Some of my friends can amuse themselves with or complain about some of the stranger Japanese customs endlessly. Sure it might be tempting and probably relieves a lot of stress, that, no matter what people say, Japan will cause in foreigners after some time. Some of our customs are equally weird, disgusting and above all rude. It’s just a point of view and I don’t posses the arrogance to think that mine is right. I therefore also try to minimize my posts about the “Oh so weird Japanese”. That being said, some of the situations are just so strange, that I can’t resist the urge to write about them.
So for example yesterday, I had the good fortune to witness a very well dressed man in his fifties harass a woman on the subway. And while I agree that a woman, who just had her pants photographed by a pervert, is not a thing for a cheerful post, the scene that followed surly was.
I noticed the whole thing just because after I left the train said japanese woman startet to bark with a very well dressed man, who might well have been her husband. The typical scene form Vienna, when the wive gets angry because the man forgot to lower the seat after going to the toilet and now, after two hours of endless bickering, still won’t repent. No wail of the banshee — I didn’t even give them a second look. Only I forgot, that this is Japan and not Vienna and here people don’t make loud noises on the street. No her people in designer cloths pick up the dog droppings, sometimes even before they touch the ground!1
Only the petrified stares of the other people on the platform made me turn around again. By now the woman was gently pulling on the mans sleeve, who still seemed only annoyed, maybe ashamed, looked down and just tried to walk away. Also by that time a station guard was emerging in the background, hastily walking towards the whole scene. Some people were fishing for their cellphones — either to make pictures, or to call and text their friends about what just happend.
Finally the man broke free from the clutches of the women, but instead of making a dash for the next exit he was just walking hurriedly with what seemed to be a swaying, almost penguin like, motion and hot on his heels the station guard — also walking with the same strange, yet very amusing, gate. Both rushing directly towards me and I couldn’t decide if I should laugh, cry or just step aside. The woman still lamenting in the background and the two guys, walking with stiff knees, swinging in asynchrony, were just too strange. I felt like the chicken with two enemies, whose brain gets overloaded and therefore can’t do anything.
Just as the criminal was about to pass me I regained enough control of my body, to simply stretched my arm to the side across his path. No one could be stopped by this. It was a mere gesture, but I was not in the least interested in getting a bloddy nose, just to stop someone who would rather have the thrill of taking a unsharp, probably totally unrevealing panty-shot, than look at them danger free on the internet or one of the countless porn DVDs. To my great surprise the man barely touched my hand, stopped and just looked down. Then the the station guard laid a hand on his shoulder, I shrugged mine, turned around and walked out.
The fine for taking a panty shot in Japan is around 500,000 Yen2. Surely a bit more than the price of a Luis Vuitton bag you might have to buy one of the high school girls, but you don’t get the thrill of the forbidden with those.
And as a last note. All mobile phones in Japan have to make a shutter sound when they take a picture to prevent perverts from using them. Good thing I hacked my iPhone — it is totally silent now and nothing stands between me and all my pervert pleasures!3
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