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