The Subway - Like a Sandwich, but with More Layers

Unless you've actually ridden on one, you may think the stories of the Tokyo subways are urban legends. They're not. Or, to be more precise, it's quite possible there are urban legends regarding the subways, but all the stories I've heard I have verified personally.

Yes, during rush hours there are white glove wearing men on the platforms of the busy stations who help push people aboard. 

Yes, when the door opens and there's no room you still reach inside and grab something solid and pull yourself aboard. 

Yes, when you need to leave the train and there's no path -- excuse me, or sumimasen, its equivalent in Japanese, doesn't help since others also have no path -- you just have to push through the crowd, often knocking others off the train with you. Those who didn't want to exit just pull themselves back aboard as if nothing happened.

You may have heard that on a crowded subway you needn't hold onto your briefcase to keep it at your side. Yes, I have tried this successfully, but it only works in the most crowded trains, of course.

But even after my thirty five years experiencing all of that, I witnessed something new tonight. I actually saw someone fall asleep standing up in the subway. It wasn't packed, so the only things holding him up were his own two feet and his two-handed grasp on the thing I call the monkey tail - you know, the dangly gizmo that one hangs onto when standing in a subway or bus.

Anyway, he was standing there, eyes closed, and then his knees sagged. I wonder if he had one of those dreams where you're falling and you try to scream but no sound comes out. If so, it might have been useful in this case; maybe that woke him, or maybe it was the intense pressure on his hands and arms when his knees gave way. 

Anyway, he didn't fall. Instead he opened his eyes, for a moment, re-positioned himself, and then closed them again. I lost track of him after that, but had he fallen all the way down I probably would have noticed. So, let's just assume he got home safely, put on his bunny pajamas and fell fast asleep. 

But most likely he's subscribed to this blog and will hear a chime when I hit the publish button, wake up, read it, smile, and fall back asleep.