Picture this: she’s standing on a platform, waiting for the train to arrive. It’s an NJ Transit train, so it’s a guesstimate at best on whether it is running on time. The time it will take to get into New York City is 90 minutes for 30 miles of travel. Is it a struggle? Definitely. It’s one of the reasons why I like to avoid public transit. There’s never a guarantee of when you will arrive. As a person who prides myself on being on time (most of the time 😊), I value certain traits in a society.
When we arrived in Japan, I was actually introduced to a society that is near and dear to my heart. You see, in Japan, they place a significant value on timeliness. From the very first day, when our guide Noriko was waiting at the hotel 10 minutes prior to our start time, to our first experience on a bullet train, we learned quickly that not only were they a society that was timely themselves, but they expected it in others as well.
Now, if you have never experienced a bullet train in Japan, it’s a must. I wish we had them here, quite honestly. Our adventures began as we arrived at Tokyo Station to make the trip to Osaka. This is 313 miles by road and 246 by air—still far. For perspective, New York to Washington DC is about 225 miles by road, and takes over 4 hours. In 313 miles I could make it to the Canadian border, about 7 hours away. When we took our first bullet train in Japan, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This train was going to take us a distance in two and a half hours that would take at least seven in the US.
How fast would it travel, and would my face warp as we sped along (just joking, but as a Trekkie, maybe)? First, you must be on the platform on time, and the boarding is very organized. The inside of the cars is extremely clean—not surprising if you refer to last week’s Candid Kam. But these seats were nicer than most airplane seats, reclining, with ample room in front of you.
On time meant on time, so when it was 2:25 PM on the dot, the train left the station. There were five stops between us and Osaka, and every stop was exactly on time. Passengers would prepare themselves to exit beforehand, and line up at the doors in advance. It would take them about one minute to disembark, and off we went. It was an extremely smooth ride, and lo and behold, 2 hours and 25 minutes later we arrived at Osaka Station.
Now some may say they have fewer people, when, in fact, Tokyo has a population of 13.96 million and New York only has 8.33 million. The bustle of the train station reminded me of Grand Central or Penn Station. The difference was the efficiency and timeliness of everything. From how you entered the train station, to boarding your trains and leaving on time, there was this expectation in the society of efficiency and respect for each other’s time. If I could start a petition for bullet trains to be brought to the US, we would put a significant damper on the airline industry, but for now, don’t worry United, you still get my miles.
At the end of the day, it comes down to respect—for our time and that of others. If you are a punctual person, it is a sign of respect, and if you are always late, it is a show of disrespect. Decide which one you are, and is that the person you want to be? Remember the saying, “Before time is on time, and on time is late”—this is 100% true for all things in Japan.
