Just as most "Acts of God" in Tokyo, the first that was affected was the Metro. A long queue that lasted about 20-30 minutes awaited me just as I hit the Tozai Line Kayabacho station. It may sound like no big deal to most people (especially my fellow Filipinos), but in Tokyo... its headline news.
During rush hour, I would estimate a train arriving every 5 minutes (sometimes less?) with each cart fully packed. Now imagine 30 minutes worth of people all rushing to get to work... CRAZY!!! It was the first time I experienced it THIS bad.
It all began when the train arrived and the doors opened. Pushing... shoving... I had to cling on to my belongings for dear life. One slip of the cellphone from my fingers, it would be lost (FOREVER!! hahaha). So there I was trying to make my way into the train cart. Being inexperienced, I was unintentionally pushed to the outskirts of the stampede. NOPE, stubborn me, I was getting in that train. That was when I felt that close-to-panic feeling. With all the pushing and shoving, I got jammed between the mob and the train door, face forward, lungs crushed out of air... holding on to my cellphone with dear life while the heavy laptop bag that was slung over my shoulder was being tugged away from me. it was pretty crazy! With 3/4 of my body in the train and my other body parts still sticking out, I was close to hopping out. Just then, 4 train conductors came and started literally pushing and packing us in the train just to close the doors!!! Once I was in and able to breathe again... I pulled out the cellphone I was still clinging on to, turned it back on (cuz it somehow got switched off during the fit), and took a shot.What an experience...
So... next time we read the Japan headlines: "Trains stopped due to...", do not take it lightly.
Oh my gosh! I'm glad you are ok. I love that you thought to take a picture!
ReplyDeleteHey Rej, the funny part is, it's like that everyday here in our MRT systems. Pretty sad, actually. :( We should have more trains so people won't feel like sardines in a can on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteHere's a snippet of how stuffed it is these days: http://photosofshutterbug.blogspot.com/2009/09/rush-hour.html
yeah, ive rode the MRT during rush hour and its pretty crowded. but this was some other level of craziness.
ReplyDeletehahaha!! was debating whether i should take a pic or not... couldnt help it :D
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