Some very strange behavior I've noticed riding on the above. I don't know if it's just people in this particular building or if this is common in Tokyo but people are obsessed with the elevator open and close buttons! I think this building (my work building) has around 40 floors. I am on the 30th so I have to take the elevator bank for 21-31. This means that most of the time at the beginning and end of the day when I ride the elevator, it stops at almost every floor in the 20s. The person standing next to the floor buttons will hold the open button and then promptly hit the close button on each floor. If that person gets out, someone will quickly take over that position. It's a weird obsession, it's almost like people try to get into the control the buttons position.
Now let me talk about the people movers. From the subway station to my office building, I have to walk through another building/complex. There's a series of maybe 7 people movers to walk through. The basic rules from what I gather are stand on the left and walk/pass on the right. You can also walk on the left slide if you choose to walk slow. Now, there are a ton of people on these things before and after work. People are weaving in an out, walking, standing, passing. Everyday is like an adventure for me on these people movers. I haven't really mastered the art of walking and passing at the right times so I either get stuck behind someone standing or get nervous when I have to rush past someone (it's pretty narrow). And people are not afraid to pull the push aside move where they nudge you over to get by...
And so if people are in such a rush, what I really don't understand is the behavior on the escalators. There are escalators everywhere here in buildings and in subways. Same basic rule, stand on the left, walk/pass on the right. Despite the rush that people are in, they almost always stand on the escalators and do not walk up or down them. I really don't get it. People will actually wait on a line to get on the escalator on the left side so that they can stand. Even if they are going down or the escalator is short, they usually do not walk them. If you ask me, it's totally bizarre.
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3 comments:
Don't worry, in time, all this "unusual behavior" will have an explanation.
There was an segment on a Sunday newspaper program dealing with the honesty of Japanese citizens. Just about every thing that is lost or misplaced and then found gets returned. The finder doesn't keep it.
Ahhh...the beauty of culture. That's why I study anthropology. Bizzare to you is routine for them. Routine for you is bizzare for them. It's the stuff from which cultural misunderstandings are based. But good stuff for your personal growth and expanding worldview. You'll be a better American for it. It's Labor Day soon...I had to somehow be patriotic. :)
sounds kind of the the escaltors on the vesey street overpass and the escalators going up WFC at work. then i am the crazy that avoids the escalators and takes the stairs. i def would not be waiting in line in tokyo for the escalator. :)
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