Place: Namboku line subway.
Time: 8:47 am, Monday morning
DOORS open and passengers spill out. A steady stream of men in suits heads towards the nearby ESCALATOR.
KRISTEN stands to one side, waiting to get on. She holds a large tote bag containing 7 Thunderbirds DVDs, a two-page To Do list, and a change of clothes.
K: So many people. What do they all do? Push paper and money around the country, I suppose.
The buzzer sounds and the flow of traffic changes directions. Everyone boards the train.
K: Oh, look a little bit of space over there. Can I squeeze through?
Pushed from behind, Kristen slides into the gap between two people with backpacks. Her tote bag catches between two businessmen's computer cases. She yanks it free.
K: Ugh, foetid breath on that guy...I hope I don't catch whatever he has. Can I breathe more shallowly? How do people manage this every morning? Is that woman putting on makeup? She has no room to move her arms...what a trick!
Train pulls into station after station. More passengers crowd the carriage, until one last one swings in puts his hand on the door frame and pushes back until there is room for his feet to clear the DOOR as it closes.
K: (wedged solidly in the middle of the car) My station's next. I am never going to get out of here.
The CONDUCTOR announces "Nagatacho, Nagatacho desu" and the doors open. All passengers moves as one toward the doors and head up the ESCALATOR to the EXIT.
[OK, now I have to go do this for real. Wish me luck.]
I was just wondering if I should take the train to Nagatacho or ride my bike.
Bike it is, I think.
You missed the bit where there is always someone, who for some unknown reason, despite all the non-stop announcements, jingles and buzzers, does not realize that the train has actually stopped, that the doors have opened and that if they don't move, they will be crushed to death by the masses getting on and off. These people usually adopt "a deer in headlights" expression, which then quickly turns to annoyance. I used to believe that they were rush hour novices but too many of them wore office attire. Now I just think they live in a parallel universe. I sympathize with you. I do it every day. Same trauma, different line.
You missed the bit where there is always someone, who for some unknown reason, despite all the non-stop announcements, jingles and buzzers, does not realize that the train has actually stopped, that the doors have opened and that if they don't move, they will be crushed to death by the masses getting on and off. These people usually adopt "a deer in headlights" expression, which then quickly turns to annoyance. I used to believe that they were rush hour novices but too many of them wore office attire. Now I just think they live in a parallel universe. I sympathize with you. I do it every day. Same trauma, different line.