Hi there! Writing about the trains in Japan today too. Japanese bullet trains, Shinkansen are so popular all over the world. My Icelandic best friend reads a book of Kyushu Shinkansen to her sons at bed time. And when she was reading it she told her boys that Kyushu is a place where I live. And then her son went to grab a toy car (blue LEXUS!) which I sent him for a Christmas present and holding the LEXUS he fell asleep. My friend took the pic and sent it to me. Her son was so cute!
皆さん、こんにちは！日本の新幹線＝bullet train は世界中で人気で、アイスランドの親友は寝る前に息子達に九州新幹線の本を読んであげたりするそうです。その本を読んでいる時に「九州はアヤが住んでいるところだよ。」と教えると、彼女の息子は私がクリスマスに送ってあげたミニカー(青いレクサス！) を取りに行って、そのままレクサス抱きしめて寝落ちしてしまって、その姿を撮った写真を友人が送ってくれました。
I went to Hakata station yesterday and went up to the bullet train area to take pictures. Hakata station is the biggest station in Kyushu Japan, and Kyushu bullet trains strart off from Hakata. And also, Hakata is a final destination of billet trains from Tokyo. The cute looking Shinkansen is Kyushu Shinkansen called Tsubame. While taking many pictures, I thought the crossing straight lines of the station and the bullet trains are so attractive. Even cleaning persons are making a line waiting for to get on to the bullet train. Very meticulous we Japanese are. Everybody, come visit Hakata, come visit Kyushu! The pics are even artsy I think.
昨日、博多にショッピングに行ったので、博多駅で入場券買って新幹線の写真を撮って来ました。博多駅は九州最大の駅で、九州新幹線が博多より出ています。また、東京からの新幹線の終点でもあります。この可愛らしい顔をした新幹線は「つばめ」です。駅構内の直線の交わりがとてもクールでアートだと思ったので沢山写真を撮りました。清掃の方達もキチンと列に並んで新幹線が止まるのを待っている様は、まさしくニッポン印と言えるでしょう。
Japanese railway workers are very gentle, sincere and trustworthy. When we visited New York, we got a huge shock that a station worker woman in Long Island shouted at us with mean eyes when we just asked the fares. We got speechless and decided to buy train tickets from a ticket vending machine using a credit card rather than being shouted at!
ニッポンの駅員さんは真面目で優しい人が多くて、誠実な対応にホッとすることが多いですね。ニューヨークのロングアイランドの鉄道員の女性は鉄のオンナ、いや鋼のオンナ的に物凄く怖くて目が座ってるし、料金聞いただけなのに大声で怒鳴られました。私たちは駅員さんに怒鳴られたことがショックで言葉を失い、次から電車に乗る時は切符は窓口じゃなくて券売機からしか買いませんでした。
We have a very interesting station boxed lunch culture too. You can buy a specific boxed lunch bento at a specific station only, so some people go all the way to the station to buy the bento. When I had a chance to talk with a Finnish tourist, she said she was so touched with an elegant manner of a bullet train conductor. When the conductor came in he made a salute with his right arm making a bow looking at right seats and left seats. She said it was so COOL and showed me the way the conductor paid respect to the passengers. We Japanese take it for granted to see those good manners of train conductors. But they can be such cool things in the eyes of foreigners. Japan is a mysterious country, and I can’t express the beauty of it in every detail. However the enigma can be so alluring and you can never get tired of it!
駅弁文化も日本独自の面白いもので、駅弁を求めてはるばる遠くの駅まで行ったりする人もいます。以前フィンランド人の旅行者と話した時に「新幹線に乗った時に切符にスタンプを押しに来た車掌さんは、車両に入って来ると左右の座席に向かって、こうやって敬礼して、それがすごくクールだったよ！」と身振りも加えて言われたことがあります。日本は本当にガラパゴス的に花開いた豊潤な文化の園で、このクールな様式美をもっともっと世界に伝えて行きたいと思っています。
And That’s all for today! Blessings to you all! See you next time.
