"Cross-culture Challenge by @itchyfeetdonica"

This is my entry to @itchyfeetdonica’s Cross-culture Challenge, comparing 2 cultures I have experienced in a certain aspect in any form. Thank you @itchyfeetdonica for this cool contest :)

Over the years, I have had opportunities to visit amazing countries, mostly because of work and some for leisure. Two of which that I would like to share here are Japan, specifically Tokyo and Singapore, both of which I was able to experience commuting and staying for a week or two on several occasions.

I’m not sure if this counts as a cross-culture comparison but one of the things I am most impressed by is, both these countries have amazing railway systems, organized, though can be quite daunting and confusing, and very well connected once you know your way. You can reach almost anywhere you wish to go through their trains and if you look at their train maps, there are so many colored lines!

When I first tried their train systems, I actually got confused but thank goodness for the many mobile apps that are available to help with choosing the train stations and lines when commuting from one place to another (very much like how Partiko enhances our mobile experience with Steemit :) Thank you Partiko!)

I visited Japan thrice, the first time for 2 weeks due to work, second time to visit a friend which meant free accommodation and the third time as a tourist following a tour. When I was working in Japan, I stayed in Tokyo and commuted by train for about an hour to the office. I was so impressed by the discipline and pace of the people in Japan. The escalators move really fast and the people walk very fast too, in herds, during rush hour.

If you have ever heard of the phrase “packed like sardines”, you must take a train during the morning rush hour in Japan to experience this. As people rushed to work, taking the trains, there were officers at each train station helping to push or shove people into the train and pack it like sardines, even when the train was already full. And they did it very professionally.

Then, I also observed the people in the train who were mostly looking at their phones while some would be chatting, some napping. Some of them were napping while standing, holding the hand bars while some ladies were applying make-up while the train was moving, without holding on to anything in the train! I was very much in awe by their sense of balance (but that is because my sense of balance is quite bad :P)

In Singapore too, almost every housing area can be reached through its Mass-Rapid-Transit (MRT) system. The railway system is not as massive as Tokyo, Japan but still impressive nonetheless. Singapore too has a number of colored rail lines and one can’t help but see how these two countries are similar in terms of their railway system. The escalators and people move and walk just as fast too. Although, only in Japan that I saw how people were shoved into the trains :D Oh but one thing to remember, if you are going from one place to another based on their train maps, there might be several ways to get there in which one way may be longer than another. Do choose your routes carefully but if you don’t mind the journey, just hop in and give it a try :)

One of the best things about taking trains is that you get to see everyday people of the country and the shops in train stations and subways. I think, the pace of life in Tokyo, Japan is much more intense and faster compared to Singapore but both are just as advanced and forward moving as a country and as a nation.

On a side note, I love how the people in Japan takes pride in the presentation of their food and culture. Almost everything is very well thought of and they look so pretty and cute, just like this food presentation in one of the hotels I was at:

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