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I think that I have seen (tripped over) more dead aging alcoholics in Japan (Shinjuku and Shibuya in particular) than any other country I have ever lived in. I

by ci5er 9y ago

I think that I have seen (tripped over) more dead aging alcoholics in Japan (Shinjuku and Shibuya in particular) than any other country I have ever lived in. I've tried to administer CPR a couple of times, but the Japanese going from point A to point B, (as polite as they are normally), just shrug and move on...

pyre 9y ago
> the Japanese going from point A to point B, (as polite as they are normally), just shrug and move on I imagine this is more of an urban vs. rural issue than anything specifically Japanese.
- ci5er 9y ago
  That is possibly so. But I never saw the same thing in NYC or Berlin or Paris.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
make3 9y ago
that's really fucked up. don't they have free healthcare for the super poor? how hard is it to call the EMTs.
- ci5er 9y ago
  I do not know. Whenever I called EMTs in Japan, they came and got me. But, that said, I do remember having to get a dead guy out of the way to be able to use the pay phone in west Shinjuku. (Lest you think I am heartless, my first call was to the 911 equivalent).
- ramchip 9y ago
  It’s hard to tell if someone is just sleeping or actually in danger. Drunk people sleeping in weird places is a fact of life in some areas of Tokyo. I’ve had serious doubts once or twice, and the person turned out to be fine (at least physically).
agibsonccc 9y ago
I'm just going to say (my own experience only: disclaimer), SF is significantly worse. I've lived in tokyo a year now and SF 2.5 years and I don't regret my move at all. The guys lying in the street like that (even if not homeless) is actually culturally accepted. You see people sleeping in all sorts of places in Tokyo. I won't comment on whether that's "good" or "bad" but it's definitely different than the US. I still heavily prefer Tokyo despite that (I don't see it that often in practice) The worst areas are by far Roppongi and Shibuya. Admittedly, I don't go to Shinjuku as much.
- Zakiazigazi 9y ago
  > The guys lying in the street like that (even if not homeless) is actually culturally accepted. It isn’t. It, however, is precisely what the blog talks about: newcomers explaining things away as “cute cultural quirks”.
  - agibsonccc 9y ago
    I'll give you that it's not considered "polite" but I guess I should say it's "expected"? Let me correct myself a bit. I guess what I should have said was public places? For example cafes or mcdonalds you can find tons of people sleeping in there, another example is train stations. Obviously yes these are very different things, hence my correction.
- ci5er 9y ago
  But you know, those big knobby things on the sills in the tunnels from the station to the Hyatt Hotel? Those are there to keep people from sleeping there (they weren't there in the 80s when I lived there - and they were added about the same time all the green phone banks by the station were taken out). But, you know, it's still warm! And people go there. And they are kicked by some of the teenage thugs at night and rousted and moved by the police. And are often found dead by the phone banks (all of two last time I was there) closer to the hotel, above ground). I've never lived in SF. And I was friends with a couple of structural-choice-homeless guys in Japan. But - still - having to step-over or recusitate dead people every morning seems grubby to me. EDIT: I said "the station". I meant Shinjuku. I actually lived out past Wako, and commuted to north of Shinagawa by a bus I picked up in Shibuya every day. There is no "the station", so I apologize.

by ci5er 9y ago

pyre 9y ago

> the Japanese going from point A to point B, (as polite as they are normally), just shrug and move on I imagine this is more of an urban vs. rural issue than anything specifically Japanese.

ci5er 9y ago
That is possibly so. But I never saw the same thing in NYC or Berlin or Paris.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

make3 9y ago

that's really fucked up. don't they have free healthcare for the super poor? how hard is it to call the EMTs.

ci5er 9y ago
I do not know. Whenever I called EMTs in Japan, they came and got me. But, that said, I do remember having to get a dead guy out of the way to be able to use the pay phone in west Shinjuku. (Lest you think I am heartless, my first call was to the 911 equivalent).
ramchip 9y ago
It’s hard to tell if someone is just sleeping or actually in danger. Drunk people sleeping in weird places is a fact of life in some areas of Tokyo. I’ve had serious doubts once or twice, and the person turned out to be fine (at least physically).

agibsonccc 9y ago

I'm just going to say (my own experience only: disclaimer), SF is significantly worse. I've lived in tokyo a year now and SF 2.5 years and I don't regret my move at all. The guys lying in the street like that (even if not homeless) is actually culturally accepted. You see people sleeping in all sorts of places in Tokyo. I won't comment on whether that's "good" or "bad" but it's definitely different than the US. I still heavily prefer Tokyo despite that (I don't see it that often in practice) The worst areas are by far Roppongi and Shibuya. Admittedly, I don't go to Shinjuku as much.

Zakiazigazi 9y ago
> The guys lying in the street like that (even if not homeless) is actually culturally accepted. It isn’t. It, however, is precisely what the blog talks about: newcomers explaining things away as “cute cultural quirks”.
- agibsonccc 9y ago
  I'll give you that it's not considered "polite" but I guess I should say it's "expected"? Let me correct myself a bit. I guess what I should have said was public places? For example cafes or mcdonalds you can find tons of people sleeping in there, another example is train stations. Obviously yes these are very different things, hence my correction.
ci5er 9y ago
But you know, those big knobby things on the sills in the tunnels from the station to the Hyatt Hotel? Those are there to keep people from sleeping there (they weren't there in the 80s when I lived there - and they were added about the same time all the green phone banks by the station were taken out). But, you know, it's still warm! And people go there. And they are kicked by some of the teenage thugs at night and rousted and moved by the police. And are often found dead by the phone banks (all of two last time I was there) closer to the hotel, above ground). I've never lived in SF. And I was friends with a couple of structural-choice-homeless guys in Japan. But - still - having to step-over or recusitate dead people every morning seems grubby to me. EDIT: I said "the station". I meant Shinjuku. I actually lived out past Wako, and commuted to north of Shinagawa by a bus I picked up in Shibuya every day. There is no "the station", so I apologize.