Japan and Taiwan

Had a good night sleep, and was up and out to the train station this am by 5:45 am.
We had just gotten going for a few minutes, when we came to a full stop suddenly. The train had hit a deer. I did some reading after about it, and it’s a big problem as the deer like to lick the tracks for iron. The Japanese have a “deer-like warning snort” sound before the train comes. Or the sound of a barking dog.
Myself and the other passenger in the car looked out the window to see if we could see anything and we saw the train employees looking a a deer in the snow. Unfortunately it had been hit, but not killed. 🤦‍♀️
I read that the train company is very good about handling them once they have died, but nothing about if they haven’t. And these guys definitely do not carry guns.
So yeah, that how my morning started. But that is the reality of man and animals intersecting in any country.
So now the driver is extra wary and keeps hitting the brakes.
It put us 10 minutes behind schedule, so I have only a 10 min window to get my next train. I have already looked for when the next one comes and that won’t be a problem. Today was just a travel day anyway.

They held the connecting train for us!! A Japanese train being 20 minutes late is a HUGE deal here. So they held it for the connecting passengers.
There was a guy on the train on the way up yesterday and he was sitting behind me this morning and he said Hello, and we chatted
For a few minutes. We were the only ones in our car so when we hit the deer, he translated for me. Then we were arrived at 10:31 am and the other train was supposed to leave at. 10:30. He asked me if I was going to Sapporo and then told me they said they were holding the train, which was right across the platform. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So we made it. I’m still saying prayers for that poor deer. It was a young male ( small antlers) sometimes I think, they think they are faster than they really are. (Young males in general).

Seeing that injured deer made me sad. I’m on the last leg of my journey for today. I’m sad that I fly out on Friday. But I miss home.
The juxtaposition of traveling I guess.
So here are some random things I’ve noticed:
-They are doing a lot of solar here.
- people here video and take pictures of everything, anywhere, anytime. They will stop in the middle of a train entrance to take video of it snowing. Grown men.
(And I know this isn’t just limited to Asia) But I saw people recording the entire Coldplay concert at all 4 of them . 🤦‍♀️
-The Japanese are super stylish. Men and women.
- There seems to be a lot of money in Taiwan.
Or, maybe it was that there was a lot of money coming in and out of the hotel I stayed at in Kaohsiung.
- when Coldplay moved from the front stage (to the small stage in the back of the arena) and you are on the floor, with mass amounts of people running towards and past you, to get a good place in front of the small stage;
I never have felt the Herd mentality more than at that moment. (Longest run on sentence ever) I literally felt like I was standing in the middle of a heard of wildebeests. All streaming past, zig zagging, running every which way.
-I really think TOTO must have a contract with the National of Japan. They had Toto Washlets in every airport stall , sink and bath faucets in every hotel room. (Accept for up in Wakkanai, they had the Western style bath faucet that we are used to, and they had very detailed instructions how to use it.
-The Toto washlet control panel even has a button that sounds like flushing, so people can’t hear you pooping.
-Japanese are very nice. Friendly, helpful, low key , and they do not do small talk. And I know it’s because I don’t speak the language, but they are known for no small talk.
-They have these machines in 7-11’s that you put your own cash in and it give you change back ( bills and coins ) The cashier rings you up, but you deal with the automated machine when you pay. I love that! I’m going to put up a picture of it.
-When you recycle your plastic bottle, you take the label off and put the cap in a separate bin. And people actually do it!
- When I was flying from Tokyo to Sapporo, I was in the domestic terminal of JetStar ( the low cost Japanese regional airline. I walked past the line for People getting onto a flight to Okinawa. It was jarring seeing all these young Marines covered in Japanese tattoos. I made an effort to be respectful and cover my tattoos. It just seemed like such an, for lack of a better word, occupation. Having spent a week among the Japanese, then to think there is a HUGE marine base on Okinawa. I mean I know it’s about the terms of surrender after WW2, but it just felt oppressive. That, and I forgot how aggressive they teach 19 yr old marines to be.
Well, I’m safe and sound in a little city called Hakodate. I take the Shinkansen tomorrow at 5:30 pm back to Tokyo, where I’m spending the night at the airport hotel. That way I’m not scrambling my last morning.Read more