Acts of Kindness

Simple acts of kindness go a long way. I remember the first time I had to race for a train at Okayama Station. As I arrived on the platform, the doors closed and it began to move off. Then something amazing happened. The train stopped, the doors opened and the driver waved me on. Similarly, a few days ago I was stuck on the wrong side of a busy road, watching a tram about to move off from the tram stop on the other side. But the driver saw me and happily waited for the lights to change so that I could get on board.

Neither of these things would happen in London. Bus drivers’ overriding priority is to be on time and keep to the timetable. If someone is racing for the bus, then in about 75% of cases I don’t think the driver would bother to wait for them. Similarly, I cannot ever remember a train starting to move off from a platform and then stopping to let someone on. It’s not uncommon for the train doors to slam shut in your face, just as you start to climb on.

Every day I rely on these small acts of kindness. Each week at taiko, the group leader gives me a lift to the train station. My apartment is full of stuff that was donated by the teachers at my school. Bus drivers will make sure you get off at the correct stop, even if you don’t quite know when to press the bell. Waiters politely show you how to eat the trickier to understand dishes (this sometimes feels condescending, but in general I approve). Any time I mention somewhere that I’m thinking of visiting, my Japanese teacher will get hold of a brochure about the area. The Vice Principal at one school invited K and I to his house to learn how to make tempura. The lady at the dry cleaners asked me if there was anything she could help me with after I moved in. On my first night in Tokyo, I asked a BicCamera assistant to show me their watch section and she took me 100m down the road to show me a watch store.

I’ve complained previously here about the low expectations people have of me-but this is the other side to it. Now in some cases I know this is just part of people’s job description but even then, that still stems from their sense of responsibility towards me. Even better, this kindness is completely at odds with the negative stereotypes that some people back home have towards Japanese people. I hope that it’s not too much of a shock when I return to the UK.

The picture of Jarvis has nothing to do with the content of this article. I just wanted to post a picture of Jarvis looking hot.