So a lot of my time while wandering around in Japan I began to feel like there was an extraordinary ratio of women to men. It felt like like the population was at least 75% women and likely to be even more than that. This was throughout the entire day. From the time I'd start going in the morning until I'd get back to my hotel in the evening. If I saw any men it was going to be around the time I'd be having dinner. My friend Karen, who'm I'd been keeping in touch with and bugging about all things Japanese, got this following message from me.
- March 28
Tanner
Japan must have a larger population of women than men. I swear it's like a 3 to 1 ratio.
Really though it's more that a majority of the men spend an incredible amount of time working. The work hours in Japan are kind of crazy and I should never complain again (though I will). Which means the crazy american not rushing to work early in the morning never sees all those men off to work. Anyways, this is something I kept thinking pretty much everyday as I'd go around. Get on a train? Mother and her kids. Get off the train? Group of older ladies. Walking around the city? Men in suits walking around but even more women in suits!
This is the one time I really recall seeing more men than women at any given time. Which was early in the morning in Nagasaki.
You can see why I thought there were way more women than men! Which led to the following series of messages I sent Karen after having spent the day with Mrs. N and Mr. K in Osaka.
- April 5
- Tanner
- Case and point, I'm in a train car with nothing but women! No men except for me!
- I hope I'm not in a women only car.. Now that I think about it... But that seems unlikely
- Lol it is
- Oh man
- I didn't know that was a thing
- Whoopsie
Whoopsie indeed. It was about 8 or so minutes between sending "I hope I'm not in a women only car" to my realization that I was, in fact, in a women only car. As suggested by this lovely sticker to the right placed by the door to the car. I should mention it's actually sticker
s
. Meaning there was probably at least 10 of them throughout the car and a couple of signs up in other places that anybody but me would have seen. Certainly all those lovely ladies in that car were aware of it! Space cadet reporting for duty.
How was I supposed to know? Nobody even said anything to me! I would have certainly moved cars if I had known or been told when I got on. Though I imagine they had a pretty good idea that:
- I was very unlikely to be the type that hopefully they're separated from by being in this car.
- I was someone who had no idea how to read Japanese. Or english. Or probably any other language as suggested by my current location.
- I had come to this car because I like pink. Which must certainly be the case as I began to realize exactly how much pink and suggestively "This is a women only car" decoration and signage there was.
Needless to say after I figured it out I attempted to play it cool and waited the two remaining stops before quickly departing the car. No longer the innocent unaware american believing such a thing as a women only car was unlikely.
So anybody that's going to Japan and happens to be man. Make sure you check for those signs that will keep you from treading where one should not.