Observations

Sunday evening, hopped on the train to head home after an entire afternoon of wallclimbing. An announcement was made over the PA system. I didn't understand it, but my friend said that they had announced a "human accident" and we would be delayed for 8 minutes. He also explained that "human accident" is a euphemism for suicide, and that suicides are very common on the train tracks in Tokyo. He was actually surprised that it was my first time hearing such an announcement in the 4 months I've lived here!

The most fascinating and frustrating aspect of life in Tokyo is the Japanese people. And what I mean by that is not that every single person is fascinating or frustrating, but that in the collective, they are both fascinating and frustrating. Because the social rules didn't materialize out of nothing - social rules are nothing without people to enforce and abide by them. The most fascinating thing to me about the Japanese people is why they have so many social rules and why they choose to abide by them, even though when you ask them about some of the rules one-on-one, they will admit that they find the rules oppressive or unnecessary. Yet it's so ingrained in them that they must obey and conform.

On the one hand, it's what makes things run smoothly in Japan. The streets are clean because people don't litter. The streets are safe because people don't steal.

On the other hand, people feel so oppressed that they have to find outlets somehow. For some, it means ending their lives. For some, it means immersing themselves in a fantasy life - the otaku culture, maid cafes, men marrying video game characters, robots or dolls as girlfriends, dressing up as a doll or schoolgirl, etc.

And for me, as a gaijin living in Tokyo, it means sometimes trying to understand them, sometimes trying to fit in, sometimes cussing my head off in frustration, sometimes ignoring it all, sometimes trying to escape away. But doing whatever it takes to make amends with my life here.