You’re a native New Yorker, and you’ve been walking around Tokyo for 2 or 3 days now. Noticed something missing? Something you are so used to back home that you take it for granted? Yes, I’m talking about noise. The other day  I was waiting to cross the very busy street in front of Tokyo Midtown, the large, multi-use complex which is  home to Union Square Tokyo, when I absentmindedly reached up to remove the earphones of my iPod.  Except I wasn’t wearing them.  Cars were zipping by, construction was going on, and yet it was so much quieter than a similar New York street. What’s missing? Loud cars and trucks, car stereos and alarms, police car and fire truck sirens, helicopters, garbage trucks, people speaking loudly.  Once you notice, you begin to “listen” for it. It’s uncanny how much less environmental noise people live with here.

As a side note to the above, there is one noise I’ve noticed here that I’ve never heard in NYC.  Crows. They’re large, they’re loud and they are everywhere. Maybe it’s just Hitchcock-hangover on my part, but I find their cawing, especially in the quiet of the morning as it echoes off the buildings around them, really creepy. Makes me homesick for the gentle warbling of NYC pigeons!

You are probably aware that in Japan, as in Great Britain, cars’ steering wheels are on the right, and one drives on the left side of the road. In fact, many things happen on the left side. Notice that with two banks of escalators, the down side will be on the left, while up is right? Going down that escalator? Please walk on the right, and stand on the left. Someone heading your way on the narrow sidewalk? Please move to your left, not your right to avoid a collision, unless you think that might be a good way to meet the locals.

And speaking of narrow sidewalks, in addition to the big-city crowds, every so often you’ll have to contend with someone zipping by on a large clunky bicycle. This may be a youngster heading home from school, or an elderly woman heading off to do the day’s grocery shopping. Personally, I find it unnerving when one of these bikes is headed toward me (see point number 2), and I’m always startled when one passes me from behind. And yet, I’ve never seen anyone get flustered about or run over by the sidewalk bikers.

Interestingly, out in the streets you’ll see the same bike messengers you do in NYC, with their slick, pared down machines and bulging over-the-shoulder bags. Fortunately, their need for speed keeps them clear of the sidewalks! 

In Japanese the term “osakini” is used to excuse oneself when leaving before other people, or exiting ahead of others. Most of the time, you won’t use the term, because it is more polite to allow others to go before you. I’ve been involved in many a “No, you first please!” marathon, complete with appropriate bowing and extended palms, until I thought no one would be going anywhere until dawn!

The short version: don’t do it.
Here are a few good reasons why.

a) it’s just not done

b) you may be on your way to the local Starbucks for your morning jolt, forget about the traffic patterns (see point 2), and get an unpleasant surprise crossing on the red.

c) drivers don’t expect it (see point 5a), and so when it’s their turn to go, they go, not anticipating anyone breaking the rules.

d) many crossings, especially around construction sites, have guards directing pedestrian traffic. They are generally, but not always, older men, and they stand proud in their bright blue uniforms. They take their jobs seriously, wielding blinking light sabers like latter-day samurai, and I have never chosen to mess with them.

Since my very first trip to Tokyo 25 years ago, I have always felt that if the New York City subway system was a game of Checkers, here in Tokyo they are playing championship-level Chess. The system is amazingly thorough, complex, clean, quiet and efficient.

A few things to keep in mind: if you don’t read Japanese, carry a subway map at all times, because some stations may not have the stops posted in English.

Remember that the fare depends on how far you are going—unlike our one fare fits all in NYC.

Keep your ticket once it pops out of the entrance gateway. You will need it to exit. And once you’ve figured out what line you need to take, and are on the platform waiting for the train, make sure you are heading in the right direction.

If you are not traveling the subway during rush hours, enjoy the cleanliness, the calm and the quiet that prevail.