I was standing on a relatively crowded late afternoon train, quietly eating a sandwich when I heard in slow, but perfect, English: "It is thought . . . impolite . . . to eat . . . while standing . . . in Japan."
The voice had come from the gentleman sitting in front of me, whose face was hidden behind a fully opened newspaper.
This raised a dilemma.
I certainly did not want to offend, but my short amount of time on the train was the only break that I had between my day and evening job.
If I didn't eat now, then I probably didn't eat.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, I came up with what I believed was a reasonable compromise. "Can I have your seat then?", I asked.
There came no reply and the paper never moved.
I happily finished the sandwich, which for some reason seemed much tastier than before.
-- Kevin
Send your tales of life as a foreigner in Japan to [email protected]. If yours is printed, you'll receive a Japanese-language-study aid courtesy of The Japan Times Book Club (http://bookclub.japantimes.co.jp.)bookclub.japantimes.co.jp). Stories should be 200 words max.