Kanazawa... by way of Niigata?
Nov. 1st, 2009 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19I often think that I have a talent for trouble.
I departed early this morning to ensure that I wouldn't miss the train I'd selected for my little holiday excursion. When I arrived at the station, I realized that I was in enough time to take an earlier train. So I decided to make the switch. So far, so good. I went to the ticketing window, got myself sorted, and then headed for the train platform.
Then I made a mistake.
Because my first choice train departed at 10:12 and my backup train departed at 11:12, I assumed that the 9:12 departure was the train I wanted. And I further complicated matters for myself by not listening carefully to the pre-departure announcements, during which time I'm sure it was mentioned that the train I was on did not stop at my transfer point.
Although, to be fair, I showed my ticket to an attendant at the train door and asked if I was in the right place, and she said yes. So it wasn't just me. (Not that it's other people's responsibility to ensure that I'm not behaving like a dork.)
I realized the problem about a minute after departure, and - of course - that was too late. Once the train starts, it doesn't stop. My exclamation of sudden realization caught the attention of the woman sitting next to me, so I explained what had happened. We had a good laugh about it.
"Well, there's nothing for it," I told her. "I guess I'll just enjoy the ride!"
She thought that was very funny. (And indeed, my sense of humor has always been there to carry me through the various blunders of my life.)
When the conductor came through the train, she stopped him on my behalf and explained the situation in more succinct terms than I could probably have used. (I haven't really had any problems making myself understood in a rather long time now, but I still stumble over things sometimes when I'm trying to speak.) The conductor very kindly took the time to consult his timetable and write out an itinerary for me that would get me to my final destination as quickly as possible.
And he was worried enough about me to find me after arrival and tell me which platform to go to.
I got a lot of mileage out of the phrases gomendou okake itashimashite doumo sumimasen and otesuu okake itashimashite doumo sumimasen (which both basically mean, "I've troubled you quite a bit, please excuse me") today.
So, in the end, I lost two hours in travel. But I got to see some beautiful countryside, and I had yet another opportunity to experience the general awesomeness of other people. I mean, sometimes you do meet up with a lemon, but for the most part people are pretty darn decent.
And it's not like a I dropped another cellphone down the toilet, or anything.
I departed early this morning to ensure that I wouldn't miss the train I'd selected for my little holiday excursion. When I arrived at the station, I realized that I was in enough time to take an earlier train. So I decided to make the switch. So far, so good. I went to the ticketing window, got myself sorted, and then headed for the train platform.
Then I made a mistake.
Because my first choice train departed at 10:12 and my backup train departed at 11:12, I assumed that the 9:12 departure was the train I wanted. And I further complicated matters for myself by not listening carefully to the pre-departure announcements, during which time I'm sure it was mentioned that the train I was on did not stop at my transfer point.
Although, to be fair, I showed my ticket to an attendant at the train door and asked if I was in the right place, and she said yes. So it wasn't just me. (Not that it's other people's responsibility to ensure that I'm not behaving like a dork.)
I realized the problem about a minute after departure, and - of course - that was too late. Once the train starts, it doesn't stop. My exclamation of sudden realization caught the attention of the woman sitting next to me, so I explained what had happened. We had a good laugh about it.
"Well, there's nothing for it," I told her. "I guess I'll just enjoy the ride!"
She thought that was very funny. (And indeed, my sense of humor has always been there to carry me through the various blunders of my life.)
When the conductor came through the train, she stopped him on my behalf and explained the situation in more succinct terms than I could probably have used. (I haven't really had any problems making myself understood in a rather long time now, but I still stumble over things sometimes when I'm trying to speak.) The conductor very kindly took the time to consult his timetable and write out an itinerary for me that would get me to my final destination as quickly as possible.
And he was worried enough about me to find me after arrival and tell me which platform to go to.
I got a lot of mileage out of the phrases gomendou okake itashimashite doumo sumimasen and otesuu okake itashimashite doumo sumimasen (which both basically mean, "I've troubled you quite a bit, please excuse me") today.
So, in the end, I lost two hours in travel. But I got to see some beautiful countryside, and I had yet another opportunity to experience the general awesomeness of other people. I mean, sometimes you do meet up with a lemon, but for the most part people are pretty darn decent.
And it's not like a I dropped another cellphone down the toilet, or anything.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-01 11:31 am (UTC)That's what traveling around Japan is for, to begin with, right, 冒険体験でしょう？
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Date: 2009-11-01 06:54 pm (UTC)cousin rs
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Date: 2009-11-01 11:29 pm (UTC)It really turned out to be a fun little bonus. I love riding trains... listening to music, watching the countryside flash by, getting lost in thought... and got to ride all the way to Niigata for free because of my blunder. Plus the weather in Kanazawa was absolutely foul yesterday, so I didn't miss anything by arriving two hours later than originally scheduled.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-01 11:32 pm (UTC)And it was fun. ;>
no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 02:08 am (UTC)That was a pretty serious adventure. I'm still amazed it got sorted out the way it did (no money, no cellphone; really relying upon my sensei to pick me up at the station - no way of contacting her to say what had happened and that I was late and all that).