Zach awry in Japan

17 July 2008 Don’t run for your train, or else

I’ve been loving my new iPhone so much that I find myself finding excuses to pick it up and stroke its sleek black loveliness, only to look up hours later and wonder where the time went. These photos are from its camera. And, as much as I love my little iPhone, my Fuji S5 and arsenal of lenses are certainly in no danger.

Genbo has a shinkansen (bullet train) ruler, on the back of which it says “Please don’t run for the train” in Japanese and English, because Japan is the most annoyling patronizing country in the history of the world, as if the hapless Japanese people need to be reminded constantly of every safety precaution imaginable lest they kill themselves accidentally (they’re already quite proficient at doing so on purpose).

In this case what they mean is, don’t run onto the train and thereby get caught in the doors. I explained what this meant to Genbo when he asked. It’s always hard to tell whether or not he understands my explanations. He often asks me to repeat myself many times, at the end of which he usually gets a blank look and says something like “Can I have some crackers now?”

Anyway, my iPhone camera came in really handy this time, when, an hour or so later, Genbo rolled this graphic depiction of what could happen to you over to me and said, “This is what happens when you run for the train, right?”

So, I’m now hopeful that at least not all of my painstaking explanations are for naught.

Genbo has clearly graped the dangers explained to him