With the hot weather and the energy saving steps that are common these days, they changed the procedure for getting off some of the trains heading home. Usually the train arrives, the doors open, and the passengers get off. The train has to wait there for three minutes for another train to pass, and then it continues on. So recently, to keep the people inside comfortable while they wait, they set the doors to manual operation in order to keep the air conditioning inside the train cars.
So yesterday I was on this train coming home, and we were approaching the station, and I was standing right in front of the buttons to open the doors once we arrived. Behind me, people start lining up to get ready to get off the train. It’s a popular stop, so there are a lot of people, and they are all in a rush to get up the escalator and get to the gates before they become crowded. So there is a little urgency involved for some of the people behind me.
I casually glance back over my shoulder, and every single person was watching me carefully. It was a weird scene – like out of a movie. They are probably wondering if I’m aware of the new protocol, or if I know which button to press (they’re helpfully marked in English as well as Japanese, though), and if I’ll be too slow and cause them to be late.
I could make them all feel better by raising my right hand and hovering it over the button, but I decided to play out the drama a little bit. I keep my hand to my sides, and the train is getting closer and closer. There was some shifting over my right shoulder as somebody gets ready to reach over my shoulder if I’m not aware of the button. I look through the reflection of the glass and see everybody watching intently. And then the train stops, and I reach up and push the button, the door opens, and everybody rushes out of the train. And my small part in the everybody’s commute is quickly forgotten.
