Getting from A to B

On the way home, several friends and I are standing on an extremely crowded bus. It is filled with other exchange students rushing to the dormitories before our 11:00 p.m. curfew. Normally the bus ride is quiet and solemn, but now it is loud and excited. Despite the growing laughter and the hot air being blasted inside the bus, I feel tired and cold from our evening excursions.

As I am counting my money at an early stop, trying to find 220 yen for the ride, the bus suddenly jerks forward. Unprepared, and with a handful of change, I go toppling backward into someone’s lap. All around me people want to know if I am all right, and it is to some relief that I realize the guy I fell into is not Japanese.

I am all right, I reassure everyone, but with a heap of embarrassment. I am simply thankful I did not fall into a quiet Japanese businessman. There is an expectation here to respect your superiors. I imagine, with dread, the countless apologies I would have to utter to make up for my clumsiness…but to the American student I can make a joke and the matter is done.

I am made to realize, again, how different traveling in Japan is. I am used to driving my car everywhere I go, maybe occasionally walking down the street, or riding my bicycle. Here there are buses, trains, taxis, bicycles and motorcycles, and the people who live here rely on this transportation to get everywhere. Unlike other students who are used to our cities back home, I am again clueless and have to learn fast.

Unless we have an insane desire to walk forty minutes into Hirakata city, we take the bus. From my university, you can also travel by train, but the bus arrives only a block away from the dormitory and is admittedly less confusing to use. Its destination is shown in large digital kanji symbols, but so far I only recognize Kansai Gaidai, so I know how to get home. Each ride costs 220 yen, regardless of how long you ride, and the driver will get very angry if you do not insert the correct change in the money slot.

[singlepic=40,320,240,,left]Anywhere beyond Hirakata city and we have to take a train. The Makino Station is about a twenty minute walk from the dorms, and the sight of it is intimidating. A heavy stream of people hurries in and out, and you feel as though you are in the way. There is a map of the railways to the different stations, but I have yet to decipher it completely.

Depending on how far you want to go, you pay a certain amount of yen into a machine, and it out pops your ticket. This ticket you insert into another machine as you go past the gate, and you have to remember to pick it up as you pass. From there you have different trains to choose from and each stop at a different station. To travel to Hirakata city it costs 200 yen, and will cost the same in order to get back. To a station in Kyoto it costs 340 yen. I imagine that it driving by car wouldn’t be much cheaper, if only for traffic and the stress of driving on the left-hand side of the road.

Taxis are common in Kyoto, where they line up on the side of the road waiting for passengers. I’ve never been in a taxi in the states, but by the look of things, taxis in Japan are much cleaner, and the driver wears a suit and white gloves. I feel rather fancy in a taxi…but they are expensive. We spent 680 yen on a taxi for a five minute ride. Personally, I prefer walking.

We also see a lot of motorcycles. While there are cars, motorcycles and scooters seem to be a popular choice among Japanese people. On many occasions I see old women zoom by on scooters, hunched over their steering wheel and a bag of groceries secured in a small basket. I don’t really mind the motorcycles so much, since you can hear them coming from far away.

On the other hand, most people around here ride bicycles, and they easily sneak up behind you. Bicycles are ridden almost everywhere and by anyone. They use bikes to get to the grocery store, school, or recreational activities, and there is parking and a place to lock your bike by most establishments. More interestingly, if you ride a bike you have to carry registration with you. It’s like having a bicycle license, and if a policeman stops and asks you to produce it and you can’t, you’re in a lot of trouble and your bike is impounded. Also, don’t drink and drive. Not even on a bike.

I enjoy the fact that I can get almost anywhere without driving, personally. Whether I decide to go by bus or train or just by walking, I don’t have to worry about parking or filling up the gas tank…just trying not to fall into anymore people’s laps on a crowded bus. Next time, I’m counting my change before I get on.