Beckteria

(Not in a van), Down by the River

At four am, waiting for the first train that really doesn’t come until 5:20, you start to think about various things. Well, unless you’re passed out on the stairs like my friends. As I looked around the usual meeting place, I realized that none of the usual lights were on. Usually, there’s so much light pollution that the sky looks purple at night. The hustle and bustle of Osaka was muffled under the semi-dark sky.

Oh, there were plenty of people there, just mostly asleep. As I stayed awake to ensure my friends’ safety, I noticed a J-man that seemed like he had been working at a hostess bar sitting on the stairs fishing, trying to stay awake. I thought he was going to crack his head on a corner of one of the stairs because he was so close to following over from his sitting position.

Other people were sleeping right next to the nasty river on the wooden planks. One man had his sheet of cardboard and his shoes off. He looked comfortable somehow in the corner, tucked out of the way.

So many people were sleeping. It was in some ways peaceful, but in other ways it bothered me. I guess what really bothered me was that the U.S. isn’t safe enough to even consider sleeping outside. I considered sleeping next to my friends, but I just wasn’t that drunk anyway. It feels good here in that way. People just don’t fuck with you like they would in the states. I see people sleeping in the train stations too. It’s just something that seems so natural before the first train comes.

Around 5 am, there is a shuffle of people slowly moving toward the entrance of the station if they weren’t already there. Hundreds of people trapped, miles from home, wanting to sleep, eventually descend down the stairs only to have to wait more.

posted by Bex @ 4:42 AM