Big in Japan - the Railways

Apart from being very punctual a very good thing about trains here is how quiet people are inside (compared to Chinese which are always noisy). In China commuting is always noisy. Chinese always speak loudly, there is always some talking (usually very loud)on the PA system, there are TV screens installed in all the public transport. It's unimaginable to try to read for instance.
In contrast, Japanese try to keep quiet their conversation, the talking on cell phones is prohibited (you have to turn off the sound and if you are close to priority seats you have to switch your cell altogether). It was a nightmare to have to listen to some one's endless and usually loud talk on their mobile phone.
I used to (before going to live in China) enjoy reading while commuting. In this way I have read quite a few books. After going to China I had to give up this, since for many reasons it became impossible. Mainly because of the noise. In China I took up the habit of always listen to music while walking or travelling. Partly to block off the annoying noise.
Now I am looking forward to my everyday commuting for classes, as it will give me a good chance to retake my old custom of reading.

Another good thing is that don't get people staring at me. Or pointing. That is a relief after being singled out immediately. I prefer this lack of attention which gives me privacy to the completely annoying rude staring.

At train and subway stations there are stacks with leaflets with various sort of information. I kind of like that.While they in fact are a sort of an advertisement for the corresponding railways company, some of those are a great way to get informed about upcoming cultural events, exhibitions and tourist attraction (main goal of the leaflets seems to be to tell you how to get to the places taking the corresponding rail company)...I already have a stack of those from Kyoto station with routes how to go to monasteries and temples. Autumn is a very tourist time for going to those...Or so I've heard. I still haven't been to any yet sine I arrived a week ago.

Another good thing here is how distances are often given by walking minutes. Since I'm very much into mountain hiking and usually enjoy very much walking, I really appreciate that in Japan giving directions often is calculating time in walking distances. I like that too.
In Beijing I merely forgot what it is to enjoy a stroll in the city. Just walking from A to B.
How did I survive in this horrible city for 8 years really beats me.

A thing that will get time getting used to is the fact that in Japan (similar to Britain) traffic is on the left side. It feels very unnatural tome still and I often get confused about directions because of this...

Another good thing that commuting will give me a chance to do is an opportunity to observe people. A few days ago late afternoon I was taking the local JR (Japan Railways)line for a couple of stops. It seemed that students have just ended classes and were commuting back home from school as there were many students waiting at the station and getting on the train. Two (I presume middle school or high school) girls sat on the seats opposite mine (some boy students sat next to my seat). The two girls were heavily made up (I presume just after class they have done so in the toilet) with fake eyelashes, eyeliner, etc. Still wearing their school uniforms. As they sat down in the train they started taking off some of their school uniform (jackets and ties)and change into cardigans or readjust it. It looked like thisis sort of a ritual, i.e. something they doeach time after school. In a silly way they also wanted the boys to watch them. One of the girls folded her skirt in the waist several times as to make it several time shorter. It looked ridiculous to me, but obviously that's what schoolgirls do.

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The draft for this post was written while commuting in the morning on Friday 9th of October, taking the Keihan railway from Ohbaku station (which is near to where I live now in Uji)and Demachiyanagi(which is the station nearest to Kyoto University's main campus where my classes are).Commuting today took me around 45 minutes,at one point I had to change trains at the transfer Chushojima station in between...