Sometimes Japan can be a little...scary.

So I was on my way home from dinner with Emi- we went to this AMAZING cafe called Spoon with the best tea and food and atmosphere and waitstaff...it reminded me so much of New York! They don't really do too many cafes here. Anyway, we were talking about random stuff and she goes, "You know what? If the biggest problem in our lives is boy trouble, we are pretty darn lucky. We have enough money and friends and family that care about us and we get to have fun like tonight!"

This ran through my mind later in the evening:

On my way home, I had to transfer trains in one of the larger towns in Shiga. It was late and I managed to catch the last train- the 10:24, so I would be home at about 11:15 pm. The platform was pretty empty so I kinda spaced out as I listened to my headphones. The girl next to me suddenly jumps up and runs to the end of the platform, leaving her bag open next to me. I think that's weird, but I see the train coming so I figure she just really wants to get on it. She comes back to her seat and gets her bag and then walks towards the train, so I thought nothing of it.

But the train stops in the middle of the platform and the doors won't open so people can't get off and on. Then, two station people come and start running up and down the train looking underneath it. I figure someone dropped their wallet or something...or maybe like a suitcase full of cash, I dunno.

But then a whole bunch of people come and they're kind of like freaking out and the people inside the train are looking pretty pissed that they can't get out. Mind you, lots of Japanese is being thrown about and I don't really understand it but I realise that someone is under the train. He's on the other side, so a bunch of cops and train station people and medics jump on the tracks. I hear this woman yell "What's your name?" Over and over and over again, like really loud. It was so weird. Then finally, she says "What-sensei?" or something like that- so you realise the guy's a teacher. Which is super scary. By this time there are a TON of people on the platform, mainly talking on cell phones and trying to see what's going on.

Anyway, so fast forward to about 1.5 hours later. I moved to a different part of the platform to get away from the scene, but as they take the guy away on a stretcher behind us, I can hear him coughing and groaning in pain. It's really scary. The police question the girl and I basically understand that she saw him throw his bag down, scream something, and then jump off the platform, hitting his head on something. I think. It's so weird that I had my headphones on, otherwise I would have heard/seen it too, since there were only three of us on the platform besides the guy. The weird thing is, the girl didn't freak out at all. I would have gone ballistic! And the other guy on the platform was eating a Mickey D's sundae like nothing happened. That's why I figured it must have been a dropped wallet or something.

Suicides on the train happen often here. I've been here for four months and I've been on suicide-delayed trains at least four or five times. And that's only when I've actually been on the train! But it's always been something that seemed really far away that you can complain about- being there...was so weird. What could possibly make so many people want to do that? People work SOOO much here. You should see some of the people on trains in the weekday evenings, they look drunk, they're so tired. It's happened so often, they actually charge people's families for the cost of the delay (millions of yen, I'm sure) so as to deter jumpers.

I ended up making it home a little after 2 am. It was a pretty surreal experience.