生活で、気に入っている日本の物もあります。そんな経験や好きなことについて書きます！

１）和食
日本料理が大好きになってきました。健康にいい食べ物が多いし、深くい味の食べ物もいっぱいあるので気に入っています！でも、レストランの食べ物だけじゃなくて、普通に買える料理とか家庭料理もたいてい素晴らしいです！この頃、家でお好み焼きとオムライスと様々な丼物を作ってみています！作るのは簡単で面白いから、楽しみます。それに、レストランの食べ物も美味しいです。名古屋の名物（赤味噌とえびフライ）と刺身と沖縄しゃぶしゃぶとすき焼きと納豆と色々な種類のそばを食べています！全部が好きです。甘いもの（特に抹茶と餡子が入っているもの）もたくさん初めて食べてみています！これからも、色々な日本料理の作り方を覚えておきます！（アメリカに帰っても、日本料理を忘れてはいけません！）

２）日本で走ること
アメリカにいた時は、よく走ることにしています。名古屋の道が混んでいて、狭いですから、安全に走れる場所は見つけにくいですが、諦めません！最初に走ったところは、やっぱり車が多すぎて、危ないと実感しました。この頃、とても広い川のそばの公園を走しっています。走っている時、町の色々な雰囲気が感じられます。高級な近所もあまり素敵じゃない近所も通ります。工場も小学校も病院が見えて、毎日の生活をしている人々にも会います。学校から通っている学生たちもお年寄りの人たちも犬と散歩をしている人たちも、みんなで川のそばに歩いています。川の隣で踊っているお年寄りも見ました（可愛いと思いました。）別に嫌いな景色だと言えないかもしれないけど、こんな景色が見えて嬉しいです。やはり、「本当の日本」は観光の場所だけじゃなくて、普通の場所にもあります。
(^_^)　

３）名古屋がもっと分かるようになってきました
前にあまり知りませんでしたが、名古屋の色々な近所がわかるようになってきたと思います。例えば、東の方の町はお金持ちの所だとすぐわかりました。次に、金山という町は若者が多くて、賑やかな所です。それから、栄の町には、東京の銀座のように高級なレストランとホテルとデパートがありますが、普通の店とか大きい公園があって、学生にとって楽しい場所です。最後に、大須というアーケード商店街で様々な店があって、あそこで香や着物やカバンなどの物を売っているので何も買えます。でも、すごく大きいので、道に迷わないように気をつけなければいけません！大須のような所が日本でしか見つけられないと思います。探検で名古屋の雰囲気がもっと深く分かってきて嬉しいです。日本で、東京の人々は礼儀正しさで知られていて、大阪人は元気さとユーモアで知られていると聞いていました。名古屋の人々は、何で知られているでしょうか？あまりわかりませんが、僕によると、誠実です。もちろん名古屋だけじゃないですが、名古屋で会った友達が親切で、すぐなんだか手伝ってくれたがっている人です。その点が大好きで、いつまでも覚えます。自分がそういう名古屋人のようになりたいです。留学生として、全ての名古屋の事を採用しました。(^_^)

冒険
最近、色々な経験ができました。まず、学校の遠足でトヨタ工場を見学して、トヨタの有名な制度について教えてもらいました。初めて工場に入りましたので、行けてよかったです。トヨタの制度がすごいと思いますが、その会社について疑問があります。南山大学の経済の先生がおしゃった通りに、トヨタで管理と工場の社員として働いている女の人が少ないことに気がつきました。工場で働いている人で女の人を一人もみませんでした。男女の平等の問題ではないかと思いました。トヨタは資源が多くて、日本を代表する会社なので、もっと平等が発達してほしいと思います。でも、日本人じゃなくて、日本の社会が全部わからないので、こんな問題についてもっと知っておいた方がいいですね。

最初のブログポーストで大好きな「となりのトトロ」について書きましたね。実は、トトロをもとにして、サツキのメイの家が作られました。名古屋の近くにあので、もちろんみに行きました。詳しくて、すごかったです。映画で出る服やお菓子などの小さい物がたくさん入れておいて、びっくりしました。

電車（特に日本の電車）が好きなので、自分で日本の鉄道館に行ってみました。休みの日だったので、家族と小学生がいっぱいいて、僕が一人の大学生だったので少し恥ずかしい気持ちでしたが、やっぱり新幹線の動き方と物理学についてたくさん学べました。日本の古い電車もかっこよくて、レトロのスタイルがあると実感しました。色々な種類の電車は、日本で昔の時から大切ですから、鉄道の展示で日本の社会の発達について学べたと思います。そして、今度新幹線に乗りたくなりました！

それから、恵里の家族に岐阜県の高山と白川御に連れて行ってもらって、素晴らしかったです。高山という町は、「小さい京都」と言われていて、本当に京都みたいと思いました。古い建物がたくさんありました。それに、伝統的な食べ物や芸術を売っている店が多かったです。その町でゆっくりブラブラしたら、古い山の町の雰囲気が味わえました。もっとも美しい日本アルプスは雪が深く積んでいて、夕日の光でピンクと紫いろに見えました。それは一生に一度見えることだったとおもいます。高山から、白川御にも連れて行ってもらいました。その世界遺産の村も綺麗でした。寒かったですから、観光客が少なかったです。三角の形の家を見て、景色を楽しみました。

日常生活でも、最近の冒険でも、日本人と日本の文化について、いつも学べていて嬉しいです。こういう経験で、自分の観察が出来たり、好きな日本のことが見つけられていて、嬉しいです。また、今度書きますね！(\^0^/)

3/8/2015

Hello everyone! It has been such a busy, roller-coaster of a month that I didn't even make time to keep up with  my blog. I really have been up to so much here in Japan that if I were to try to write about everything I've done, I would certainly bore you to death... So instead of that, I thought I would write a bit about my daily life here, and then a bit about some of the adventures I have been on in the past month.

Daily Life 
Daily life in this country is quite a ride for me! All the time I am making new discoveries about Japan and my city, meeting all kinds of people, trying new experiences, and of course making big and small mistakes alike! I decided to write a little about a few major points of my life over here on the far-east end.

1) Japanese FOOD!!!!!
Japanese food... it is so much more than what I ever thought before coming here. It's sweet, spicy, savory, colorful, fried, grilled, fresh, crisp, decadent, light, delicate, deep, sophisticated... and often beautiful to look at. In my three months here so far, I have barely tasted anything that I did not absolutely love. The Japanese have truly mastered the art of combination- all the tastes of the different ingredients just fit together so well. That even goes for food that I didn't expect to go well together at first. This is not to say that I have become a gourmand in Japan (yet)- I'll have to come back with some sort of salary to speak of before I can do that- but I do enjoy the occasional dinner out as well as the cooking I do at home! There are a few simple, at-home standards I've been practicing that are inexpensive and tasty: spicy kimchi with sautéed tofu and collard greens with a nutty sesame paste over rice; soy sauce-covered rice in a thin vegetable omelet wrapping; okonomiyaki (fluffy cabbage hot-cake with spicy syrup and savory Japanese mayonnaise); and of course many Asian hot pot variations (basically Asia's version of a "stone soup"). The two take-home messages from this part about food is: 1) Japanese food is SO much more complex and wonderful than sushi/sashimi/similar seafood dishes that appear in America and 2) if you come and visit I will (try to) prepare something tasty for you that I wasn't able to make before now!



2) Running in Japan
 I think it's appropriate to cover my exercise routine, after all that talk of food (^_-) Yes, even over here I have been hitting the asphalt a few times a week, though it has not been so high of a priority for me as it was back in NC. The streets are often maze-like and very narrow, the cars come surprisingly fast, and to complicate things they happen to drive on the left side of the road. But through my runs, I have gotten to explore the outskirts of my city much more thoroughly. It's possible to travel Nagoya by metro, without ever getting a sense of the geography at the surface level. With a good sense of direction and a little Google route-mapping, it's possible to run plenty far and take in the many different atmospheres around the city's perimeter. Honestly it is not always so pretty; there are more than enough faceless buildings and concrete walls to scar the landscape. But it has been a great chance to observe a very normal and everyday Nagoya, which is actually a rarer thing than you might think. Normally I would gravitate towards sightseeing in the more special neighborhoods, and I am sure that I could spend most of my time in those places if I wanted to. While those spots are also good, I now think that it's important to fight that tendency of mine and explore the unglamorous spots as well. In my running encounters with dog-walkers, lively middle school students, other joggers, and strolling grandparents across the quite outer rim, I feel that I've seen a little more of the "real" Japan than I may have otherwise. Not to mention that I much better understand the geography of my part of the city than I had before.

3) Loving Nagoya
I didn't know this city so much before, but now I feel so comfortable here, as if it were my second home! I've developed a fairly solid mental map of Nagoya and its main features. The eastern side is mainly an expensive residential area. There's not much to do there for me besides go to school. I know that Kanayama is bustling until the wee hours with young people, but it's good for karaoke and cheap food. Oosu is basically a Japanese covered bazaar, filled with every kind of discount good from kimonos to incense to used cell phones. The glittering Sakae city has high-end retail, hotels, and restaurants much like Tokyo's Ginza. Additionally, there are normal department stores, and a wide-open grassy promenade oddly called "Central Park". The east side, Kanayama, Oosu, and Nagoya are just a few examples of the locales that I have come to know well in the past while. I often hear that in Japan, Tokyo natives are regarded for their gentleness and refined manners, while Osaka natives are known for their humor and forthrightness. Seeing as Nagoya is the #3 largest city in Japan, what are Nagoya natives to be known for? In my opinion, it's sincerity. Of course this is only a generalization, and there are plenty of sincere people everywhere. But the Nagoya friends I have made are truly special people- always kind, calm, and eager to help each other out in some way. I really love that kind of person, and I want to become more like that myself! In summary, I have definitely embraced this city, and truly like my life here :)

Adventures
I've done a few things outside of Nagoya this past month as well! First, I went on a field trip with my study abroad program to a real Toyota car factory, one of the many in the aptly named Toyota-city. This particular factory is actually home to global production of the famous Prius model. I am very glad to have been able to go to Toyota's factory, but I actually have a some doubts about equality there. As my native economics professor had predicted before the field trip, I saw no female employees in the factory, at all. Toyota is notorious for adhering to the traditional practice of barring most women out of high management and factory labor positions. I couldn't believe such an issue would exist in a modern company like Toyota, but I discovered that it sadly does. Of course, as an outsider I don't fully understand Japanese gender roles and related principles, so I think that I would like to know more about this issue to develop my opinion further.

I wrote in my first blog post about the beloved My Neighbor Totoro film by director Hayao Miyazaki, one of my role models. As a matter of fact, Totoro is very popular through all of Asia (with a significant following in the U.S. and Europe also), so a life-size replica of the movie characters' house was built for the 2005 Japan World Expo. That replica is just outside Nagoya, and I visited it last month! It was a perfect model, with more details than I ever could have noticed in the film.

I love trains and especially Japanese trains, so last month I also visited the Japan Railway Museum south of Nagoya. It happened to be a national holiday on that day, so the place was crawling with children and parents- that was a bit embarrassing for me as the only college student there. But the exhibits were fascinating. Beyond the amazing bullet train and maglev technology, I also learned a good deal about railway's historic importance in Japan, since its opening to the West in the 19th century. I was also taken by the colorful, classic railway cars from the 1950's and 1960's, which were preserved from before the bullet train era in a main display room.

Finally, Eri's family took me on a trip to Takayama and Shirakawago in the neighboring Gifu prefecture. That was a wonderful trip. Takayama is town located deep within some of Japan's tallest mountains, right in the heart of the main island of Honshu. It is known as "little Kyoto" because of its large historic district and traditional arts and crafts. As I strolled slowly along Takayama's old promenades of beautifully maintained wooden stores, I could taste, see, and smell old Japan all throughout. Foodstands abounded with traditional sweets, from dango (grilled sweet rice balls) to mochi (various soft fillings wrapped in glutinous rice flour dough). The late-February sun shone brightly across melting snow mounds, promising spring's imminent arrival. The Japanese alps loomed on the horizon, still cloaked in stubborn ice and snow; while potted plants at street level were just starting to bud. The sweet scent of fermenting rice wine wafted out of old distilleries, mixing with perfumes and old-fashioned incense from artisan shops. It was such a deeply peaceful setting that I didn't want to leave! Indeed, Takayama is a lovely town. I also visited Shirakawago, an ancient village even further within the mountains. This community of oddly shaped, triangular wooden huts is now a UNESCO World Heritage Sight- one of Japan's many. With snow piled up to as high as 5 feet and the sun having just dropped beneath the towering mountains, the village felt more like a frozen ghost-town. But the scenery was gorgeous all the same, especially when viewed from the top of a nearby hill. After departing from that deserted mountain village at dusk, in just over two hours by car we were back in Nagoya, eating late dinner at a lively cafe near the city center! It is still hard to fathom how close everything is in Japan, coming from a wide-open country like America...

In my daily life and special adventures alike, I am learning so much about Japan and its people. I have also learned more about myself, and the way I see my own homeland- but that's for next time! Until later, thanks for reading! ;)

食べ物・FOOD

オムライス・Omelet Rice

豆腐と野菜とキムチ丼・Kimchi-vegetable-tofu rice bowl

名古屋の栄町・Sakae in Nagoya

 
 鉄道館の電車と昔の看板・Various trains and posters in the Railway Museum

　

メイとサツキの家（本当と映画からのイメージ）・Totoro House (the real one and an image from the movie)

トヨタ会館の車・Concept model in the Toyota Museum

 


              

高山と白川御・Takayama and Shirakawago