Public Transportation...

As a midwestern girl (a title I hold proudly), public transportation is rather foreign to me. Aside from the school bus (which I don't think you can even consider a form of public transportation), I have always been driven or driven to my destinations. Most errands required at least 10 minutes of driving - and if you needed a gallon of milk, you didn't walk to the corner store - you jumped in the car and drove there. I remember seeing people standing at bus stops here and there - but I don't think I ever gave much thought to how much planning goes into getting somewhere by public transit (well, at least until you get the hang of it...I suppose).

Most people who know me could attest to my difficulty giving people directions on how to get from point A to point B. I have a hard time remembering street names and I almost never know which way is North. I am, however, often able to get myself somewhere after I have been there once - just by remembering visually how to get there. It's funny...I am not usually a visual person, words tend to come easier to me...not with directions though!

I remember taking the subway when in Chicago, New York, and Boston on vacation and being 100% reliant on the people I was traveling with to navigate. It wasn't until I moved to Washington DC in college for a semester that I actually had to figure out the subway (Metro) on my own. Luckily the system was rather straightforward (and I avoided buses or anything that was not the Metro) - and boy, am I realizing now how thankful I am for those six months of subway exposure. 

In Nagoya - we have one car, which Kaz takes to work and we have used for trips to Costco and to pick up furniture since being here. I don't plan to drive while we're here - as they drive on the other side of the road and the roads are also super narrow. Stressful! I have an international driver's license so I could if I had to...however, walking, running, and public transit are my main modes at this time.

I haven't been here long enough yet to give you the full lowdown on public transit - but here are a few things (and then a rather entertaining story about my Thursday afternoon public transit experience). 

Subway...

There is a pretty extensive subway system in Nagoya (though I have heard that Tokyo's is a million times more complicated) that connects to trains, buses, etc. We live off of the "Higashiyama Line" (which I more commonly call the yellow line) and it's been pretty easy to navigate. I should say that I haven't really done much connecting or transferring lines just yet. It's nice because you can get a Manaca Card, which is like a credit card that you put money on. Then you just tap it to pass through versus having to worry about buying tickets each time. It works on other trains and buses too. The only thing is - you stop realizing how much you are spending on transit. 

Trains...

I'll tackle this more in a later post. However, there are several types of trains here. Local trains, rapid trains (that don't stop as often as local trains), express trains, and then of course the Shinkansen (bullet train - which goes 200mph and you take to further places). We're taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo this weekend, so expect a full report. 

Buses...

Lots...and everywhere! 

Since being here - I have gotten more comfortable with the subway, which is all I really need on a daily basis. However, this week I embarked on two different trips (solo) that required a combination of transit options. The first being subway to train to get to the Immigration Office on Tuesday (successful!) and then subway to train to bus to get to the International School on Thursday (successful...in a different way).

After studying my route many, many times...I set out on Thursday ready for a challenge. I was able to get on the subway and the train with no problem. So I found myself at the train station ready to give this whole bus thing a try. Kaz had told me to take a taxi from the station to the school on the way there at least (so I wouldn't risk being late) and then to try the bus on the way home. I got to the station earlier than I planned - so I thought - Let's give this a try now! I wandered around the various bus areas looking for the characters on the bus that matched the ones Kaz had written and found the bus. I was the first one (since it was 15 minutes until it left) and so I sat down. As people got on I realized that they were tapping their Manaca cards as they got on (to stare the fare). Ooops...so I "nonchalantly" stood up and did the same thing. The stops were luckily written in kanji and English - so I could compare them to what I had written down. I also knew that I had to get off at the fourth stop. Managed that with little difficulty and found myself standing at the bus stop on the side of the road. Now just to pull up google maps and make my 10 minute walk to the school. Easy, right?! I set off on the walk feeling victorious, until....

...about 3 minutes into my walk - a man (who seemed to be controlling traffic) put his hand up to signal that I could not continue walking on the road I was walking on. You see, there was a ton of construction going on - and apparently I was going to have to find another way. He was saying a lot to me in Japanese - and I could not understand. I said - "International School" and he pointed in the direction I was not allowed to walk. I was sort of shrugging my shoulders - and after a minute of both of us talking back in forth to each other in languages we couldn't understand...he took my hand and started leading me through the EXTREMELY muddy construction site. Stopping bulldozers and backhoes as I slipped and slid. He was chuckling to himself - and I was too - what else can you do in a situation in which you are 100% dependent on someone else? We got to a road - and he pointed and nodded...and off I went - after bowing and thanking him over and over and over. My googlemaps "auto-corrected" my route - and told me that I would be getting to the school about 15 minutes after my meeting started. So after sending Luci a text saying that I was running late due to the road being closed - I started running (in a dress, boots, and a backpack) and made it to the school out of breath and extremely sweaty. I looked a mess - however, Luci congratulated me on surviving public transit and making it (a great reminder that success can be defined in so many ways). You'll be glad to know that I made it home with slightly less adventure (though I may have walked in circles many times before finding the bus stop - I will figure this route out eventually).

As I retold this story to Kaz over wine and pizza... I couldn't help but be surprised by the fact that this whole ordeal had not flustered me nearly as much as I thought it would have. And...I can't entirely put my finger on the reason(s). Perhaps it was because I knew I was safe; or because I had a phone and the ability to map where I was so I would have made it eventually. But I don't think that's it exactly. I think it was the fact that...in this situation...I was entirely helpless and completely dependent on someone else. And - I couldn't use language (exactly) to solve the problem. Hmm...I may need to keep pondering this one (and clean the mud off my boots).

Sunny Moments: Helpful people, understanding and accepting people, remaining calm - and problem solving!
Cloudy Moments: Getting lost, late for a meeting, extreme difficulty communicating!