People have noticed I haven’t blogged much… which is true. it’s also really nice that people have noticed. I never really consider the fact that people read my blog. To be fair, I did write about some media I consumed AND some poetry. But if you're not into that kind of stuff, it's easy to miss. I suppose it’s time to start writing about something I’ve been thinking about since my trip to Korea and Japan…

The first time I rode a subway was in NYC. Overall pretty cool, but at certain times of the day, just crowded, hot, and smelly. On two separate occasions, we had to walk to our destination since the trip couldn’t be completed. Not that it was a bad thing, NYC is delightfully walkable. It was just different. Nowadays, I just look at Subway Creatures on Instagram to see what shenanigans I’m missing… Let me tell you, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t much.

A city's sprawl

With that as my baseline, imagine my surprise when using transit systems in Asia. In Korea and Japan, both systems were clean, efficient, and reliable. I was amazed by the maps that showed each stop for a specific line… and the delight I felt as I watched a light on the map move and match each stop the train made. Though may of them were in languages I can't read, we were still able to effectively navigate through each stop and station. I mean, sure we made a few wrong turns here and there… But it didn’t take long to learn. Though, one hot take I have is that Korea’s stations were more navigable than Japan’s.

We spent a lot of time on public transit… I mean a lot. When you’re on vacation, the world doesn’t stop with you. Every time we rode the subway, we’d see new people going to and from their familiar places. If I was lucky enough, I’d get a seat right next to the window… and damn.

The moment you realize how quickly you’re moving through a city, you realize how far people might be traveling to get to work or to get home. Businessmen and students and elderly citizens all used the subway to carry on with their day. There was no preferential treatment, and one’s access to the city wasn’t limited by age or skill. We visited a building next to Tokyo tower, and it was the first time I've ever see the buildings fade into the horizon.

The view from our business hotel in Shinjuku. We stayed somewhere close to train so we could get around quickly.

I’ve seen a city sprawl before. Driving through LA helped me see the way cities creep outward into surrounding suburbs and neighborhoods. Sitting in hours of traffic makes it hard to acknowledge how vast a city is. Asia made me understand how building transit can open up a whole country. In the same amount of time it took me to travel from Santa Monica to Chino Hills, we rode a train from Tokyo to Osaka. Certainly there are preferable places to live, to work, to play, but neither time nor traffic could keep you from them.

Sad subway thoughts

Well designed transit democratizes transportation… to a point. Eventually, the outskirts and ignored corners of a city do crop up, and people less willing or able to pay end up there. Right? Maybe. I can’t say I know with certainty… but it is something I thought about.

Watching older people riding alone in the evening made me feel concerned. Were they lonely? Was someone looking for them? Did they have people who loved them? I felt sad watching people wearing their business clothes at 9pm, sneaking in sleep on their commute home. Was this early or late for them? Was someone waiting for them too?

I also realized that maybe I was too curious about the people I shared these trains with. Did these people have secret lovers that they were meeting up with? Were they returning from a tryst or deviant rendezvous? Did someone have a secret and shameful hobby that required them to cross over the city? Were they hitmen? Were they happy?

Sometimes, It was too much to wonder about these things. But with a city so dense, is it really too much to wonder? Certainly, the chances are high that one of those thoughts I had was true. Even if people were doing those things, should it matter to me?

Part of me also felt disappointed… With all those thoughts, it seemed clear that there was an unspeakable point; one where people looked out for themselves. There were a few groups of us waiting for the train to return to Seoul. Once the train arrived, the group of kids next to us ran onto the train without waiting for the passengers to get off or the people who lined up to get on. They proceeded to take most of the seats, leaving the elderly to take what was left. Once we all settled, it was clear that there were enough seats… But what if there weren't? Would they have continued to sit?

In some way, it reminded me of the movie Parasite. I mean, thematically, it's about class struggle and survival… Where the poorest of us fight over the crumbs, while the richer people are removed from our experiences. One could apply that to that subway ride, right? We're all fighting for the limited seating on a train… While they probably have a private vehicle? And even if there was no private vehicle, it seemed clear in that moment that we were out for ourselves.

While riding the train, I was very aware that many people were just trying to make it to what’s next. Survival instincts seemed to just kick in, and it meant doing whatever it took to just make it to the next block, then and next block, and the next day. It's exhausting and it felt like generosity didn't seem to have a place in it.

Endless transit adventures

Even though I had sad subway thoughts, my overwhelming opinion was that these transit systems are just so cool. The Shinkansen in Japan travel amazingly fast… And in the two countries, the transit consistently on time. The ability to make so many places accessible to more people is the single most amazing thing about these transit systems.

On a route that took us outside of Seoul, I saw people leaving the city to ride mountain bikes. The mountain bikes seemed light and easy to carry, and were neatly lined up in a section on the train. After these bikers exited the trains and we started moving again, the trails they would ride would be revealed. Some of the trails passed small towns and rivers and others were hills covered in the tall golden grass of fall. There seemed to be groups of them who gathered to explore the Korean countryside together. At the end of the day, the same bikers in their brightly colored gear, would return to the city tired and happy.

Bikers we picked up on the way back to Seoul.

This kind of exploring isn’t only for the young and active. In the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, we sat next to an old lady. In the few stops we made before leaving the city, the train picked up a few of her friends. While Khara and this lady chatted, it turned out that she and her friends were taking a trip to some hot springs near the ocean. She told us that it was cute we were traveling together and that she and her friends had known each other since at least high school, maybe more. They try to do a trip every year. Even though their age and frailty could be obstacles, they're still able to explore the country and just have fun.

These weren’t the only times we saw people simply exploring the city. I saw moms and their toddlers going to a park and groups of elderly people visiting Tokyo Bay on a new local line. And of course, there was us, just being tourists and using the same systems the locals did. Almost anyone, could access almost anywhere using transit. AMAZING.

While I haven't blogged about this trip yet, I really really just wanted to talk about the transit. Flying through the countryside into the bright neon lights of a city was a surreal experience and I loved everything about it. I know taking a transit system is such a simple thing… But man was it so satisfying.