2009年12月1日火曜日

Customs (Cultural differences)



I will talk about two culture differences of public transport.
First, In Japan, we have to turn off our cell phone or put into silent mode and don’t talk by cell phone in a train because Japanese believe it is possible that a cell phone signal is an obstacle to medical equipment that implant in the body so even if you think this thing is not true, please turn off or put into silent mode your cell phone.


Second, we can hear a lot of announcements in trains and buses. Many buttons are placed in buses because most Japanese are ashamed to say “I want to get off next bus stop so please push a button.” in a crowded bus. Similarly, if we can hear a lot of announcements in trains, we don’t have to ask someone what is next station or where should we get off, and what’s more, we can know them with our eyes closed. Noisy announcements are effective in certain circumstances so listen carefully.