Entries this day: Media Travelers before_PasMo oops

Media

9:23am JST Saturday 17 March 2007 (day 13506)

This morning I uploaded the video for Carla, though I just realized that I haven't uploaded the journal entry which points to it.

Travelers

9:24am JST Saturday 17 March 2007 (day 13506)

Met Gigi and his wife whose name I didn't catch; they travel about 5 months a year from their home near Tel Aviv. Headed to Hakone today for two days and eventually to a city that I couldn't identify from what she was saying. (nor could a nearby English-fluent Japanese woman)

They said the Toyota factory tour in Nagoya (in Toyota, I wonder?) is not to be missed.

before PasMo

10:24pm JST Saturday 17 March 2007 (day 13506)

I went all the way home before deciding for sure to go back to Shibuya to get a Suica card, which I can use to ride on any JR lines in Japan, because tomorrow starts the sale/use of PasMo cards, which cover Suica (JR), Passnet (almost everything else), and Bus cards (buses), all in one. For the past 4 years that I've been in Japan, until tomorrow, we have had/will have to use three separate cards for those.

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Michael pointed out that on the advertising flyer, it appears the old-style Suica cards will still be available, so the "last Suica card" that I buy today will not be any more valuable than its encoded value. (clearly on the flyer the two card designs that will be available tomorrow include one that looks exactly like the Suica card I have now.) I'm hoping the flyer is wrong, or approximating, so there will be a bit of a difference on the face of the card (or maybe on the back). Like tomorrow the cards will say "PasMo" somewhere on them.

But anyway, I realized why I actually want to buy one. When I thought about turning in my old Suica card so I can put its value onto the new PasMo card (that I will definitely buy), I imagined a desire to keep the old card, .. but why keep an old scuffed up card when I can buy a new card... Unless I can't buy a new card anymore!!

10:39pm JST Saturday 17 March 2007 (day 13506)

I bought a new card. 2000 yen for 500 yen card and 1500 yen JR line travel.

oops

11:17pm JST Saturday 17 March 2007 (day 13506)

Just heard a boom as someone collapsed just outside the train, perhaps while getting off. Not sure what happened. We were stopped, so the train motion didn't have any effect. I'm not going to take a picture because it was probably not his choice to collapse / cause a problem. Not sure what happened. I'm in the front car of the train, and the driver ran back to see. The person's legs are wiggling, and the driver is talking to the person in a way, but it still looks like the driver is trying to bring the person to consciousness more than make sure he's okay.

11:18pm JST

Now the condustor from the back has run down, and is talking to driver.

probably the person is shnockered drunk and collapsed. That's my guess. No one is hovering around the body watching anymore.

11:19pm JST

Our train doors closed and we are leaving, with one body on the platform and one conductor guy talking to him.

11:24pm JST

As the train left my station at 23:23, the expected departure times were not listed on the blinky sign. Soon after it left, they turned back on, with the next train leaving on time at 23:25.

Interestingly, the train schedule I have in my wallet shows different departure times. I'm going to check if I have an old version of the schedule, or (more frightening if it's true) I'm misreading it.

11:30pm JST

Ah. Or option 3: I forgot today is Saturday. I was comparing the blinky board with the weekday schedule.