At 7:30 in the morning I don’t usually notice much, but when somebody pulls his or her trousers down in the middle of a busy station, it does tend to grab your attention.
Yes, changing trains and heading for the steps recently, I was shocked to see a gentleman stand in the middle of the platform and swiftly pull his trousers (and underwear) down. Then for good measure he adopted a squatting posture. As this is the required position for using a Japanese style toilet, for a split-second I thought he was going to perform his morning bowel movement right there and then on the platform. But thankfully for all concerned he didn’t.
Now in public the Japanese don’t usually give much away, but I’m sure I saw a slight flicker of dread on the faces of those already on the train that the trouser-dropping madman was about to board. What he did when he actually got on the train is anybody’s guess.
grooveraccoon says
I know I’ll regret asking too many questions about this, but was he crazy – or is this acceptable in Tokyo?
yoshioka says
> or is this acceptable in Tokyo?
No! The man must be just crazy, and, I think, not acceptable anywhere in the world.
On the other hand, it might be general in a big city like Tokyo, that other people try to ignore such happenings.
Lee says
Yoshioka is right. Sadly such behaviour is not acceptable in Tokyo. And the trouser dropping man does seem to have a few problems. Since the incident though I’ve looked out for him, and he catches the same train everyday. Heaven knows what he does or where he goes!
But as Yoshioka also points out, people just ignore such stuff. This is what irritates me. People can get away with pulling their trousers down with barely a glance from anybody. Yet people sit and openly stare at me just because I’m foreign.
grooveraccoon says
Lee – maybe it’s the difference between curiosity (it is acceptable to look at you) and common sense/ embarrassment (avoid the freaks). Every city has its crazies. It sounds like Tokyo lacks the people who will confront them. There was an article about this in my local newspaper. Apparently Londoners are more willing than most to strike up conversations / offer opinions to complete strangers. Pointing and laughing might deter this guy in the future!