The Strange Ways of Public Transport

So I am once again on the train from Ogaki. However, this time I am only mildly drunk and hence will NOT get off in Kisogawa. The sushi I had was relatively bad for soaking up sake, but since it took 4 hours to eat, I am more or less ok. I ate some squid mouth (literally), but drew the line at fish sperm (again, literally). I am listening to Nora Jones (I cannot seem to get away from her) and watching my fellow travellers. Inevitably one wonders what various people one sees on the train are really doing there. Even more so for me, since I don’t understand a word any of these people are saying.

Across from me sits a thorougly bored looking 20 something girl in a white puffy nylon coat. Why is she on the train at 11:25pm going through Gifu? Why does she have that half pissed off, half bored look? None of the drunk salary men are bothering her. Perhaps it is because the annoying gaijin glances at her occaisionally while typing on his laptop? Perhaps she is just “too cool”. Perhaps she has terminal cancer? Who the hell knows.

What are the middle aged couple next to me thinking? What are they saying as the lady laughs coquettishly and covers her mouth in that very Japanese way? Who the hell knows. Everyone else looks so severe and unhappy. I can’t help but think that if I could actually speak enough Japanese that I could make them smile, but I know that the odds are against it. Hell, I can’t even make most English speakers smile. Shiigata ga nai.

Incidentally, there are a HELL OF A LOT OF WIRELESS NETWORKS in these stations I am riding past since I keep getting notices of them. Almost all are secured with WEP, but this is very interesting nonetheless. Maybe if I hadn’t had so much sake I would care more.

The guy across from me pretends he is texting and surreptiously takes a photo of me… The only way I can tell is that I see his phone screen in the window…. Maybe he is wondering who the gaijin is. Maybe he is gay and thinks I’m hot. Maybe I am dreaming. Maybe he is. Maybe I am reading to much William Gibson. Maybe this is just a good example of why not to drink lots of sake before getting on a train…. Shiigata ga nai.