Entries this day: hugged-a-woman-on-the-train

hugged a woman on the train

23:26 Tuesday 26 June 2018 JST

Tonight in Noborito station, I got off the train to try to figure out which train would be fastest to my station. A woman saw me barefoot and asked where I was going. She kindly looked up my station and confirmed my hunch that the next train was fastest to Shin Yurigaoka.

While riding on the train together, she asked me why I was barefoot, and then what I was doing in Japan. I talked about my dream to reduce the suicide rate in Japan, and she reflected on the gravity of the situation. She asked me what I thought it was the reason the Japanese commit suicide, and I said is because I think some people are unable to talk about serious topics and they end up feeling alone, with no other way to solve whatever problem they are having.

The conversation was relatively short and sweet; it's only about 8 minutes to my stop. When getting off the train, I had an urge to offer a hug so I did, and she accepted.

It was a nice connection, and I wish I had had my business cards or was thinking quickly enough to trade contact information. Maybe this entry will suffice.