Original Title: Sayonara Japan, Ni Hao Taiwan
In the past few days I have skimmed and scanned the 77 pages in this forum and have found the usual mixture of Love/Hate Taiwan/Taiwanese that we all find in every forum. You don’t need to know Japan to answer my extremely long-winded question. I just want to know how these situations sound from the perspective of someone living in Taiwan.
I joined Forumosa in order to ask a few questions from residents of Taiwan. I have been in Japan half my life ( now aged 44 ) and have recently been contemplating leaving. I used to live in Tokyo but got tired of the constant desire to tear down dated but, atmospheric buildings and neighbourhoods and replace them with new, new, new plastic and glass and no feeling. I came to Osaka 2 years ago and it seems as though my westward journey is not yet finished.
Here’s a glimpse of Japan in the last two months.
Case 1. 23/24 year old woman sits on train and puts a small shopping bag next to her, but far enough away to take up a whole seat. As train fills up nearing the city, several people approach the seat, see the bag, look at her and are met with an icy stare. All move on but keep eying the seat. I stood up to get off and in rude Japanese ask if her bag was tired. If looks could kill, I wouldn’t be here now. One woman rushes to sit in newly freed-up seat.
Case 2. Forty-something year old businessman student gets call from 10 year old daughter during lesson. She says that her mother fell in bathroom and is bleeding from near her eye. She is about to accompany her mother in a taxi to hospital and asks if Dad could come home to await 12 year old son’s return from soccer practice. He declines and decides to continue lesson with me. 10 minutes elapse and he gets call from distraught wife ordering him home. He goes.
Case 3. Am waiting to pay at 7/11. Young kid in front buys something that requires a spoon. Trainee high school girl asks him “spoon?” and he replies
“asdhdshfbfggzxbeur”. She nods understandingly, thinks again, looks worried and again says “spoon” in a coy voice. He replies in similar style at which point I speak up and say “put a spoon in the bag for him” and hurry up. They both look shocked to hear a full sentence with verbs.
Case 4. A boy jams the doors of commuter express train with some plastic box. Guard has to attempt several times without understanding what is wrong. Boy stops, doors close, we move. 10 minutes later, he tries again. Box gets stuck but doors successfully close. Train picks up speed, boy pulls box free and doors open slightly and close again. Nobody around him says anything. Nothing, They just look. After his third stunt which causes train to be delayed and guard apologising for being unable to close the doors successfully, I finally make my way over to boy and tell him I am calling the police. When he starts to panic I told him we have to get off and talk to station staff. We do and they take him away.
Crap like this has me ready leave Japan. Since I came here this country has been filled to the brim with machines for this and that. The purpose is to remove the need for face to face conversation. People here are more and more reluctant to ask for help, offer help or even look concerned with absolutely anything unexpected or not concerning them directly. They are locked into mailing and texting on phones while walking, cycling and driving. They avoid eye contact and almost never smile. It is getting me down.
Yeah, you’re gonna LOOOOOVE Taiwan.
On the subway, a recorded message will quickly inform him of the error of his ways. Everyone will subsequently be staring at him and his mother as if he was planning to shoot the pope.