I was on my train to Shinjuku one morning and, as always, I was wedged between roughly 64 people. I was being elbowed in the spine, elbowing some one in the spine, and getting ready to be pushed by countless Japanese salary men in a rush to get to work...all in all, your average morning in Japan. Suddenly I came to the realization that there are two characteristics which it is better not possess in Japan.
1) Claustrophobia: If you're claustrophobic, come to Japan, and have an early commute to work, may Kami-sama have mercy on your soul. If you recall from one of my earlier posts, I took a video of a moderately filled train. But the morning commute is a completely different beast. Each car is usually packed well beyond capacity and will often require a train worker to SHOVE in any people or limbs obstructing the doors from closing. Add to this hot and humid summers and the temptation to "freak out" is rather high. I am fortunate enough to not be claustrophobic and able to be rather calm under duress, but the sheer amount of people, the inability to breathe in fresh air, and the constant pushing and shoving (as well as praying that none of the men get...overly excited), has tested my patience more than once. If you hate small spaces (which if you know ANYTHING about Japan, you should know that the country is just one small country), you may want to figure out a way to overcome this problem before your flight lands.
2) Overly obese: While this may sound rather...cold hearted of me, I cannot imagine that it would be comfortable, nor practical to be overly obese in this country. Navigating the stations alone requires a certain amount of agility, especially people dodging in Shinjuku. Also, one tends to walk often in this country. You walk up stairs, down stairs and from your station to your workplace and vice versa. True, the train system here can usually get someone fairly close to their destination, but there is an amazing amount of walking required in this country. I'm not saying that the overly obese cannot walk, but again, I cannot imagine its a comfortable situation.
I am in no way suggesting that obese people should not come to this wonderful country, but rather that they be aware of the amount of physical stress one goes through every day.
Now, if you are unfortunate enough to be a obese claustrophobic...good luck and God speed.
Ganbatte,
-DPN
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